Join Us

If you enjoy singing and are able to read music and commit to regular Tuesday evening rehearsals, why not consider joining us?

Membership of the choir is subject to a successful audition.

As a prospective member you should ideally have experience of singing in a chamber choir and be familiar with singing a cappella. As well as being a confident singer, you need to have reasonably strong sight-reading skills as the choir covers a significant amount of repertoire over the course of a season, including new compositions in 8 parts.

We may not always have a vacancy in all sections of the choir. If we do not have current vacancies for full members in your voice part you might however consider coming for a couple of taster sessions and then auditioning as a Guest Singer in the first instance.

Choir members pay an annual membership subscription.

Taster Session

Potential members are invited to join us for a couple of taster sessions at Tuesday rehearsals enabling you to experience The Chorale before committing to an audition. If you like the experience and wish to join, then we can arrange an audition with the Music Director.

Rehearsals

We rehearse on Tuesday evenings between 19:30 and 21:30 and on the day of a concert. Occasionally additional rehearsals are required for specific performances, e.g. when working with a professional orchestra.

Location

We rehearse at St Matthew’s Community Hall, Chapel Lane, Stretford, Manchester, M32 9AJ, near junction 7 of the M60 and about 2.5 miles south-west of the city centre. There is ample on-site parking and public transport.

Style of music

The Manchester Chorale is a busy choir that performs in all sorts of styles and at venues of all sizes. Flexibility is therefore a must – we are not the choir for those who prefer to concentrate only on major choral works or pop arrangements – we do anything and everything! To see a typical concert programme, click here.

Guest Singers

The Manchester Chorale has been participating in Bridgewater Hall concerts for many years. For these concerts, we need a choir larger than our membership to balance the professional orchestras with whom we appear, such as the Manchester Concert Orchestra, the Manchester Camerata or the BBC Philharmonic. We have a core of Guest Singers who appear regularly with us, but we are always keen to add to our numbers.

You too could be a guest singer: You will need to be a good singer with experience of singing in a choir and with a reasonable proficiency in reading music – a short audition will usually be necessary. You will have to attend Tuesday night rehearsals in preparation for each concert in which you sing, and a rehearsal on the day of the concert.

To come for a taster session, please fill in this online form, telling us:

which voice part you sing e.g. 1st alto, 2nd bass
your experience of choral singing e.g. choirs you’ve sung in, the type of repertoire etc.
whether you’re interested in joining as a Full or Guest member
how you heard about us e.g. internet search, heard us perform, social media etc.

Book a Taster Session

Whether you are interested in joining us as a Guest or Full member, please use this form to tell us about your singing experience and to book a taster session. Auditions are arranged afterwards.

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