Integrating new choir members: a guide for new singers, existing members and choir leaders

• Posted by Chris Rowbury January 28, 2025 - Filed in Choir Post - 1,793 views

  [The views expressed in this blog are from my personal experiences from 25 years of leading non-auditioned community choirs in the UK, as well as adult singing workshops. My focus is on teaching by ear using a repertoire of songs from traditions across the globe. Your experiences may differ from mine, so do feel free to leave a comment and let's begin a conversation! A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]

   

  Most choirs take new singers on at the beginning of a season. Joining an established group can be quite scary and new singers need to find a way of catching up quickly.

   

  

   

  Here are some ideas for how best to integrate new members into your choir.
  
  Joining a new choir can be daunting for new singers, but also a challenge for current singers and choir leaders.
  
  For new singers it’s a bit like going up to big school:

  • lots of new faces;
  • people already know the way things are done;
  • fears that you’re not good enough;
  • from being a big fish in a small pond you might now feel like a very small fish in a large lake.

  
  For existing choir members new singers can be a threat:

  • they might sing better than you;
  • they might get on with your friends better than you;
  • new singers can upset the group dynamics;
  • a large intake might make the choir feel less intimate.

  
  For choir leaders there are obstacles to integrating new singers:

  • they will initially take up more of your time and attention;
  • they’ll need to learn your existing repertoire;
  • they will be unfamiliar with the culture of the choir;
  • you may have to explain familiar warm up exercises all over again;
  • you have the challenge of placing the new voices in the right places and making sure they fit in properly.

  
  Here are some past posts that might help.
  
  

  for new singers

  Joining an established choir: a guide for new singers
  
  How to be a good choir member
  
  Everybody has a place in the choir
  
  Handy hints for hesitant singers – 10 tips for singers new to choirs
  
  Front, back or side? The best place to stand in your choir
  
  

  for existing choir members

  6 ways to stop the strain of other singers relying on you (or you relying on them)
  
  Don’t try to help your fellow singers – it’s not your job
  
  Ask not what your choir can do for you – ask what you can do for your choir
  
  Being in a community choir FAQs 1
  
  Being in a community choir FAQs 2
  
  

  for choir leaders

  How welcoming is your choir?
  
  Joining an established choir: a guide for how choir leaders can help new singers
  
  Helping new choir members learn the old songs
  
  Fresh blood: the pros and cons of letting new singers join your choir
  
  Starting over – going back to choir after a long break
  
  
  I do hope these articles have helped. Do leave a comment and share your experiences of how new singers have been integrated in your choir. I’d love to learn from you!

   

   

   

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  Chris Rowbury

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