More About Contemporary Choir
What makes you stand out in comparison to other music societies at Exeter?
- We won ‘Best New Society’ in 2019 at the Guild Awards in our inaugural year.
- We’ve won ‘Society of the Year’ two years running in 2019 and 2020 at the Guild Awards, and were shortlisted for it in 2021 and 2022.
- Being non-auditioned with no need to read music or have experience in a choir means that everyone is welcome – all we ask is that you enjoy singing or want to give it a go!
- Every year we fundraise for a charity of our members’ choice – in 2019/20 we raised over £11k for Macmillan Cancer Support, and despite COVID-19 in 2020/21 we raised over £1.4k for Young Devon. We also raised over £2k last year for NAPAC.
- We ended last year with over 90 members, making us one of the largest music societies on campus.
I’ve never sung in a choir before, does this matter?
Not at all! There is no audition process and no requirement to read music – all we ask is that you enjoy singing or want to give it a go. Some of our members have sung in choirs before and others have never sung with a group until now! If you’re not sure which part you’d be best suited to then feel free to try a couple out and see what feels most comfortable.
Is there a time commitment?
No – there’s no expectation for you to attend every rehearsal nor for you to let us know if you can’t make one. We’re completely flexible for you to decide when you can make it.
How will I be able to meet or get to know new people at your events?
Our members come from a wide range of years and degrees, so simply being a member of choir introduces you to plenty of people from other courses that you may not have met otherwise.
Outside of rehearsals we run fortnightly socials which often involve breaking into smaller groups. These are a great way to meet and talk to people that you may not have been able to during rehearsal, for example, because they sing a different part than you.
Can I get involved in running the choir?
Yes! Contemporary Choir is run by a committee, which is an elected team of student volunteers who are each at a different point in their studies and have different roles on the Committee, but all of whom are dedicated to making Contemporary Choir as enjoyable as possible for its members. Every year at the end of term 2 we hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) where an election is held for all of the positions, and any member can stand for any position for the next year.
We will also be holding an additional election in term 2 to fill our two remaining vacant positions: Equipment and Outreach Secretaries. We’d really encourage anyone to go for these, you don’t need any prior experience and it doesn’t matter if you’re a first or a final year!
Joining & Membership
How much does it cost to join?
Membership for the year costs just £15, and is now available to buy on our Guild page. Keep reading to see what this includes!
I'm not sure I can afford that - where can I get support to enable me to participate?
We’d always encourage members who can’t afford our opportunities to reach out to us in confidence, so that we can offer guidance for getting financial support, and so that we understand whether our opportunities are financially accessible enough.
The University offers the Success for All Fund to help students that are experiencing unexpected financial challenges affecting their ability to study. In addition, the Students’ Guild offer the Society Hardship Fund that can be spent on memberships to societies, stash and society formals or events, and supports those for whom money is a barrier to fully engaging with societies and student groups in the Guild. Finally, the Advice Service at the Students’ Guild can also offer support and guidance if you’re experiencing financial difficulties; they can be contacted at advice@exeterguild.com.
Is there a deadline to purchase membership?
No, although we’d recommend that you purchase sooner than later so that you can make the most of the opportunities that we’re offering!
Can I give choir a try before buying membership?
Yes, each year we run taster rehearsals and socials which are open to non members during Freshers’ and Refreshers’ week. Outside of this, anybody is welcome to attend a rehearsal or two to see how they like choir before buying membership.
Fundraising
What sort of fundraising activities have you done in the past?
At each of our concerts, we sell refreshments and raffle tickets with the proceeds going to our charity of the year. Another of our favorite fundraising events is the Santa Run, in which our members run a 5k through Exeter’s city center dressed in Santa suits. Other events we’ve done in the past include busking and bake sales.
How do you choose your charity of the year?
At the start of the year we allow our members to nominate any charity of their choosing. After this nomination period, the committee takes the list of nominations and, if necessary, narrows it down to a short list. The charities on this short list are then put to a vote by the members and the winner is our charity of the year.
We will be opening nominations for our charity of the year at the start of the term.
I want to know more!
If you've got even more questions or can't find what you're looking for here then please do get in touch with us! You can send us a message on Facebook Messenger or drop us an email, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can! Note that messages sent using these methods will be visible to the whole Committee.
You can also check out all of these other pages on our site too (trust us this'll keep you busy):