Singing with The Bach Choir
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The 220 members of The Bach Choir meet to rehearse every Monday between 6.15 and 8.15 from September
to July in Westminster Cathedral Hall, Ambrosden Avenue, SW1 (a few minutes' walk from Victoria Station).
Our repertoire covers music from early to the present day. Concerts are given in the Royal Festival Hall,
Royal Albert Hall, the Barbican and various venues such as cathedrals, St George's Chapel Windsor and the Guildhall.
In the past few years we have
made recordings of music by Handel, Howells, Mahler, Carl Rütti and, most recently, Vaughan Williams,
and recorded the soundtracks for several films including Kingdom of Heaven, Disney's The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe, Dreamworks' Shrek the Third and Ridley Scott's new Robin Hood. We aim to commission new works reguarly, and since 2001 we have given four world premieres, three
of which were Bach Choir commissions.
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We tour abroad every two or three years; recent tours have included Beirut (March 2003), Germany
(December 2005, October 2007 and July 2009) and Australia (March/April 2008). In the past we have sung
in the USA, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, Sweden, France, South Africa and more.
The Choir has a basic programme of about seven London concerts each year but there are always extra events such as recordings and tours.
Fifteen concerts or other events in a year would not be unusual. To qualify to sing in a concert members must have
attended at least two-thirds of the rehearsals for that concert.
In order to join, it is necessary to pass an audition and members are re-auditioned every three years.
We hold auditions at various times throughout the year. An audition consists of scales or
arpeggios, various musical tests and sight reading which needs to be of a good standard in
order to cope with the amount of music we sing in a year.
The subscription is £21 per month, paid over 12 months, or £240 per year (although any difficulty with this would be viewed sympathetically).
Full-time students (first degree) pay just £10 per year for the duration of their course.
Music can be bought through the Choir and hire copies are often available free of charge as long as they are returned!
Watch a vodcast in which you can hear current members talking about the experience of belonging to The Bach Choir.
For more information contact the Membership Secretary.
To apply for an audition fill in the Application Form online.
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