Sing with us
We're always keen to hear from interested singers who might like to join our choir. We encourage enquiries from singers of all backgrounds with experience in choral singing, good sight-reading skills, and enthusiasm to learn challenging repertoire to a high standard. Your commitment will be rewarded with the opportunity to perform exciting and ambitious concerts in Oxford and beyond, collaborating with professional soloists and musicians. All this takes place in an inclusive and social environment that fosters a close community of choir members.
"There’s a choir out there for everyone - maybe the City of Oxford Choir is the one for you!"
Carla Cohen, Committee Chair
We invite potential singers to join us for a rehearsal. Then, if you think this is the choir for you, we’ll ask you to audition with Duncan, our Musical Director, so that he can get to know your voice and see whether you'll be a good fit.
Read on to find out a bit more about our choir and the next steps for joining us at one of our rehearsals.
What to expect as a
choir member
We are a chamber choir of about 35 keen singers including former choral scholars, and experienced amateurs. While serious about making great music, we're a friendly group of people from all walks of life. One thing we all have in common is we love to sing!
We're committed to performing to a high standard, so members are expected to attend rehearsals regularly, be fluent sight-readers, and spend some time outside rehearsals working on the music. This means we can make the most of our time when we sing together, focusing on ensemble, colour and musicality.
Rehearsals are conducted by our musical director Duncan Aspden, and we also benefit from sessions with our vocal coach Billy Purefoy.
Rehearsal information
We rehearse every Monday during school term-time, from 7:30pm to 9:30pm (with a break for tea and biscuits!). On concert days, we have an afternoon rehearsal in the concert venue. Take a look at our rehearsal schedule for the current term.
Our rehearsal venue is All Saints Church in Headington. There is no car park, but plenty of on-street parking on the surrounding roads that is free during the evenings.
Your audition
Your audition will usually take place at the end of the first rehearsal you attend, or the following week. You will need to prepare a short piece or extract to sing. If you don’t have something suitable, you can sing something that you learnt during the rehearsal. Duncan is happy to play piano accompaniment.
You will also be asked to do a few vocal and aural exercises and to sight-read a short extract of music.
Next steps
If we sound like your kind of choir, we would love to hear from you.
Please email our Secretary, letting us know your vocal part and your experience, and we will arrange for you to come to a rehearsal.
FAQs
I prefer to learn music ‘by ear’, not by reading from sheet music. Would the choir work for me?
In our particular choir, we do learn and perform using sheet music. Being able to read music and to ‘sight-read’ (sing directly from the music without hearing it played for you) is an important skill for this choir.
What kind of music do you sing?
Our concert programmes usually include a combination of shorter and longer choral pieces, from a variety of periods and styles, linked together by a theme. We explore the full range of choral composition from over 400 years, particularly the Renaissance, the Romantic and the present day.
We typically perform some unaccompanied pieces and some with an instrumentalist. Given the size of our choir, we do not usually perform ‘big works’ with orchestral accompaniment (e.g. Handel’s Messiah). We also tend not to sing pieces which Oxford’s chapel choirs present in their services. Instead, we relish music intended for concerts, recitals and entertainments from across great eras of choral writing.
Take a look at our past concerts and repertoire list to get a flavour!
Do I have to commit to audition before joining a rehearsal?
No, you don’t. We encourage you to try a rehearsal first. It’s the best way to find out if we are the right choir for you.
What is the cost of choir membership?
Most choir members pay an annual subscription fee (further details here). This is optional for under-25s. We are keen that nobody is prevented from joining for financial reasons so we also offer discounts on an ad-hoc basis according to circumstances.
I am a student, can I join?
Students are welcome, but please be aware that our concerts and some of our rehearsals do fall outside university term-time.
Do you have vacancies for my voice part?
We are a very well-balanced chamber choir with no particular shortages. However, we are always keen to hear from interested singers: if you will be an asset we will try and find you a place.