Joining BCS as a singing member
Are you ready to apply to join?
We are always open to experienced singers who would like to join us. If you would like to attend one or two of our rehearsals for free, please get in touch with us. Our membership email is at the foot of this page. We would love to see you.
Annual Subscriptions
Our annual subscription is currently £190 with a reduction for anyone joining partway through the year. The year runs from September to August.
The late Richard Tanner, a valued and longstanding member of our bass section, left the choir a legacy that we are delighted to utilise in offering bursaries to encourage young singers in our area to join.
Richard had been involved in education all his working life and was for many years the head of the Vyne School in Basingstoke. The Richard Tanner bursaries are available to members between the ages of 16 and 29, inclusive, or those in full-time education at the start of September, and consist of a reduced annual subscription, currently £30, plus the loan of the required scores.
Rehearsals
We meet to rehearse on most Wednesdays at the Vyne School, Basingstoke, RG21 5PB, between 7:30 and 9:30 pm. It is conveniently located near Basingstoke Railway Station and features a large car park. Members are expected to attend at least 75% of rehearsals to participate in the concert.
Music
We perform major choral works from the classical repertoire by composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Mozart, Haydn, and Vaughan Williams, as well as contemporary works like Mass in Blue by William Todd. Please have a look at our previous concerts section to see the works we have performed recently.
Do I need to be able to read music?
You do not need to be able to sight-read music, but having a basic understanding of reading music is obviously helpful; this is because we sing from choral scores, which can be challenging to learn. However, for each performance, we will spend the preceding 10 weeks or so learning the piece with the aid of learning tracks and videos.
Voice Consultation
After 3 or 4 weeks, if you feel you would like to join us, then you will have a one-to-one voice assessment with our Music Director, Jordan Theis, If successful, you will be allocated to the most suitable voice section.. It takes about 10 minutes and is quite informal and generally done in private once everyone else has left.
Want to find out more?
Great - send an email to Ruth:
with your name and contact details, and we will get back to you shortly.
