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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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Here are answers to some of the questions we’ve been asked. Don’t see the answer here? Ask away!

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We rehearse every Tuesday from September to mid-June, 7:15 – 9:30 PM at St. Margaret’s Cedar Cottage Anglican Church, 1530 E. 22nd Avenue (at Dumfries, near the corner of Kingsway and Knight), Vancouver.

The first rehearsal in the fall is usually the Tuesday after Labour Day. We also usually have a weekend retreat (Friday evening to Saturday mid-afternoon) once per term.

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No you don’t. We welcome people of all genders, orientations, and levels of ability who want to sing together in community, centering the experience of 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

Our only restriction is that members have to be 19+.

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No! (Though if you would like some advice on which section or part to sing, the music director would be happy to spend a few minutes with you at the piano.)

You will never be asked to sing alone, though there are opportunities if you decide you want to try a solo.

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No! We have a number of members who sing with us very successfully who don’t read music at all.

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Yes, rehearsals are recorded on Zoom and can be viewed later.

Members can also participate in the rehearsals by Zoom if they cannot attend in person (e.g. not feeling well, out of town, etc.).

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No, feel free to drop by any time! We have our major concerts in January and June. If you are joining right before a concert, you and the director will decide together whether you’re ready to perform, but you’re still welcome to come on Tuesdays and sing!

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We have two terms each year running from September to January and February to June. Rehearsals are held weekly during each term on Tuesday evenings from 7:30 – 9:30 PM.

We hold two concerts a year, in late January and late June.

We have a retreat during each term which encompasses Friday evening and Saturday until 3 PM.

In addition, we hold several outreach performances each year. There is never more than one non-Tuesday outreach per month.

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No. It makes for a better concert experience (for both the singers and the audience) if you have your music memorized, so we do encourage you to try to memorize as much as possible. However, you can use printed music during concerts if you need it (and many people do).

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We understand that we all have lives outside of choir, and sometimes that means missing a rehearsal. If you aren’t going to be there on a Tuesday, or for some other scheduled choir event, we ask that you let your section leader know.

If you need to miss several rehearsals, we’d still like to have you come on Tuesdays and sing with us, and you and the director can decide together whether you’ll be ready to sing in the concert.

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Attendance at outreach concerts is optional.

When we are scheduling something for a time other than a Tuesday, we ask the choir as far in advance as possible to make sure that we’ll have enough singers to participate.

We do ask that if you indicate you can attend an outreach performance, that you make every effort to follow through.

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A variety. We sing pop/rock, vocal jazz, madrigals or light classical pieces, selections from musicals, folk songs, and music that defies categorization.

We sing songs from the 2SLGBTQIA+ repertoire that tend to be positive, uplifting and meaningful.

We mostly sing in English, but we have been known to sing in Italian, Spanish, and Russian, to name a few.

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Generally, no. Very occasionally we’ll sing something with the word “god” in it, but it’s usually music that leaves the definition up to the singers and audience.

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Regretfully, no. Choir is a group of adults who get together for just two hours a week, and the focus is on singing. We’d be happy to meet your child/pet at a choir social event, but they can cause too much distraction at rehearsals. (Assistance animals are, of course, welcome.)

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We don’t want finances to be a barrier to anyone’s involvement.

Everyone pays $5 per year to become a member of the Society. There is also a $15 annual music license fee. If paying the society and music licence fee all at once is a problem, please talk to our Treasurer. The amount you pay to help support the choir on top of that is up to you. The suggested monthly dues is $40, but some people pay less, and some pay more.

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Yes. We are both a non-profit society and a registered charity.

Donations can be made through our website, and tax receipts will be issued for all amounts over $20.

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We have two major concerts a year, usually late January and late June.

We also sing at smaller outreach performances every few months.  We’ve sung at community centres, seniors’ homes, hospitals, fundraisers, and church services, to name a few.

Every four years we participate in the Unison Choruses Festival and plans are in the works for the upcoming Unison Festival 2026 in Vancouver!

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We do a number of smaller appearances throughout the season, both paid and volunteer. If you’d like to invite us to sing, please contact outinharmony@gmail.com.

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