If you love to sing, enjoy a challenge, and want to be part of a friendly high-performance team, Hot Ginger Chorus is for you! Whether you are beginning on your singing journey or a seasoned performer, Hot Ginger Chorus could be your group! Read on to find out more about our chorus, audition requirements and frequently asked questions. We are LGBTQI friendly and a transgender safe space. We sing in four-part harmony and without musical accompaniment - just voices (A Cappella). Our voice parts range from low (bass section) to high (tenor section) and the two middle parts, similar to the alto range (baritone and lead sections).
Come along to our next rehearsal. No matter whether you're a high singer or very low singer, or somewhere in between, we'd love to hear from you! We are particularly looking for low female voices (Alto 1 and 2) for our baritone and bass section. Please email our Membership Coordinator, membership@hotgingerchorus.org.au
BENEFITS OF CHORUS MEMBERSHIP
- Meet new people and be part of a welcoming and fun singing community
- Ongoing quality vocal instruction with qualified coaches
- Performance/showmanship training
- Improve self-esteem and confidence
- Make new lasting friendships
- Fun and rewarding Wednesday night singing
- Learn a variety of songs
- Improve your health and fitness (singing is a physical activity!)
- One night during the week that is just for you!
- Coaching by international vocal and performance coaches
- Performance opportunities
- Ensemble singing experience
ARE YOU READY TO LEARN?
Wednesday nights are very educational. We constantly train in both visual performance good singing including:
- Alignment and breathing/support
- Resonance
- Articulation
- Rhythm and tempo
- Visual communication/physical expression
- Much more!
WHAT SHOULD I BRING TO CHORUS NIGHTS EACH WEEK?
- A water bottle
- Wear comfortable loose-fitting clothes
- Have a light meal before you come to rehearsals
- Please do not wear perfume or scented hairspray
- Wear comfortable shoes with a back strap (no slides or flip-flops)
- Wear your name badge (provided to you)
- A personal recorder or smartphone with a voice recorder
- A positive attitude!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF THE GROUP?
We are an A Cappella (unaccompanied) chorus passionate about providing excellence in entertainment.
DO I NEED TO READ MUSIC?
Music reading skills are useful, but it is not a requirement to be able to read music to join the group. We strongly encourage members to learn the basics of music reading and we provide resources to do this. We learn from audio learning tracks, however, it is helpful to know what the notes are on the page. We provide copies of the sheet music as needed.
DO YOU TAKE RAW BEGINNERS?
Having some experience with music or singing is very helpful, though we have a number of members who joined as raw beginners and are vital members of the group. Everyone who wants to join goes through an audition with the same criteria (see information below), regardless of their background. Our audition involves being able to sing while looking natural and expressive.
WHAT ARE OUR EXPECTATIONS OF MEMBERS?
Each chorus member:
- Is committed to attending rehearsals each week and makes every effort to do so
- Learns new music and the visual plan by the designated date
- Gives undivided attention to the person in front of the chorus (e.g. music director or visual leader)
- Always gives their personal best
- Understands that being a member of Hot Ginger Chorus requires commitment
- Is friendly and respectful of all chorus members
- Works on improving their vocal and performance skills outside of rehearsal
- Is willing to try new things to keep getting better as a singer and performer
- Maintains a positive attitude and stifles negativity
- Is a self-starter and gets things done on their own
WHAT ABOUT PERFORMANCES AND COMPETITIONS?
We have various performances throughout the year around the Sunshine Coast and we hold a big show annually. We encourage members to sign up for whichever performances they can manage. With respect to contests, we enter the National Competition, usually every two or three years. It is normally held over a weekend in May, although the weekend can differ from year to year. We sometimes enter Queensland-based eisteddfods and competitions as well. Although we would love every member to attend contests we know it's not possible. The main thing is you can commit to Wednesday evening rehearsals and then attend whichever performances you can manage.
WHAT IS THE AUDITION PROCESS?
STEP 1 – Visit a Rehearsal
Register your interest and come along to sing with us and experience the joy of four-part A Cappella harmonies. Meet the team and get involved in the rehearsal. The Musical Director will listen to your singing voice and determine which voice part you are best suited to. After this singing workshop, you will have a better idea if Hot Ginger Chorus is for you.
STEP 2 - Voice analysis
At the Hot Ginger Chorus weekly rehearsal, we will give you a simple excerpt of a song to sing with a group. We will also allocate you to one of our four voice parts (Tenor, Lead, Baritone or Bass). We will analyse your voice for tuning and accuracy by asking you to record yourself into a recorder (e.g. your smartphone).
STEP 3 - Learn a song with the chorus
After the personal voice placing, we assign you a buddy to help support you and we will give you a song to learn within four weeks. We give you downloadable MP3 learning tracks, word sheets and sheet music. You learn the songs at home and practice with the chorus each Wednesday night. We give you lots of information and help with how to learn music. Incorporated into these regular rehearsals will be vocal and visual instruction. Attending every Wednesday evening is very important to provide the best opportunity for you to learn your audition song and learn with the chorus.
STEP 4 - Audition
At the end of the six weeks, we invite you to audition with the chorus. During the six week program, we support and guide you to prepare for your audition. You will record yourself singing with the group, into a recorder (e.g. your smartphone). We then analyse this for accuracy and tuning.
The acutal audition involves you singing your part with a small group of 6 or 7 other members in a private setting.
You don't have to sing on your own in front of the whole chorus. There is also a visual audition component. Visual performance is an important part of our art form, and the ability to use physical and facial expressions when singing is important as well. We teach you about this over the six week program. Basically, we want to see that you not only sing but perform with your whole body and being.
IS IT FOR ME?
We have members from all walks of life and in all stages of their lives. From high school seniors, and new mums through to over 60's. We have teachers, scientists, engineers, stay-at-home mums, students and everything in between. As long as you love singing, enjoy a challenge, are willing to learn and want to be part of a high-performance team, Hot Ginger Chorus is for you!
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR ART FORM?
- Our songs are sung A Cappella (voices only, without accompaniment)
- We don’t hold music when we sing
- We have a harmony part above the melody line
- We have great flexibility in how we interpret the songs we sing
- We can accommodate very low voices
- We place an emphasis on showmanship and physical performance aspects of singing
- We use movement/visual performance in many of our songs
WHAT ARE THE FOUR PARTS?
Tenor sings the high harmony part above the leads
Lead sings a harmony part that is the melody line most of the time
Baritone sings the harmony part above and below the leads
Bass sings the low harmony part
We sometimes use soloists within our songs. Each part suits certain voice types, and we will help you find which part suits your voice best.
WHAT DOES IT COST?
Full membership to Hot Ginger Chorus costs $65 per month. Considering the education each member receives at weekly rehearsals, and the expert overseas coaching provided, fees are very reasonable! Initially, there is also a one-off payment of $220 to cover your first year’s membership to our international organisation, Sweet Adelines International.
The monthly fees cover our running expenses like hall hire, music costs, costumes, etc. as well as all subsequent annual international and regional fees.
