Join us

If you're interested in joining us as a singer, read on to find out how it all works.

Are you recruiting?

Yes! We want to keep our numbers steady around the 20 mark — that's about 5 in each section. Our turnover of singers is low, so vacancies don't arise very often but we do currently have some spaces, particularly for basses and altos.

If you're interested in what we do and would like to join please get in touch. Even if we don’t currently have a space we may be able to add you to our waiting list. We're a flexible group, and we always welcome sitters-in for our rehearsals.

What's the commitment?

We rehearse monthly in central York. The current date is the second Sunday of each month, between 2pm and 4:30pm. We're not draconian about it, but we expect all our singers to be able to commit to these rehearsals every month, not miss any without good reason, and let us know in good time if something urgent comes up.

Then there's the gigs. We do a mixture of services (mostly Sunday mornings and evenings through the year) and weddings (mostly Saturday afternoons in spring and summer), plus the odd concert. Everything's arranged in good time, normally with at least a couple of months’ notice and often much more. On average, we sing about 8 services and weddings each year.

If this sounds like a lot, don't worry. Because of the ad-hoc nature of our gig planning, none of these dates are ever compulsory for any singers, and we're very flexible — if you can't make one, you just let us know and we don’t include you on the list for that gig.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but as a member of the Clerkes, rehearsals are compulsory and gigs are optional! That is, as long as you attend all our rehearsals, you can pick and choose which gigs suit you. You could easily be a full member of the choir and actually only choose to sing 4 services a year, for instance. Naturally, we generally hope that most of our members can make most of the dates — and if you're often busy on Sundays, the Clerkes may not be for you.

Once you've said yes to a date, we use that information to plan repertoire and rehearsals (not to mention signing contracts with brides- and grooms-to-be!), so we expect you to stick by your commitment.

Is there an audition process?

No, we're not that formal. Most of our current singers joined us after being recommended by an existing member. We know what we're looking for, and we expect that you’ll have a good idea what you're looking for too, so it's simply a matter of seeing if the two match up. We will invite you to sit in as a singer at one of our regular rehearsals and afterwards we’ll talk about how things went and let you know as soon as we can. We have high standards, but we generally find we can meet them more effectively this way, and it's less stressful all round.

What does it cost?

Nothing! We're lucky that we can cover our costs from weddings so we don't charge subs to our singers. You give your time for free, and in return membership of the group is also free. We even pay travel expenses for singers who share lifts to our more distant performances.

What skills do I need?

Our members are strong sight-readers and experienced singers. Rehearsals go at a fair pace, and focus less on note-bashing and more on ensemble and musicality. Because we only rehearse once a month, we can’t afford to do things otherwise.

As well as feeling comfortable with this, it would help if you had some experience of the world of Anglican church music but this is by no means essential. If you're unfamiliar with this world, that’s fine, but be prepared for a steep learning curve when it comes to things like hymns, responses and the dreaded Anglican psalm chant!

We don't have any requirement about religious commitment. Our members have a variety of beliefs, from atheist to devout. But of course you'd need to be comfortable singing in church, since that’s mostly what we do.

What do I need to provide?

Not much. We supply all your sheet music, plus a rehearsal folder and a separate posh folder for performances.

You'll need to wear black for most gigs: a plain black top, black trousers/skirt, and black shoes; or a plain black suit (ordinary lounge suit, not DJ) with a white shirt and a coloured tie of your choice and black shoes. With shirts, it helps to have a black tie to hand too, as we do sing at the occasional funeral.

What are the benefits?

You mean, apart from being part of a musically excellent and highly versatile chamber choir for free?🙂

Well, we're also a very friendly and sociable bunch. We always go to the pub after rehearsals, and when most of the choir gets together for a service or concert, we usually go out of our way to organise a meal or similar social event afterwards.

Obviously, none of our social events are compulsory. But we're very keen that everyone feels part of the group and really hope that you’ll be able to join in.

Interested in joining?

Please get in touch with us and we’ll take it from there!