FAQs
What kind of music do you sing?
Our full title is actually St Bartholomew’s Hospital Choral Society and the word ‘choral’ is a clue; we mostly sing major choral works – things like Handel’s Messiah or the Verdi Requiem, rather than more informal pieces.
Do I need to have sung in a choir before?
No – we’re an unauditioned choir and we have all kinds of members from those who’ve never sung before to those with some formal training as singers. We do expect singers to be able to learn the correct notes and sing them in tune, though.
Do I need to be able to read music?
No, strictly speaking, you don’t – if you have a good ear you can learn from online rehearsal recordings. However, it’s definitely easier to follow what’s happening in rehearsal if you can at least follow the lines on a score. Many of our members have found that they learn (or re-learn) to read music as a consequence of singing with us.
Will I be expected to practice outside rehearsals?
All choir members are encouraged to practice at home and to spend some time learning their notes. If you can’t read music or haven’t sung before you may need to spend more time on this than more experienced singers
Can I join the choir at any time?
Like many choirs, we rehearse over three terms – usually starting in September, January and after Easter – with a concert or concerts at the end of each term. You’re welcome to join us at any time BUT because we have minimum rehearsal requirements for those who sing in our concerts, you may not be able to sing on stage at the end of term if you join part-way into a term.
Choir members sign up one term at a time – some members sing every term, others dip in and out depending on other commitments and whether they like a particular term’s repertoire, or not.
How do I know what voice part I should join? I’ve never sung in a choir before.
The soprano is the highest voice part and is usually sung by women and boys (before their voices break).
Alto is also usually sung by women but can be sung by male countertenors.
The tenor part is usually sung by men, but we do have some female tenors in the choir.
Bass is the lowest part and is usually sung by men with lower singing voices. More men are able to sing bass than tenor.
If you’re not sure, don’t worry! You can always switch voice parts. We have some singers with a broad singing range so they do change from term to term. If in doubt, contact the Voice Rep for the part you think you’d like to start with and go from there.
When and where do you rehearse?
During termtime, we rehearse every Monday evening 18:45-20:45, and one Saturday a month, usually 11.00-16:00.
Our rehearsal venues are all in Central London. Currently, most Monday rehearsals are held at St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden. Venues for Saturday rehearsals vary.
You can see our current rehearsal schedule here.
How much is it to join?
In 2025 our subscriptions per term are:
First term for a new member – £50
Concession (unwaged) – £91
Full – £105
If you’re a new member, you don’t need to pay your subscriptions before you start. We’re happy for you to come along to a couple of rehearsals to see if we’re right for you before you commit.
Subscriptions pay for the running costs of our rehearsals and we encourage our members to pay in the first month of term by offering a 10% discount on concession and full subscriptions in that first month. Subscriptions are reviewed annually and may increase if rehearsal costs go up. If any of our members are having difficulties paying their subscription, we encourage them to speak to their Voice Rep.
I am not sure if I’ll be available to attend rehearsals regularly. Is there a minimum attendance requirement?
To ensure we’re all singing to the best possible standard in time for performance, we expect members to attend all Monday rehearsals; however, we understand that people are sometimes unwell or that things crop up unexpectedly. If you miss three or fewer rehearsals in a term, we don’t worry. If you miss more than three, then, in principle, you won’t be allowed to sing in the concert at the end of the term. (We do make exceptions in special circumstances – particularly if you’re a strong singer or know the work we are rehearsing – so if you have a problem attending rehearsals regularly for a few weeks, do discuss this with your Voice Rep.)
You can still enjoy singing with us in rehearsals and not perform, but most of us find that performing is the cherry on top of our term of singing together!
Do I need to buy my own scores?
Yes – we’re too big a choir to use library copies and we don’t have our own premises to store hundreds of scores, so you’ll have to buy your own. However, we usually arrange to buy scores in bulk and sell them, at cost, at the first few rehearsals of term. If you buy through us, you’ll be sure of having the same edition as everyone else and you won’t have to pay postage as you would if you ordered your own online.
Do you have special ‘concert dress’?
Like many choirs, we try to present a fairly uniform appearance on stage and so wear all black.
Ladies – full plain black dress. Ankle-length skirt or trousers (not shorts), black shoes. Three-quarter or long-sleeved top with modest neckline. No jeans, leggings, bare legs, patterns, lace, embellishments or sparkly jewellery etc.
Men – black, buttoned shirt, (long sleeves may be rolled up neatly), black trousers (not shorts), black shoes
We also use score folders with the Barts Choir logo which you’ll be able to buy for a few pounds at rehearsal.
How do I keep in touch and who should I contact?
During term-time, we send out a weekly newsletter – Notes – to members who have signed up to sing. You can sign up to this via the big blue button at the foot of this page. (If you’re thinking of joining us next term, it would be a good idea to sign up now because we send out all the information you need for next term about a week before the first rehearsal of term.) Even if you decide not to sing, you can join us as a supporter and, if you’re on our mailing list, we’ll send you details of upcoming concerts and events like ‘Come & Sing’ days.
As we hope you’ve discovered, there’s a lot of information on our website but if you still have questions, you can contact us by email. Our Secretary and Treasurer have their own email addresses (secretary@bartschoir.com and treasurer@bartschoir.com) but for general queries your first point of contact should in most cases be your Voice Rep:
Sarah Stephens – Soprano Voice Rep
Lynda Hall – Alto Voice Rep
Sue Vickers – Tenor Voice Rep
Tom Wilson – Bass Voice Rep
If you’re interested in joining us, contacting your voice rep is a good starting point or you can just come along to a rehearsal and make yourself known to someone wearing a turquoise lanyard and they’ll know how to find what you need.
