SERVICE DETAILS
Usher Hall and Love Music present
Love Music Community Choir ~ Scotland’s most ambitious and visionary community singing project conducted by Stephen Deazley
Our mission ~ to inspire Edinburgh to sing
Our promise ~ to sing great music on one of the world’s finest stages
We sing a diverse range of music from across the world - We work with an inspiring and professional creative team - We meet and sing with internationally renowned guest artists - We are inclusive - You can pay what you can afford -
There are no auditions, and all levels of experience are welcome
This choir is for everyone and anyone who wants to sing!
JOIN our ONLINE CHOIR...
Booking Process – online choir
As we’re not able to run choir sessions in person during the current pandemic, we’ve moved our rehearsals online. We’re delighted that this means we can welcome a larger number of singers and that anyone who has signed up to our waiting list can take part.
While social distancing measures are in place, we’ve moved our community choir rehearsals online. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback about the quality of the resources we produced and choir members’ enjoyment of the live online delivery. It’s not the same as in-person choir, but it’s proved a valuable way of keeping our community choir connected whilst also being musically adventurous. We’re using what Zoom calls “breakout rooms” to meet and chat with each other in small groups after the rehearsals – it’s an open and welcoming place to get to know other members.
How it works...
- 7:00pm on Mondays during set Term dates
- We meet on Zoom and live-stream the Zoom meeting to YouTube
- Rehearsals last around 75 mins
- You can’t hear each other singing, but you sing along with our conductor and audio tracks or live piano
- You can chat with each other and ask questions using chat functions
- We work with professional guest artists in exciting collaborations
- We offer technical guidance and run practice sessions to help you get used to using Zoom
- We make video and audio resources for each song, and rehearsal recordings are available to watch afterwards
- If you don’t have a printer, we can send you music or lyrics in the post
- We can send DVDs with the pre-made resources and recordings of the live sessions for those with no internet connection
- Free or reduced fee places are available
We’re delighted that moving online means we can welcome a larger number of singers and anyone who has signed up to our waiting list can take part. If you’re interested in joining us, register at https://www.choir.lovemusic.org.uk/join and we’ll send you information about how to book when we open bookings for our next available term.
In Person Choir...
This choir is for anyone and everyone. We don’t audition and you don’t have to read music. Fun, accessibility and quality is very important to us. We don’t have any exclusions or age limits, but if you are under 16 we do ask that you come with an adult – your adult doesn’t need to be a choir member.
Do I need experience?
One of our great strengths is to provide quality support for both accomplished singers and first step beginners. We think there will be more than enough to challenge and excite all kinds of voices with all kinds of previous experience! During the choir sessions, you will have the opportunity to develop good singing technique, listening skills, singing in harmony, and reading music if you want to.
Where do we rehearse / perform?
We rehearse at the Usher Hall and we hold public events near the end of most terms. We also look for opportunities to take our work into the community in ways that will benefit others.
What kind of music will we sing?
The Usher Hall is a world-class venue and presents internationally acclaimed artists from across the globe, wide-ranging in style and genre. We want the choir programme to reflect this diversity so each term we sing a rich mix of great music – some of which you may have never tried before – some in different languages. We want to promote a spirit of adventure and explore many different styles and cultures of singing. You don’t need to read music but there are opportunities to do so if you would like to.
Our choice of repertoire makes connections to the current season of artists performing at the Usher Hall, so we will always try new song styles. Love Music is known for highly imaginative commissions of new works and also for bringing international artists and communities together. Both form an important part of our artistic planning.
We’ve sung everything from Bach to Metallica, and have sung on stage with artists such as James, Karine Polwart and Denys Baptiste.
How much is membership and how is my payment used?
Membership costs £50 per term, payable termly in advance. Your membership cost usually includes 9 x 2 hour rehearsals and covers professional fees, accompanists, resources, planning and administration, press, marketing and concert planning, and charity management costs. And – of course – a few hours of fun!
Can I come for a taster session?
If you’d like to come along to try us out for a week, you are welcome to (suggested donation amount £6), but there is a waiting list for permanent members and you should join the list if you’d like to come every week. If you do come for a taster session, please let us know to expect you at least a few days in advance of the rehearsal, and make yourself known to us when you arrive.
Booking Process – In Person Choir
For terms when we’ve met at the Usher Hall, we had three booking periods with a maximum of 330 places available. Booking was on a first come, first served basis within each booking period, which consisted of 1. current members (spring 2020 members), 2. past members & new lower voices, then 3. new higher voices.
In line with current social distancing restrictions, when we are next allowed to meet in person, we’ll need to revise what the maximum number of singers can be and how the booking system will operate.
