Welcome to the Kaleidoscope Choir
We hope this information answers any questions you might have about membership of Kaleidoscope. If not, please feel free to ask, but most of all, welcome to our choir and enjoy making music with us – that’s what it is all about!
1) Rehearsals
These are held once a week on Wednesdays 7.45 pm – 9.45 pm in the Thomas Spencer Hall, next to the Church in Whittington near Lichfield. We ask members to arrive about 7.35 so we can start singing promptly at 7.45. Any announcements are usually made in the 10 minute break, and please note the yellow diary sheets on the wall.
We break at 8.45 for 10-15 minutes. We serve refreshments and ask you to please bring a cup or mug if you would like a drink and put it on the counter by the kitchen when you arrive. Tea, coffee, or chocolate is provided for you to choose from. Our Committee member for Refreshments prepares drinks but may ask for members to volunteer to help. We ask for a payment of 20p for tea, 30p for coffee and chocolate. All the money raised for weekly refreshments goes towards our adopted charity for the year which is voted on at the AGM.
During rehearsal we sit in three or four rows and in our voice sections, Soprano, 2nd Soprano and Alto. It is important that you can see the M.D. , so if you can’t, please say. If you are unsure about what part you should sing, or where to sit, the M.D. is happy to help you. When we have a concert, the M.D. will arrange the choir in the best positions for the venue.
If you cannot make a rehearsal and know in advance please let Catherine or the member taking the register know. You can let us know via email on attend@kaleidoscopechoir.co.uk or info@kaleidoscopechoir.co.uk or text Anne Mapley on 07525 833861
It may be necessary to cancel a rehearsal if a lot of people expect to be absent. We have members coming in from a variety of directions around Lichfield and many share a lift. Please ask if you want to share and we can point you to possibilities.
2) Fees.
The current annual fee is £144. This covers rehearsal room rental, expenses for Musical Director and purchase of music and equipment. If you join part way through a year you will be asked to pay a pro rata fee.
Fees can be paid in full, six-monthly, quarterly, or on a monthly basis. Please pay by bank transfer online if possible. Our Treasurer (Yvonne Ward) will let you have the bank details (or they may be displayed on the yellow notices). If you are not able to do this please discuss with the Treasurer an appropriate way to pay.
We ask members to keep as up to date as possible with payment as we have regular weekly commitments and need to maintain a good cash flow, so a standing order works very well.
3) Music.
Music is the property of the choir or occasionally borrowed from another source. Periodically we may ask that certain copies are returned to the library, and if you have an extended period away from choir, or leave, we ask you return all copies to the choir library.
If you wish to mark up your copy please do so in pencil only and please write your name in pencil on the front to identify your copy. We ask you to take care of your copies as replacements can be expensive or difficult to obtain. We are also taught some pieces without music and in concerts we prefer to perform pieces we know well without music.
We provide an A4 turquoise ring binder for any music used in concerts, and ask this is returned after a concert. When you punch holes please try to avoid the staves so the notes are still visible. Please don’t use plastic pockets in your folder during a performance as they are too reflective. No illegal photocopies are to be used in concerts as it breaches copyright law. Please check about this for any piece if you are unsure.
4) Committee.
The committee comprises of the following :- Lynne Walsh (Chairperson), Yvonne Ward (Treasurer), Anne Mapley (Secretary), Catherine Docherty (Register) , Josie Wilson (GDPR), Sandra Derrick (Sopranos), Cheryl Guest (Sopranos) and our Musical Director Rupert Feld. Jo Bull also looks after our music library and distributing folders for concerts.
We try to meet once a month and minutes are issued via email or print so please take time to read them. The committee is elected at an AGM held each January or early February (copies of the last minutes are available on the website). There is also a copy of the constitution of Kaleidoscope on this website.
5) Uniform.
We wear varying uniform appropriate to the occasion and time of year. We usually wear black accessorised with a highlighting theme colour theme, currently shades of turquoise, but red or shades of purple have been worn in the past. We ask members to wear block colours and avoid patterns, stripes etc.
6) Concerts.
We perform up to 6 concerts a year, generally these are for other organisations, but we do use them for fund-raisers for ourselves and our adopted charity too. If it is for a social or fund-raising occasion we ask the organisation for a donation to cover our expenses. You may not want to take part in concerts at first, but as soon as you and the M.D. feel you are ready, please take part.
Although most of our concert time is for full choir pieces we do like to include solos, duets (and any other combination), instrumentals and poems/readings. So, please, if you would like to contribute in this way bring it to our M.D’s attention. We do ask that you prepare any musical item yourself and ask for rehearsal time with the M.D. in plenty of time ahead of the concert. Please ask the M.D. if you need this.
Before we commit to a concert we usually check for member’s availability. This is important as the number available and balance can affect the decision. If you commit to a concert please attend rehearsals leading up to the concert as well as the performance (barring unforeseeable circumstances, of course).
7) Membership List.
A membership list with contact details is maintained by the chairperson.
Please complete a contact consent form and a GDPR form so that we may legally hold your information. This should be returned to the GDPR Committee Member (Josie Wilson). The GDPR Committee Member should issue you these forms when you join, if not, please ask. The information is held to enable us to contact you if there is an emergency or if the committee needs to contact you at short notice.
Any information is held securely and will be accessible only to those administering the Kaleidoscope email and membership lists.
8) Rehearsal Breaks.
We usually continue rehearsals through the summer, but please watch Committee minutes for information as we may cancel rehearsals if a lot of members or the conductor are away. We take a break for approximately two weeks over the Christmas and New Year period. We also have a break from rehearsals approximately once a year for a social evening. Sometimes this is combined with the AGM.
We may also have to cancel a rehearsal for bad weather. If it is icy or snows, please check your e-mail or the website for a cancellation notice, before you leave the house.
9) Numbers Club.
We run a draw against a numbers square during the first rehearsal of each month. Squares are £1 each and participation is voluntary. Half the amount raised is given to the person who picked the winning square, half goes to our nominated charity of the year.
And finally, above all we hope you enjoy the time with us and WELCOME.