Join Us

REHEARSALS

• We rehearse every Monday from 7.30 – 9.30 p.m. in the Hall of Cemetery Road Baptist Church, 11 Napier Street, S11 8HA (opposite Waitrose car park)
• We have tea or coffee and biscuits half way through the rehearsal, providing members with the chance to chat, and a ‘bring and sell’ stall every month to raise money for choir funds.
• The church’s car park is very small, but Waitrose is just nearby, and the store has kindly agreed that members can use the car park during rehearsals. Be aware that you will always need to provide your car registration on entry to the rehearsal, as without being included on the official list you will almost certainly be fined!
• Link to Cemetery Road Baptist Church homepage and location map
• There’s always a final rehearsal for Saturday performances, held in the afternoon at the concert venue.  However, there is normally no afternoon rehearsal for the choir when performing Messiah on a Monday evening.
• The choir usually starts the season on the first Monday in September and goes through to the end of June, with a couple of weeks off at Christmas and Easter, and no rehearsals on the majority of Bank Holiday Mondays.
• The choir prefers everyone to attend all rehearsals, even when not able to sing in the concert, so that everyone keeps their voice in good shape and gets the benefit of the conductor’s  training. In fact, sometimes the conductor will rehearse works for later concerts so missing a rehearsal may affect your preparation for a concert later in the season.
• Anyone can be ill of course, and members may work shifts or have caring responsibilities. We ask that members let the secretary know if they are unable to avoid missing a rehearsal.
• It goes without saying that everyone needs to take a pencil and eraser to all rehearsals!

AUDITIONS

• At the audition, you will be asked to sing a few scales and a piece of your own choosing. There won’t be any sight singing!
• People do worry about audition, but please note that we don’t look for perfection, and a willingness to work on pieces at home can work wonders.
• We provide links to rehearsal tracks and YouTube videos to help with learning works, and some members get together for note-bashing sessions in their own homes, so there’s plenty of support!
• Re-auditions are held at five-yearly intervals.

• Members are asked to provide their own copies of the following works:
  • Messiah by Handel (preferably the Watkins Shaw edition – in English)
  • Mass in B minor by J S Bach (any edition – in Latin)
  • St Matthew Passion by J S Bach (Novello edition) *
  • St John Passion by J S Bach (Novello edition) *
• * NB: Please note that the choir will be singing the two passions in their original German from this season onwards, so please don’t buy a copy until you are advised which is best to purchase.
• * NB: Novello editions for the two Passions in English are those by Edward Elgar and Ivor Atkins (St Matthew) and Sir Ivor alone (St John). Though soloists occasionally make use of other versions of certain aria texts, the Chorus verbal texts are NOT those of Neil Jenkins’s versions in the so-called “New Novello Edition”. This is most important when we sing the works in English. In case of any query, please discuss any purchases of vocal scores directly with the Librarian and/or Conductor.
• Other music is owned by the society or hired for particular concerts. Members are required to pay a small fee when collecting hire copies from the librarians. Hired copies that are lost or damaged must be paid for and fines may be imposed for late return as this could incur additional hire costs. Pencil markings on music are essential but members are asked where possible to erase markings on hire copies and remove any paperclips, before these are returned.
• Concert music – for concert performances, singers are usually required to have their
  music inside a plain black folder or alternatively to cover music in black paper.
  Black folders are available to purchase from the Secretary.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

• The annual subscription fee is competitive for choirs in our region. Though payable annually or monthly, the fee equates to about £5 per week, a great deal less than many weekly activities such as sports or hobby sessions, and is the same as is charged for most weekly-paid choirs.
• The fee pays for the services of our Music Director and accompanist, as well as hire of the rehearsal venue, membership of Making Music and Classical Sheffield, insurance and website costs.
• Members can arrange to pay in instalments, by bank transfer, standing order or cheque, and anyone in financial difficulties can speak in confidence to our Treasurer about making an appropriate special arrangement.
• Subscriptions are reviewed annually and agreed by members at the AGM.
• The subscription fees are revised at the AGM each year but for the 2024-25 season they are likely to be
  • £200 for full membership – note that this equates to just £5 per week (40 weeks).
  • Reduced rate for students.
  • Reduced rate for couples with children who both wish to join and attend singly while their partner looks after the children.
  • Proportionate fee for members joining mid-season.
  • Reduced rates for members  who would struggle to pay the full fee, by arrangement with the Treasurer.
• Members are asked to pay the subscription promptly at the start of each season.
• Subscriptions may be paid in instalments or by monthly standing order by arrangement with the Treasurer.