Membership
The Festival Singers is a not-for-profit adult community choir averaging 20 to 45 members annually. Most of our members live in or near Sherwood Park, Alberta, with some coming from Edmonton and other communities in Strathcona County.
Membership Information
For your convenience, this member information is also available for download as a PDF document.
Registration forms
Registration forms must be completed in their entirety. This helps us update and maintain our database.
Fees
The choir season runs from September to May, and members must pay membership fees by the third week of each term.
Payment may be made by cash or cheque payable to Sherwood Park Festival Singers Society or by e-transfer to festival.singers08@gmail.com
- $310 if paying for the full year; this includes a sanitation fee OR
- $180 per term including a sanitation fee, payable at the beginning of each term (September or January)
Fees help to cover the costs of director and pianist honorariums, music purchases, rental, facility rental, insurance costs, etc. Casino and grant funds help to reduce fees.
Music must be returned at the end of each rehearsal until membership is paid. After you’ve registered and paid your membership fees, you’ll receive a package containing each piece of music required for the term.
Choristers are given a folder of music for the term (Fall or Winter). Members may make notes in their music in pencil (please don’t write in ink). Music is then to be returned at the end of the term. Please don’t punch holes in any music; instead, you can request a plastic music holder, allowing you to store your music in a three-ring binder.
To help you learn your part, practice at home and prepare for our performances, you’ll receive a rehearsal CD OR MP3 files to play on your device.
Unless otherwise stated, practices will be held every Tuesday from 7:15 through 9:30 p.m. at Festival Place in Sherwood Park. Practice times may be extended as show dates approach.
Set up for rehearsals will be at 7:00 PM. If you can come early and help set up at 7:00 PM it would be greatly appreciated.
We realize choir rehearsals are meant to be a fun and enjoyable experience, and we encourage our choristers to get to know one another. To ensure a respectful environment for all choristers and for our director, we ask that everyone try to keep noise and chatter to a minimum.
Please refrain from wearing scented products of any kind, as some of our members have allergies and/or respiratory ailments.
DO NOT come to rehearsal if you are sick. Let us know if you are not coming!
Please reference the Events page for event dates, times, and locations.
At the start of each term, members are learning new music and settling into choir’s structure. A solid performance at the end of each term depends upon our members’ hard work and regular attendance. Let the conductor and/or the executive know via email if you’re going to be absent.
At the directors discretion, a member who has missed too many rehearsals, may not perform in concert.
Workshops are offered once each term with optional guest clinicians. Although attendance is not mandatory, it is an excellent time to get to know members and have extra rehearsal time. Workshops are from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Coffee and muffins are available from 8:30 – 9:00 AM. Please bring your own water bottles and lunch.
Festival Singers often enters the Sherwood Park Music Festival in April. This is another fun experience and helps to improve the quality of our performances.
If you will be absent for any reason please let up know! You can do this by email at festival.singers08@gmail.com or mark yourself absent on the attendance sheet for pre-planned absences.
Many choirs do a lot of fundraising. We strive to keep fundraising activities to a minimum through our fee structure and grants. However, choir members will be asked to participate in some fundraising activities including but not limited to:
- Selling tickets to concerts
- Volunteering for casino (every 3 – 4 years)
- Other possible small fundraising opportunities that the Board may decide to participate in as required
Opportunities
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Publicity and Media (knowledge of graphic design, media relations, and print industry an asset)
- Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
- Website Maintenance
- Choir Historian (maintaining an archive of current and historical documents
- Concert Committees (there are many tasks involved in organizing performances)
Festival Singers Society is operated by a volunteer Board of Directors as we are a non- profit registered Society.
Festival Singers also has a presence on Facebook. Members with accounts are invited to like and share our content.
For further information, please reference our F.A.Q page or contact us.
Becoming a Member
Do I Need to be an Experienced Singer?
You don’t need to be an experienced singer or be able to read music to join our choir. The most important thing is that you can hold a tune and love to sing.
We strive to provide a welcoming and friendly atmosphere for all new and returning choir members. Whether this is your first season with the Festival Singers or you’ve been singing with us for some time, we all share a common bond—the love of singing.
We’ll try to answer some of the more frequently asked questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’re interested in joining the choir or would like more information.
Why not attend one or two rehearsals before you decide?
Workshop Information
Why Workshops?
Since 2008, Festival Singers has received grants from the Strathcona County Arts, Culture and Heritage Community Investment Program. These grants allow us to enrich our musical experiences and fund choral workshops open to our members and singers in the community of Strathcona County and beyond.
These workshops offer singers unique and new experiences including:
- physical and vocal exercises
- vocal techniques and choral reading sessions
- sectional and mass rehearsals
- dynamics, phrasing, tone, colour, rhythm and articulation
Past Clinicians
Past clinicians have included, but are not limited to:
- RJ Chambers
- Kimberley Denis
- Dr. Debra Cairns
- Denis Arseneau
- Elizabeth Turnbull
- Jolaine Kerley
- David Wilson
- Dawn Sadoway
Still have questions or concerns?
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns that you may have.