Young Person's Guide to Starting a Choir

Initial questions

Whether you want to start a choir with a group of friends or create a specialist choir, there are some basic questions and processes that are worth addressing.

What are your aims and objectives?

Having a clear direction for the choir is crucial for your initial start-up.

• What type of choir do you want – chamber, all-comers, children’s, early music, close harmony etc? There may be special issues you need to consider for some of these.
• Are there other choirs like this already in your community and how will you be different?
• You could do a SWOT analysis (strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats) to get a clear picture of the strength of your idea.

What practical issues do you need to address?

• Recruitment - How are you going to recruit your singers?
• Rehearsal requirements - Where and when; facilities required; likely costs; when do other choirs rehearse in your area?
• What other costs will there be?
• You could do a basic operational plan for your first year or two to assess the resources you’ll need, how you plan to acquire them and how you plan to meet your costs.

Do you have a timeline?

• You can’t do everything at once.
• What are realistic timelines for finding your singers, mounting your first concert etc.

Do you need help?

• What skills do you have, and do you have time to undertake everything?
• Do you have friends with skills you can call on?
• Do you need a mentor?