Chew Valley Choral Society 

Join Us

We always welcome new members. There is no audition to join the choir but you do need a reasonable voice and a desire to sing to as high a standard as possible. Our members come from all sorts of musical backgrounds, from the complete novice to the experienced choral singer.  

You will find it easier if you have some experience of reading music (even if it isn’t choral music) but most of our members don’t sing perfectly ‘at sight’. 

If you don’t read music at all, or are very rusty, but would still like to try us out, let us know and we will do our best to help.  (Also see the information in the box below)’     

We have a short break at Christmas and Easter and a longer one in the summer.  We do ask that members commit to coming to as many rehearsals as possible. 

There is a membership fee – currently £140 per year. This is usually paid in two instalments but speak to the treasurer if you would like to spread it out further.   

Music is generally supplied free of charge by the choir although we occasionally suggest that you might like to buy your own copies (but there is no obligation to do so) 

If a new member is hoping to sing in a particular concert, they should try to join at the beginning of the rehearsal period for that concert. 

Usually, we suggest that prospective new members come to a couple of rehearsals to see how they get on before committing themselves.  

If you are interested in joining and would like more details either email info@chewvalleychoral.org.uk or telephone Catherine Hunt on 07814098457.

Location

Rehearsals are held weekly on Tuesday evenings, from 7.30 to 9.30 p.m. in Bishop Sutton Village Hall, Wick Road, Bishop Sutton, BS39 5XQ. This is very accessible from the Chew Valley and further afield and has plenty of parking.  

If you are new to this type of singing here is some extra information

Classical choral music usually (but not always) has separate parts for soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices and we sing from sheet music, not by heart. 

We have put together some suggestions of resources for learning the music, from the basics of reading and singing from printed music to sound files to teach you your part (to see these click here) You will probably find that reading the music is something you learn or improve on as you go along if you need to. We do sing in Latin and  modern foreign languages as well as English – our conductor helps if we struggle with pronunciation. 

We rehearse thoroughly over about twelve weeks so that everyone learns their parts ready for the concert and can perform confidently on the day. 

If you are not sure whether this is for you, we will be holding a FREE Taster Session on 23rd September 2025. For more information click here.