JOIN THE CHOIR
The choir welcomes good singers aged 18+ from many countries around the world, recognising the universal appeal of choral singing.
We normally rehearse every Wednesday from 7.15pm to 9.30pm in Edgbaston, where our rehearsal hall has free car parking on site and plenty of additional space on-street nearby. At the moment, due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, our rehearsals are working somewhat differently, and will temporarily be based near the city centre but still on Wednesday evenings.
Choir members pay subscriptions either annually or quarterly, and there is a generous reduction for full time student members. Anyone else of limited means may talk to the Treasurer in confidence regarding payment of subscriptions.
Why not find out for yourself?
If you are interested in joining the choir, we always recommend that you get to know the choir a little by coming and start rehearsing with us when we start a new programme, which is usually (but not always) at the beginning of a term. If you like what you see and hear, you can then attend an auditions session, before the usual Wednesday rehearsal, a few weeks into the term or programme.
We will be singing our much-loved traditional service of Nine Lessons and Carols at St Alban’s, Conybere Street just before Christmas, but are already looking forward to our new programme for the spring. Singers who are interested in joining the choir are invited to start rehearsing with us in January, when we start preparing for our spring concert on Saturday 2nd April, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Vaughan Williams’ birth, and also giving the premiere of a new cantata, Sound the Invisible Trumps, by Paul Spicer, at St Philip’s Cathedral. There is much to look forward to through the year – a wonderful summer programme including Bach motets together with works by Finzi, MacMillan and Britten, and in the autumn Bach’s glorious Christmas Oratorio at Lichfield Cathedral – irresistible! Rehearsals for the spring programme will commence on Wednesday 12th January 2022, with auditions on Wednesday 2nd February, so don’t delay if you would like to sing with us!
To get in touch with us, please email the Choir Secretary at info@birmingham.bachchoir.com. so we can make arrangements, answer any questions and make sure you have all the details you might need. Please make sure that mention your voice part (SATB and whether first or second), and a little about your choral experience and interest in the choir.
Our FAQ sheet includes all the essential details you need to know about singing with the choir – please Download our information sheet. There is more information on auditions below, but please get in touch if you have other questions about membership.
This is the feedback we received from one recent first-time visitor:
"I thought you might like to hear my reaction to the rehearsal I attended earlier this week. In a word, brilliant! It was so refreshing to see the whole choir listen and respond to the conductor throughout the rehearsal. I would like to apply for an audition".
Auditions
Auditions consist of:
• Scales to test range
• A simple aural test - pick a note out of a chord
• Singing a piece of your own choice
• Sight reading
Further details can be downloaded by following the link to Choir Audition Guidance
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