Why sing with CCS?
As our members and guest singers will tell you, singing with the CCS is great fun! We sing a wide range of delightful and challenging music, work with inspiring musicians who are passionate about choral music, and go home from rehearsals feeling uplifted and re-energised. Not to mention the buzz of the concerts themselves!
In return, we learn and practise our parts at home, with the support of resources in our Members section, commit to continually improving our skills, and give our full energy and focus to rehearsals and performances. And we love it! If that sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, there are various ways to become involved.
Try us in a ‘Come and Sing’ program
Since 2011 we have held many highly successful 'Come and Sing' events in which we invite the broader community to rehearse and perform with us in a full-scale concert with professional musicians. If you haven’t been in a choir, or want to find out what’s special about CCS, our non-auditioned Come and Sing program is a great option.
As a guest chorister you’ll join us for a full rehearsal period and sing in the final concert, giving you a real experience of what it is like to be a member of the CCS Chorus. You’ll have the chance to talk to choir members about the choir, expectations, commitments and how rewarding it is to sing with us!
Contact us to let us know that you'd be interested in joining in our next Come and Sing event and we will be back in contact with you when it's time to register.
Please subscribe to our Mailing List to keep informed about all of our concerts.
The Canberra Choral Society Come & Sing program was not offered in 2023, however we look forward to this program resuming in 2024.
Rehearsals & fees
Rehearsals
Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings from 7.00pm - 9.30pm in St John's Church Hall, Reid. There may be other additional rehearsals or workshops as required prior to concerts.
Membership fees 2024
| Full | $424 |
Full member |
| Concession | $212 |
Health Care card holders, Pension card holders |
| Student | $212 | Full-time students |
| Youth - Under 27 | $106 |
Under 27 |
| New choristers | $212 |
New choristers who join after the end of June |
Prospective new members
Membership fees are not paid until the new member knows that they are definitely joining the choir.
Auditions for CCS
Register your interest for an audition - contact the CCS Secretary and advise us of your section (SATB), or sign up for our mailing list.
The ongoing CCS Chorus is an auditioned choir with several audition days each year.
Auditions of 15 minutes will check vocal range, sight-singing, listening (aural) skills and vocal quality.
In the sight reading component we are looking for whether you are willing to ‘have a go’ at something unfamiliar, and whether you keep going even if you make mistakes. In rehearsals we expect choir members to ‘keep singing’ and take responsibility for learning the notes at home – the audition helps us determine if this will be too much pressure for you.
We’ve all been through auditions ourselves, so we understand that you will probably be feeling stressed, and may not sing as well in the audition as you do at home! We are not expecting perfection, but we will be listening to the potential of your voice and your current musical skills.
A singer who is given an ‘on probation’ grading at audition may participate in all activities but will be re-auditioned after six months. ‘On probation’ singers pay only half their membership fee until they re-audition, and applicants may only audition twice. The whole membership of the choir is re-auditioned approximately every two years.