Recruiting New Members for Your Local Choir

Start With the Voices You Already Have

The most effective recruitment tool your choir owns is sitting in the alto section, humming on the way home. Word of mouth outperforms almost everything else, but it only works if your members know what to say. "We're always looking for new singers" is easy to ignore. "Come along next Tuesday, we're starting a new piece and you'd love it" is much harder to turn down.

At your next rehearsal, try this: ask every singer to think of one person they know who sings in the shower, in the car, or in another choir that has folded. Give them a simple invitation to pass on, with the date, time, venue and a note about whether auditions are required. If it helps, print a few cards with the details on so nobody has to remember them.

• Hold a bring a friend rehearsal once a term, with no pressure to join afterwards.
• Ask longer-standing members to share what they get out of it — friendship, a weekly escape, the buzz of a good performance.
• Mention the choir in other conversations: at work, at the school gate, at the gym, in the pub.

Open Rehearsals and Taster Sessions

An open rehearsal lowers the stakes considerably. A newcomer can see what actually happens on a Tuesday night without signing anything, paying anything or committing to a concert in December. Timing matters: hold it two or three weeks into a term, when the choir is working on something new and the sound is still coming together. A rehearsal a fortnight before a big performance is not the moment to invite strangers in.

Choose repertoire that can be picked up reasonably quickly, and have spare copies ready. Tell visitors in advance that there is no audition and no fee for the first night, and that they are welcome to sit at the back and simply listen if they prefer. Ask two or three confident singers to act as hosts and sit near them. Afterwards, follow up with a short, friendly message: no hard sell, just an invitation to come back next week.

Posters, Noticeboards and Local Places

Printed posters still work, particularly in places where people already linger. The library, the leisure centre, the community centre, the church hall, the GP surgery waiting room, the village shop, the post office, the café by the station and the workplace canteen are all worth asking. Many will display a poster for nothing.

Keep the design simple and the text large. Include the day, the time, the venue, the first term's cost, whether you audition and a phone number or email address. Tear-off strips along the bottom still get taken. Refresh your posters every term — a faded, curling notice from two years ago suggests a choir that has quietly stopped meeting.

• Local free newspapers and parish magazines often list community notices at no charge.
• Community newsletters, residents' association bulletins and village WhatsApp groups reach people who never look at a noticeboard.
• Local online groups for your town or neighbourhood can be useful, though check the rules about promotion first.
• Hospital radio, community radio and local libraries sometimes run listings for amateur music groups.

The Welcome Matters More Than the Campaign

All the publicity in the world will not help if a visitor arrives, hovers by the door and leaves before the break. The first ten minutes decide far more than the poster did. Put someone on the door whose job is simply to greet people. Learn the visitor's name and use it twice in the first hour.

Introduce them to two or three members, show them where to sit, where the loos are and where to leave a coat. Explain what happens in a rehearsal — the warm-up, the section work, the break — so nothing feels baffling. Avoid commenting on their voice on the first night, however well meaning. At the break, make sure someone sits with them and offers a cup of tea.

If they do not come back, ring or email within a week and ask, warmly, whether anything would have made it easier. The answer is often practical rather than musical.

Make the Practicalities Easy to Say Yes To

People rarely decline because they dislike singing. They decline because of cost, transport, childcare, confidence or uncertainty about how much is expected of them. Address those openly.

• Be clear about subscriptions, music costs and whether instalments or concessions are available.
• Help arrange lift shares, especially for evening rehearsals in winter.
• State the commitment honestly — one rehearsal a week, plus perhaps three or four concerts a year.
• Say plainly that you do not audition, or explain exactly what an audition involves.
• Mention access, parking and the nearest bus stop.

Keep the Momentum Going

Retention is recruitment's quieter twin. A new member usually needs a full term before the choir feels like theirs. Pair them with a buddy in the same voice part, place them next to someone who knows the music, and check in after a month. Section leaders and informal social occasions — a pub trip, a summer picnic, a shared meal before a concert — do more for belonging than any welcome pack.

Ask your newest singers, after six weeks, what would have helped them settle in sooner. Then act on it. A choir that listens to its newcomers tends to keep them, and they are the ones who will be bringing a friend along this time next year.