All Singers Welcome - and Non-Singing Helpers

Any singer interested in choral music is welcome to join us. We enjoy our singing and are a friendly choir, with about 80 members.

The aim of the Society is to give concerts to a high standard and perform a wide variety of classical sacred and secular choral music. We also welcome any non-singers who would like to help at our concerts. (To find out more, email one of the contacts at the bottom of this page.)

Rehearsals

Rehearsals are held on Wednesday evenings during school term time in Ranelagh School, Ranelagh Drive, Bracknell from September to June. Click here for a map. The rehearsals are led by our Musical Director, Barney Smith, with piano accompaniment provided by Nick Austin, our expert pianist. Both are professional musicians. Singing starts promptly at 7:30 pm, with a short break for refreshments at 8:30 pm Our busy but enjoyable and stretching rehearsals finish at 9:30 pm For the first rehearsal of each term, members need to arrive at 7:15 pm to allow for the issue of new music, in time for the rehearsal to begin at 7.30 pm Music can be purchased, or hired for a small charge, from our Librarian, Peter Rushworth.

Part Stewards record attendance for each section of the choir, i.e. Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Alto 1, Alto 2, Tenor, and Bass. All members are strongly encouraged to attend the maximum number of rehearsals possible. Our Musical Director, Barney Smith, liaises with Part Stewards before every concert to ensure that all those members planning to take part in the concert, are thoroughly familiar with the work and are able to make a positive contribution to the performance.

New Members

When you arrive for your first rehearsal, as a potential new member of Bracknell Choral Society, you should be:-

1. introduced to your Part Steward
2. loaned the music for the work we are doing, by our Librarian.
3. asked for your name, address, and telephone number, for future contact.
4. offered two "free" consecutive rehearsals, so that you can get to know how the choir is run, meet other members, and generally decide if you would like to join the choir.

When you arrive for your third rehearsal it will be assumed that you have now decided to join the choir. Therefore, would you please:-

1. hand your subscription for the year to our Treasurer or Membership Secretary, together with a completed Gift Aid form and your email address. We shall then add all your details to our Members’ register. Current rates of subscription are shown below under the heading Subscriptions.
2. give your name and the section you are singing in to our Secretary, Neil Arden, who will make the necessary arrangements for you to have a voice assessment with Barney Smith, our Musical Director, so that he can ensure that you are singing in the correct section. It will also help him to evaluate the balance of the choir. The voice assessment is private, informal and straightforward and merely involves singing a few scales. Barney will be pleased to explain in more detail, if you wish to have a chat with him beforehand.

Concerts

These are normally on Saturday evenings in late November, March and June. We usually perform our November and March concerts at our "home" venue in Newbold College Church, Binfield. The venue for the summer concerts is often Wellington College in Crowthorne, and our Christmas carol concert is usually on the Thursday before Christmas in a local church.

The final rehearsal for each concert is held with the soloists and orchestra and generally takes place during the afternoon of concert day. Concerts usually start at 7:30 pm and choir members must be at the venue by 7:10 pm.

Concert Dress

We aim to put on a smart and uniform appearance which is appropriate for the music.

Ladies wear a black top with short, elbow-length, or wrist-length sleeves and any style of neckline. See-through material is to be avoided as it is distracting for both audience and our Musical Director. The top is worn either tucked in at the waist or worn loose with a long black skirt which reaches the shoes, or trousers, together with black shoes. Alternatively, a long ankle-length black dress is worn.

Gentlemen wear black dinner jackets, black trousers, black shoes, and a white shirt with a black bow tie.

However, for our Christmas concerts, Ladies wear plain coloured blouses, which must consist of one colour only – no patterned blouses, - and long black skirts or trousers. Gentlemen wear coloured bow ties, instead of black. Coloured concert dress may sometimes be worn at our summer concerts, at the discretion of our Musical Director.

Music

The music for our concerts is chosen a year or more in advance to enable acquisition of scores, booking of venues and soloists, and to make applications for grants. We are all invited to put forward suggestions for music and these suggestions, coupled with information on special events e.g. anniversary of a composer's birth, anniversary of a Coronation, are taken into account when choosing a balanced and financially viable programme. Practice tapes or CDs for each part can usually be bought for each major work being performed.

Subscriptions
These are determined annually at a General Meeting. The Society is a registered Charity and members are asked to sign a Gift Aid form available from the Treasurer so that a tax rebate can be claimed from the Inland Revenue.

Subscriptions for the 2007/8 season are:

People joining after December pay 40% of the annual subscription for each term, except students who pay £10 per term.

Sunshine Fund

We like to send flowers, as a gesture of friendship, to members who have had a major operation or suffered the loss of a loved one, so that we can bring them a little "sunshine" and brighten up what may be a difficult or sad time for them. This fund is sustained entirely on voluntary donations and generosity of the members of the choir.  If you join the choir and would like to contribute to this fund please speak with our Secretary, Neil Arden.

Sponsorship

The Society is active in pursuing grants from Southern Arts and Local Councils. We are seeking to expand sponsorship, from local firms in particular, and the Committee welcome all your innovative ideas and contacts in this area. Click the "Sponsor Us" button for more details.

and Finally

We are sure you would enjoy singing with us. Your Part Steward, the Secretary or any member of the Committee will be able to help with any queries or comments you may have. Their photographs are on the notice board, and contact numbers are also included for the Part Stewards.

If you would like more information please contact our secretary, Neil Arden

bc2 updated 10-jun-08