Morley Chamber Choir

When & Where

6 January 2025 - 24 March 2025 ( 22 hours, 11 weeks )
Evening, Monday
View course timetable
Waterloo Centre

Quick Facts

Availability Yes
Tutor To be confirmed
Course Code W24VSSB03B
Suitable For 19 year olds and up are permitted on this course

What you will learn

The Morley Chamber Choir is a small ensemble conducted by Manvinder Rattan, and accompanied by Caroline Jaya-Ratnam. The choir showcases a high standard of performance, making it ideal for singers seeking to refine their choral skills at an advanced level and deepen their understanding of music theory and sight-singing. Join us for a friendly and supportive rehearsal free of charge to see if our choir is the right fit for you! The choir performs publicly at the end of each term, either at Morley College or a local venue. Performance dates and repertoire will be announced on this page before the term begins. In the Spring you will prepare for a performance on March 6th of Haydn's Harmoniemesse alongside Meridian Choir and Morley Chamber Orchestra. By joining the choir, you commit to purchasing your own music copies from available sellers, with links provided for convenience. Details of the Haydn score can be found here: https://www.prestomusic.com/sheet-music/products/7082930--haydn-fj-mass-in-b-flat-harmonie-messe-hob-xxii-14-urtext-l Photocopies of non-copyrighted music will be supplied, and music for the first two sessions of the term will be provided.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Deepen your knowledge, appreciation, and understanding of chamber choir repertoire
Develop your musicianship skills by singing from music scores, and following a conductor
Improve your listening skills
Increase your experience of holding a line in a polyphonic ensemble
Develop vocal production skills and increase your awareness of vocal health
Enjoy working as a group and participating in public performances
Improve mental health through choral singing

Cost

Full fee

£120

Concession fee

£90

Click here for information on Fees, Funding and Concessions (including financial support)

Class format and activities

The Chamber Choir meets every Monday from 7.30-9.30pm. We rehearse in a variety of ways. Starting with a vocal and physical warm-up, we sing as an ensemble for the main part of the rehearsal. We also work with individual voice parts, allowing us to build our understanding of the piece by listening to each other’s lines. Support and advice is provided on a variety of matters, including clarity of the text, intonation, and application of performance instructions. Occasionally one of Morley’s specialist vocal coaches joins us. The choir performs publicly at the end of each term, either at Morley College or a local venue. Performance dates and repertoire will be announced on this page before the term begins.

Entry requirements

Although a non-auditioned choir, familiarity with reading musical notation, the ability to sing from a music score, a reasonably healthy singing voice, and commitment to regular rehearsals and some homework are essential requirements for joining this ensemble. The ability to sight-read is desirable, but not essential.

What you need to know before you enrol

Due to the fairly small number of participants, the choir relies on all its members to be musically prepared and comfortable performing in public. As a member of the chamber choir, you will be expected to cover the costs of hiring or purchasing your own copies of the music, which we will try to keep to a minimum.

What you need

Your music scores, and a pencil for marking music instructions by the conductor.

What you can do next

The Morley Chamber Choir welcomes its members to come back every year, extending their repertoire and participating in new and exciting public performances. There is a variety of other courses at Morley College that enable you to develop your singing skills, such as our Solo Singing classes. For advice on which course would be most suitable for you, please contact the Programme Area Manager for Vocal Studies.