Information for Members
Welcome to the City of Oxford Choir! It’s great to have you as a member and we hope that you enjoy your time making music with us.
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Here is some practical information about the choir. If any question that you may have is not answered, do ask any member of the committee who will be happy to help. You can either find them during a break at rehearsal or email them (details on the About us page).
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We hope you will enjoy singing with the City of Oxford Choir, and thank you for joining us.
View the rehearsal schedule to find out which pieces will be rehearsed each week so you can come prepared, or catch up on any missed rehearsals.
View the rehearsal and concert calendar and get the dates in your diary.
How the choir runs
Rehearsals
We rehearse at All Saints Church, Lime Walk, Headington on Monday evenings, 7:30-9:30pm.
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In an ideal world we would all attend all the rehearsals, but if you’re unable to come then please let Duncan (Musical Director) know as soon as possible (duncan@duncanaspden.co.uk or 07812 193615). If you are absent for more than 25% of rehearsals of any one concert period, then please approach Duncan to discuss whether it is appropriate for you to sing in that concert.
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Likewise, if you know you cannot make a concert then please let us know as soon as you can. This helps with things like planning repertoire/parts and music hire. If you stop singing part way through a term, please return your music to the Librarian as soon as you can. However, even if you miss a concert, we would usually still expect you to pay your sub for the term. Please note that the expectation is that you will only miss a concert due to an unavoidable clash, not because you don’t particularly like the music! If you can’t make the concert you can still come to rehearsals up to the last two before the performance.
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Rehearsal refreshments
During the break in our rehearsals we have notices from committee members, tea and biscuits, and a chance for a chat with other choir members. Choir members take it in turns to provide the tea, milk and biscuits.
Concerts
We perform four times a year, typically in central Oxford venues such as college chapels. Concert dates are set well in advance so please try and keep them free. We're always keen to investigate singing in new places so if you know of somewhere suitable please do let a committee member know.
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The concerts are generally on Saturday evenings and we have a rehearsal, usually around 2:30-5pm, on the afternoon of the concert in the venue. Sometimes there is a rehearsal on the Friday evening as well.
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The Concert Manager runs things on concert days and will ask in advance for help with specific tasks such as setting out chairs, arranging refreshments for interval drinks, transporting and putting together staging and folding programmes. It's a team effort!
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Folders
We use maroon folders for concerts, please purchase one in time for your first performance! They're available from Chamberlain Music.
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Concert dress
Concert dress is all black, and we try to co-ordinate whether or not the men are wearing jackets according to how cold it is. Bring some extra sparkle for Christmas!
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Tickets
The Tickets Officer is in charge of ticket sales which we are managed by Tickets Oxford.
Tickets are £15 but can be obtained at a discount using the code CITYOX. Concessions are £12 and students/children £5. All choir members are strongly encouraged to sell at least two tickets, but the more you sell the more adventurous we can be in future music-making! We rely on ticket sales from our concerts to pay for various expenses of the choir, for example the cost of accompanists (organists, pianists, chamber groups) and the cost of our concert venues. It is very helpful if you can sell tickets as early as possible to help predict the audience size.
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We have a Benefactor scheme which audience members can join for an annual fee of £60/£50 concessions/£25 students and which includes tickets to all our concerts and an acknowledgement in the programme. Let the Tickets Officer know if you have anyone who would like to join the scheme.
Social events
We have about four social events per year and in the past these have ranged from meals out to board game events, bowling and a cabaret night! Sometimes we go to the pub after rehearsals (usually the Butchers Arms nearby).
We like to support one another’s events so if you’re taking part in another concert then please do send the details round the choir mailing list. Likewise, if you’re planning on going to another concert/musical event feel free to share it round if you’d like other choir members to join.
Publicity and social media
Please follow us on social media if you’re on any of those channels. We’re always keen to boost our social media content so if you can help with that then we can make you an admin of the appropriate site.
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Our Publicity committee members arrange excellent posters to advertise the concerts so please put them up wherever you can and share the image via your usual networks.
The choir regularly uses photos, video and audio recorded sections of rehearsals and performances in publicity materials, including social media. We have asked for your permission to be included at the time of joining the choir, but if anything changes please contact the choir chair or secretary.
Sheet music
Our Librarian sources the sheet music for each concert and hands it out at the start of rehearsals each term. You will be allocated your own music number. Please return your copies at the end of the concert.
Duncan (Musical Director) is always keen to hear suggestions for new repertoire if you have any past favourites or pieces you’ve always wanted to sing.
Membership subscription
We have an annual membership subscription, which in 2024-2025 is £261. You can pay in either one lump sum, or in 10 monthly instalments from November 2024 to August 2025. Bank details will be sent by email. Please email the Treasurer to let them know how you are paying.
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We are very keen that cost should not be a barrier to choir membership. If you cannot manage the full fee please speak in confidence with the Secretary, Treasurer or Chair to make an alternative arrangement that suits your situation.
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Gift Aid: If you are a UK taxpayer please make a gift aid declaration (part of the new joiner form) so we can claim gift aid on most of what you give to the choir.
The full year is normally payable even if you are not singing for a term because the membership fee needs to cover our professional musical director’s fees, music costs and rehearsal venue hire. We do make exceptions e.g. for maternity and other unavoidable leave!
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We offer a 100% discount on the membership sub for those under 25. If this applies to you please let the Treasurer know.
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We welcome any donations you can make and appreciate that you can still contribute to the choir in other ways such as promoting ticket sales.
Some people might wish to make additional financial contributions to the choir, for example by purchasing a set of music or underwriting a particular concert or soloist. If this interests you please speak to the Treasurer or Chair and we will be very grateful.
Your contact details
The choir committee keeps a current list of the addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of all members of the choir - the choir secretary will ask you to complete a form with this information when you join.
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We use a googlegroup mailing list to email rehearsal dates and times, concert dates, and other important information so please do keep an eye out for choir emails.
For friendly reminders you can also join the Choir Whatsapp group – contact the choir secretary to be added.
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We have a member privacy policy that explains more about what information we'll collect and how it's used.
The constitution of the choir
The choir has a constitution which governs the way that it operates.
The Committee holds meetings four times a year, and hold an AGM in October at the end of a rehearsal. The AGM is the choir’s chance to nominate and elect new members of the committee, raise issues of interest or concern and hear reports from the Musical Director and the committee officers, and discuss and set the annual subscription as well as the Musical Director’s stipend.