We give around 6-8 recitals per year, with our three main concerts at Christmas, Easter and in the early summer. Our main performance venue is Liverpool Parish church; we also make appearances elsewhere on Merseyside (including the Wirral), North Wales, and occasionally further afield. Choir members often group together to drive in fewer cars for performance venues at a distance.

All current members are able to sight-read music (or read music from a score) to at least a basic level. Concerts are given each term after around 10-12 rehearsals, so being able to read music helps to make the most of rehearsal time together. Some members of the choir meet up outside of rehearsals to practice together. Other methods to help learn the music may be useful e.g. listening to CDs or recordings online, playing the part on piano or another instrument. Focusing on learning rhythms alone can be a very beneficial approach. If you are not sure whether your music-reading skills are good enough, joining the choir would be a great way to improve! Much of the singing is unaccompanied, though sometimes we practice with support from a piano to help learn notes together. To find out more about the music we sing, please visit our music or review our past concerts.

At present we are not auditioning prospective members, operating on a 'come and try' basis instead. If you want to join the choir, please email us to tell us so that we can give you more information.

Please email the choir, renaissancesingersliverpool@gmail.com including a brief description of your singing and/or choir experience, and your voice type.

Most of the music is sent by email attachment prior to the first rehearsal of term - a small number of printed copies will be made available at rehearsals but members are expected to print off their own copies where possible. Occasionally published scores are used, which will be circulated at rehearsals. If you are required to buy your own published score for a choral work, you will be advised which edition to buy. Rest assured we use modern computer-produced scores/editions; we don’t sing from original edition reproductions, so the notes and words are clear and straightforward to read!

A lot of our members are not familiar with music from this period when they join, so it can be a wonderfully rich musical journey to begin.

Music from this period can vary from straightforward homophony (singing chords, moving together at the same time) to the more complex polyphony (singing separate lines at different note-lengths and spacings which interweave to create a web of beautiful moving harmonies). If you want variety in a choir singing experience, Early music will give you this: it can be quite ‘free’, sometimes even sounding like jazz or modern music with interesting rhythms and clashes of harmony. If you are interested in music-writing techniques, singing these works together brings the music to life and highlights elements that might be missed from studying the score alone. The structure of the music and the techniques used by composers can be revealed by the use of choral techniques like word-painting, phrase-shaping, and balancing of parts. We are always thinking of how best to perform the music, and choral techniques like these enhance the appreciation of the music for audience and choir members alike.

To find out more about the music we sing, please visit our music page page or past concerts page to see the names of composers and works we have performed.

The music may sound much more complicated overall than it is for the individual parts to sing - the complexity often comes from the weaving together of the separate lines of music. Of course this is part of the challenge, knowing and singing your own line amidst the complexity of multiple lines of music, which can be very enjoyable and musically satisfying. Other pieces are simpler in terms of note/rhythm/harmonic complexity, and then the challenge is more about unified singing and making a beautiful sound together.

Singing without accompaniment can be daunting if you’re not used to it – however you are never singing on your own, as there are multiple singers per part. We also sing 'a capella' (voices only, no instrumental support) as we find it easier to tune to each other as a group rather than to a piano, for example. We do also perform with small groups of instrumentalists on occasion.

LRS is a very welcoming choir, the rehearsal atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. We are not criticised for every tiny mistake we make in rehearsal – we find criticism is counterproductive, as it can deter people from singing out, and decreases their confidence. Rehearsals always start with a gentle physical and vocal warm-up to ease us into the practice time.

If you've not sung for a long time and you’re perhaps worried about your voice tiring easily, or that the range might be taxing on your voice, Early music is a kind choice in general. The music tends to be written in comfortable ranges for the separate voice parts: later composers can be less understanding of the capabilities of the voice-parts, and the need to breathe! We are encouraged to take breaths in general whenever we need them (with a few key exceptions) and we do rest our voices during rehearsal.

The current subscription is £125 per year (student concession £10 per term) which can be paid as a one-off payment or in two payments. If the amount would deter you from joining the choir, this can be discussed confidentially with the choir Treasurer.

The preferred method of payment of the subscription is by bank transfer (BACS). When making a bank transfer please use a reference that identifies your name which is sufficiently unique, and if possible include "LRSSubs" in the reference.

The BACS details are:

Account name: Liverpool Renaissance Singers

Sort Code: 60-23-17

Account number: 77708393

Subscription can be paid by cash or cheque if you prefer, to be given to the Treasurer at choir rehearsal. Cheques should be made payable to Liverpool Renaissance Singers. If you pay sufficient tax to be eligible for Gift Aid the Treasurer will send you a Gift Aid Declaration form to complete and return so that the choir can claim Gift Aid on your subscription.

Please email the choir renaissancesingersliverpool@gmail.com

Yes. The choir is registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales. The charity number is: 1189084.

The objects of the choir are "to advance, improve, develop and maintain public education in, and appreciation of, the art and science of music in all its aspects by any means the trustees see fit, including through the presentation of public concerts and recitals".

As a charity, any financial support given to the choir is greatly appreciated. If you would like to offer financial support, please read more on donate our page.

There are other ways to support the choir of course, such as helping with circulating concert flyers, sharing concert links on social media, or telling family and friends about the choir who might want to join or come to a concert.

As an amateur choir, our availability for events outside of the scheduled concerts and recitals is dependent upon the availability of our choir members: many pieces require a minimum number of voices per section for whole songs to be viable for performance. We would only be able to sing music from our usual repertoire period (or not straying too far), and most likely of music already in our repertoire.

Many things are possible however, particularly with enough arrangement in advance, so do contact by email at renaissancesingersliverpool@gmail.com

Absolutely! Do contact us by email at renaissancesingersliverpool@gmail.com  with more details of how you would like to collaborate with the choir.