Learn more about
CONGLETON Pop Choir
Congleton Pop Choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings 7.15-8.45pm at Eaton Bank Academy in Congleton.
We rehearse for approx 40 weeks throughout the year with breaks at Easter, Summer and Christmas. We encourage new members to join as close to the beginning of a term as they can. For the coming term we are offering a FREE TASTER SESSION for anyone who would like to try out the choir!
Term dates are as follows:
1st term of 2022: 12th Jan- 30th March
2nd term of 2022: 20th Apr- 13th July
3rd term of 2022: 14th Sept- 14th Dec
Let's talk money
How much does it cost?
Your initial taster session is FREE!
Choir Fees for our full terms are worked out at £8 per session and are paid in full at the beginning of the term. Since each of our terms vary in length each payment will be different- so Term 1 of 2022 is 12 weeks so will cost £96, term 2 is 13 weeks so £104 and term 3 is 14 weeks so £112. If you join part way through the term our system will only charge you for the remaining weeks of that term.
Please keep an eye on our facebook page www.facebook.com//cheshirepopchoirs as we often run promotions where you can get small discounts on your fees or enter competitions for a free place.
If you take part in any public performances you may also need to purchase uniform which comes at an additional cost.
What do Congleton pop choir do?
We sing a variety of music covering current chart music, classic pop and rock songs, soul and Motown as well as musical theatre and anything else we like the sound of! We describe ourselves as a POP choir mainly because we sing whatever’s popular! Members of the choir will often make suggestions of songs they’d like to try and we do our best to pick at least one song each term which has been suggested by the group.
When we learn a new song we hand out sheet music as it’s very useful for those who do read music. For those who don’t read music, we still like to offer the sheet music so you start to become familiar with music written down (although it’s perfectly ok to simply read the words to begin with!) All songs are learnt in a ‘call and response’ way- so the choir leader will sing your part to you and you sing it back until we’re happy you know it!
All choir members are given access to downloadable rehearsal tracks so you can practice your parts at home and go over anything you miss if you’re unable to make it one week.
The emphasis is on having fun so we don’t take it too seriously but we do still manage to create a fantastic sound together which is very rewarding!
We welcome singers aged 16 and over.
Congleton Pop choir Performances
We love giving the choir something to work towards and try to plan a performance at the end of each term. Performances can range from theatre stages to street busking and charity fundraising.
None of our performances are compulsory so if the idea of performing in front of a crowd doesn’t appeal to you that’s not a problem- you’re still very welcome to simply enjoy the process of learning the songs and singing in the rehearsals.
The choir is also available for outside performances and particularly on the run up to Christmas we often get invited to sing in a variety of venues from local care homes to community parties to Peckforton Castle. We’ve also been involved in choir competitions and local school fates as well as being available for weddings. Whenever we are invited to perform we will first check whether we have enough choir members available to do it and will often put on extra rehearsals at the weekend to prepare.
Katie Hackney
Katie is full of energy and enthusiasm and brings a huge smile to faces of her choir members. She’s a qualified Level 1 IVA singing teacher and teaches private lessons at Heather Baker Singing Studios in Northwich. She started off as a member of our Northwich Pop Choir and soon became their accompanist for many of their performances before assisting at both Northwich and Congleton and finally taking on the position as choir leader in Congleton in 2018. Katie is also a Rhythm time teacher for pre-school aged children and runs choirs for adults with Learning Difficulties for us as well as running a school choir. Our members love her humour and spirit!
Meet the Congleton Pop Choir team
Heather Baker
Heather is an internationally acclaimed vocal teacher who has dedicated her professional life to understanding the voice and helping singers get the most from theirs. She set up Heather Baker Singing Studios in 2001 which is now the largest dedicated vocal studios in the North West. Heather is also one of the founding directors of the Institute for Vocal Advancement– one of the world’s leading voice teacher training organisations.
She has led Northwich Pop Choir since it began in 2010 and has worked with several other groups and choirs in the UK, USA. Malta and Israel. She has a passion for performance and loves to see her singers enjoying the music as much as she does. She has a gift for creating a lively fun environment which singers thrive off and audiences love- her enthusiasm for music is infectious.
Callum Speed
Callum recently graduated from Goldsmiths College, University of London with a BMus First Class Honours where he was supported by the St Margarets Lee Scholarship and won the Goldsmiths Concerto Competition. Callum made his professional operatic debut in Helios Collective’s Dido & Belinda. He has completed Young Artist programmes with English National Opera and Opera North and has performed as a soloist for many choral societies and orchestras around the UK.
Callum is incredibly excited to be a part of the Cheshire Pop Choirs team and is keen to explore a wider variety of vocal styles and to encourage our male membership to grow!
How to Join our Pop choir
If you’d like to try out the choir next term please visit the “Book your place at the choir..” page of the website and select the taster session option for Congleton Pop Choir. The 1 week taster session is usually £5 but for the coming term we’re offering it completely for free. If you have any questions you can contact us via the website or through our Facebook page. Once you’ve signed up for a taster session you’ll receive an e-mail with some more details ready for your first evening at choir.
Once the term begins we’ll give you access to the group dropbox where you can listen to the rehearsal tracks for any songs we do. We’ll also add you to our Facebook community group where you can chat to other choir members!
Jackson Road
Congleton Cheshire CW12 1NT
United Kingdom
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Saturday | Closed |
Sunday | Closed |