Mellor Church Choir
Recruitment
Want to join? This page will cover everything you need to know about the choir. St Thomas's choir is non - auditioning which means all you need to do is just turn up! We also offer RSCM Voice for Life training plus more opportunities for musical enrichment.
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As well as gaining musical knowledge choir is also a great way to make new friends and socialise!
When is our next pizza rehearsal?
Our regular recruitment evenings are here for you to see what a typical choir weekly practice is like.
This is a chance to:
- Get settled in and meet new people
- Chat to our Head Choristers, Choirmaster's Assistant (CMA) or senior choristers with any questions you might have
- Have a taster of what it is like with other people who are here for the first time
- and most important free pizza!
The general structure for the evening is:
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6PM - Vocal Development with John LeGrove in the Mellor Centre (aimed at primary school age children)
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6:30PM - Children's Rehearsal (Primary and secondary school age) in church
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- 7:15PM - Pizza! In the Mellor Centre. Adults arrive.
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7:45PM - 8:30PM - Full Choir Rehearsal in church (primary age children can leave at 8pm)
Parents are welcome to observe any part or all of the evening.
Why join the Choir?
We are always looking for boys and girls who are considering joining a choir. The choir meets every Friday for rehearsal and Sundays for weekly services. The choir is also part of the Voice for Life scheme (part of the Royal School of Church Music), which provides a framework for choral singers to develop their vocal skills, musical understanding and knowledge of repertoire.
In addition to this we go on tours to sing in cathedrals across the country annually (occasionally abroad!).
As you gain more experience in the choir, leadership opportunities may become available. This includes becoming a head chorister, Choir Masters assistant and Organ Scholarships. Children also get a small amount of pocket money for their attendance and are paid when supporting the choir at weddings!
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However, much more importantly we have lots of fun! As well as gaining musical knowledge the choir is also a great opportunity to socialise and make lasting friendships. An important part of the choir year is our annual weekend in Fort Belan, Wales (to practise for Advent and the Christmas season). We are a very supportive community where older choristers take care of younger ones and help them both socially and musically. Choristers can also opt to sing solos which helps to build confidence in performance.
What next?
The easiest way to join the choir is to fill in the form below.
If you prefer, you can email our Director of Music, Tom Howling on t.howling@nhs.net.
If you are a child/parent of child looking to join the choir (7-18)
If you are an adult looking to join the choir (18+)
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Can children join?Yes. The choir welcomes children from age 7 upwards. Adults are also welcome subject to balance of parts.
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Is there an audition?No. We are a non-auditioning choir. You don’t have to be a great singer to join – you will become a better singer and musician as a result. Alongside rehearsals we run education and training following the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) Voice for Life Scheme.
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What do you wear to a rehearsal?We don’t have any dress code for rehearsals on a Friday evening. Often children may still be in their school uniform or you may choose to wear something more comfortable.
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Do I have to be in the Parish to join?No. We have choir members currently living as far away as Romiley and Poynton. Most live in Mellor / Marple Bridge / Marple / Compstall but there is no restriction.
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What do I need to bring to a rehearsal?Just bring yourself - music, pencils etc. are provided.
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Do I have to have been baptised or be a Christian to join the choir?No. We welcome anybody with any faith, those who are questioning and those who are not of faith. Being a church choir, the music we sing is generally church music and our main purpose is to support the worship at St. Thomas’ by leading the sung and spoken parts of the church service. Part of the Voice for Life education programme that we follow is to help make sense of what is going on in the services and what the words of the music mean. Our rehearsals end with a brief chorister's prayer.
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Can anyone join the choir?Yes. The choir is committed to inclusivity and values diversity. We welcome newcomers of any age (generally above 7!), race, gender, sexuality, class etc.
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Will my son/daughter settle in the choir?Well we hope so. Choir may not suit everyone but the best way to find out is to give it a try. There are children in the choir from most of the local schools so there is likely to be a familiar face. There is a break time in rehearsal to give some time for forming social bonds (and eat biscuits). One of the main things that the children enjoy is meeting up with their friends. We are a friendly bunch and there is a good mix of everyone getting to know each other across the whole choir. If there are any problems or worries with settling in then please speak to any of the head choristers. You will be allocated a buddy at your first rehearsal to help you out.
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Will my child struggle if the groups are already formed?Well I hope not. The choir is not very cliquey. It is a small group of never more than 20 children and currently never more than 10 children in a half choir, so everyone tends to be inclusive. Again, any worries or problems to the head choristers or myself.
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When is a good age to start?Any age 7-70+ is a great time to start singing in the choir. The main restriction on joining earlier than 7 is the level of reading ability and concentration span. Generally, we aim most recruitment at a primary school age but other ages are very welcome.
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What is the commitment?Attendance at Friday evening rehearsals and (when comfortable) Sunday morning services is expected most weeks (or please let me know to help with planning). Once a month (usually third Sunday) we hold an additional Sunday Evening service which has a lot of music to sing and is the choir highlight of the month. We also sing in occasional special services such as the Nine Lessons and Carols on the Sunday before Christmas and on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday of Holy Week just before Easter. The trebles of the choir are asked to sing for Weddings on a Saturday on occasions – these are optional but there is extra pay on offer. For parents, we hope that you would come and support choir events. We also have a rota of volunteer adults to sit in on the trebles’ rehearsals as extra support to make sure there are at least always two adults present for Child Safeguarding reasons.
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How much does it cost to join the choir?As the choir is supported by church there is no cost to join the choir. In fact, the trebles get paid a small amount of pocket money for their attendance at rehearsals and services. Voice for Life training is also provided by volunteers free of charge. There is a cost involved in going on our residential trips away which are optional. We usually go away for a weekend at the end of November to Fort Belan in Wales to learn music for Advent and Christmas and we usually go away for a week in the summer to be the choir in residence in a cathedral for a week.
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What type of music do we sing?We sing a variety of church music. Some songs are very old (some have been sung for about 500 years!), some modern (occasionally the same year that they have been written). They are written by lots of different composers who you will get to know a bit about. Some of our favourites are: Bach, Wesley, Stanford, Rutter, Chilcott…. Mostly we sing in English, sometimes in Latin and occasionally other languages such as French and German. The music we sing depends on the season of the church’s year and its various festivals. Obviously, there are lots of carols at Christmas!
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What do we wear before we get the uniform?For rehearsals we wear anything comfortable. For services we wear our traditional choir robes. These will be provided for you (Mary Heijbroek looks after our robes). When you are happy enough to join in with services Mary will get you measured up. At first children wear a cassock which is a black robe which goes over your clothes covering everything from your neck to your ankles. You will also wear a ruff which is a white frilly thing that goes around your neck. When you become a full member of the choir you will be presented with your surplice which is the white robe that goes over your cassock and hangs down to just below your waist. You will notice that some trebles in services also wear medals on ribbons of different colours around their necks. These are the awards of the RSCM Voice for Life Scheme. The only bit of the uniform you need to remember to bring or wear to services are your black shoes and black socks.
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What is the timing of Friday rehearsals?Vocal Development Group 6pm in the Mellor Centre Trebles' Rehearsal starts in church at 6.30pm Break (with biscuits!) is 7.15pm Full rehearsal then starts with the whole choir at 7.30pm and finishes at 8.30pm Some of our younger primary-school age choristers who need to get home to bed leave at 8pm.
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Can parents sit in on rehearsals?Yes – observers are welcome. We have a rota so that at least one other adult is present for Child Safeguarding reasons. We also run some Voice for Life teaching sessions in the vestry during rehearsals which will also need two adults to be present.