Chatham Chorale

New members audition with the Director at designated times during the first two to three weeks in the concert rehearsal period.  They generally audition in quartets, using music they are informed about in advance.

The entire chorus is auditioned approximately every three years.  Any member who misses a full season of concerts must re-audition.  The number of singers for each part may vary according to concert location and requirements of the musical work.

Concert Dress

Women – Floor-length black skirt, long-sleeved black top (preferably jewel neckline), black hose, black shoes, pearl necklace.  NO perfume!

Men – Black tuxedos, white dress shirts, black bow ties, black shoes and socks.  NO after-shave lotion!

Music Folders

At concerts all music must be contained in black music folders, which may be purchased or borrowed from the librarian.

Deportment

1. Be punctual for call times of dress rehearsals and concerts

2. Hold music at your side in the hand away from the audience when entering and leaving the stage.

3. Look pleasant and alert, but do not communicate with individuals in the audience.

4. Communicate with the audience through the Director.  Keep eyes on the Director at all times.

5. Enter onto the stage, sit,  stand, and leave the stage at prearranged signals given by the Stage Manager.

The Chorale presently rehearses on Thursday evenings at the Cape Covenant in Brewster.  Rehearsal begins promptly at 7:30PM and ends at 10:00PM.  An extra rehearsal on a Sunday afternoon or a Tuesday evening may sometimes be needed as well.

Because rehearsal time is always at a premium in preparing for a concert, members are requested to confine socializing and miscellaneous commentary to before and after rehearsal or during the break. Rehearsals during the week before a concert consist of Wednesday and Friday “dress” rehearsals, which include soloists and instrumentalists (no, you don’t have to don concert wear!), with a brush up at the regular Thursday rehearsal.  These rehearsals are mandatory!

In cases of severe or dangerous weather conditions, section leaders will use email and a telephone-chain process to inform their section’s singers if a rehearsal has been canceled.  Singers will know by 6:30 PM of Thursday rehearsals and one hour before any other rehearsals.

To be on time for all rehearsals and concerts.

To mark rental music in soft pencil, NOT ink or highlighter.

To go over “rough spots” between rehearsals.

To promote Chorale concerts by:

Letting friends know about our concerts.

Distributing/displaying our printed publicity.

Selling tickets (4 is minimum) to each Chorale concert.

To sell citrus fruit, the most important (lucrative) fund-raising activity of the Chorale!

To work on a committee, task group, or individual project, which are vital parts of Chorale life.

Communications

Many tasks fall under the aegis of communications:  producing the season brochure, biannual newsletter, concert programs, concert publicity, as well as various marketing and public relations endeavors.  Some of these are performed by individual members and some done collaboratively.  People with experience in writing, graphic design, print production, advertising, etc, can be put to good use by the Chorale.

Concert Front End

These volunteers are Chatham Chorale Friends who handle at-the-door ticket sales, give out concert programs, act as ushers, and sell Chorale fruit, CDs, and memorabilia at our concerts.

Concert Set-up/Tear-Down

Each concert requires a crew to set up risers, benches, etc.  Equipment must be picked up from storage, set up at the concert site, taken down and returned to storage.  Volunteers are provided food and beverage when necessary.

Finance Committee

Budgeting, investments and other financial chores and activities are the purview of this committee.

Fund-Raising Committee

Like most nonprofit arts organizations, the Chorale cannot survive on ticket sales alone.  It uses such traditional fund-raising endeavors such as grant proposals, an Annual Appeal letter, tag sales, raffles, auctions and the like.

The Chorale Fruit Sales Committee is in charge of our most important and lucrative regular fund-raising, bringing in roughly $20,000 dollars a year.

The Chorale Company Store sells T-shirts, mugs, tote bags and so forth, to Chorale members and concert guests.

All members are asked to help with fund-raising efforts.  New ideas are always welcome!

Mailings

The Chorale sends out several mailings a year.  This committee keeps the mailing list up-to-date and prepares the labels for the mailings.  It then gathers the crews to stuff, label, sort and drop the mailing.

Membership Committee

This committee is responsible for registering all singers for each concert session and collecting all necessary fees.  It records the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of all singers and prepares the roster for each concert session.

Mentor Program

New Chorale members are assigned a mentor for their first concert session or year. Their mentors will help them with any questions and how-tos that may not be fully covered in this handbook.

Ticket Committee

The process of printing, selling, delivering and accounting for tickets is this committee’s sole responsibility – and it’s a sizable one.