Rehearsals

• Venue/dates/time - We rehearse at St Margarets’ Church, Putney Park Lane, SW15 5HU. Rehearsals are every Tuesday from 7.30-9.45pm during term times. For the two weeks preceding concerts we usually have extra rehearsals on Wednesdays.  You can download rehearsal schedules from this page  This Season's Music   For queries ask Sandra Macniven.

• Other details - The church is usually open from 7pm. There is usually a 20-minute break at around 8.30pm. We suggest you bring your own water, and a travel mug if you wish to make a hot drink. Cake is available for sale (fund-raising for TPC).

• Live streaming – We try to record each rehearsal so that if members are unable to attend, they can watch live, or afterwards, see Rehearsal Livestreams - YouTube . This is intended as a rehearsal aid, and does not count towards your attendance requirement (currently 75% of rehearsals per concert).

• Additional learning aids - We suggest resources and tracks that are free or you can purchase, such as Choral Tracks, see this page  For interest, or for this term see   OTCENAS Resources

• Music scores – We provide options to purchase or hire scores, see this info from the choir librarians Hire and purchase of scores  For queries ask Sooty Asquith.

• Attendance - If you know you are likely to miss (a) rehearsal(s), please notify Sue Ready.

 

Performances, workshops and tours

• Concerts - We have three performances per year, and on the day of the performance you usually need to arrive by 1.30pm in time for a rehearsal at 2pm. For queries ask Gerianne de Klerk.

• Concert dress – This is “Formal Concert Black”, for details see Concert dress and etiquette

• Christmas events - We usually contribute to the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability Carol Concert (this year on 5 December) and sing Christmas carols at East Putney Tube in aid of the RHN (this year on 18 December). Both events are completely optional. For queries ask Elisabeth Tootill.

• Cathedrals – We sing Services at Southwark Cathedral one Sunday during the Spring half-term (this season on 16 February 2025), and have a Cathedral Residency at the end of July (this year in Bristol between 31 July and 3 August 2025). The cathedral dress code differs from that for concerts, in that we wear white shirts instead of black, and skirts, if worn, are knee-length not long. Again these events are optional, and generally between a third and half of the choir take part. For queries about Southwark ask Veronica Tuffrey, and about Bristol ask Sylvia Walker .

• Konstanz – We have a 40 year long relationship with the Symphonic Choir of Konstanz on the German-Swiss border, with regular exchanges between the two choirs. For queries ask Julie Kendrick.

• Come-and-sing events – We hold an annual day-long workshop, usually in May, for both TPC and non-TPC members in which we rehearse all day and end with an informal performance. These have several roles i.e. increase exposure (for eventual concert ticket sales and recruitment), raise funds, widen our repertoire, and to have fun! For queries ask Lyn Keay. 

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​Leadership, Scholars, Committee and TPC jobs

• Music director and accompanist – For biographies of Harry and James see  About TPC.   Their fees are paid out of our subscriptions.

• TPC Scholars – This is the fourth year of our scholarship scheme. The scholars are supported separately from the general choir funds, enabled by the generosity of donors. Click here for biographies of the current scholars OUR SCHOLARS  and click here for a blog about the scholars’ role The-value-of-a-tpc-scholarship

• Committee  and jobs – The members of the organising committee and their contact details are listed here Committee members.  There are also sub-committees for Marketing & Communications and for Concert Planning. Individual members lead on other elements of running the choir including aspects of fundraising (Friends Scheme, 100 Club and Sponsorship); liaison with external organisations (Making Music and the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability) and Health & Safety.

  

​Other aspects of membership

• Promotion of performances – We would be very grateful if you could help with promoting concerts. The marketing team provides electronic flyers and text that choir members can forward to their contacts. For concerts we also provide hard copies for display on notice-boards etc. Also, we request that members “like” and forward our social media posts both on their social media profiles and in relevant groups on especially Facebook (neighbourhood groups, hobby groups etc). Here are links to our social media sites:   Facebook ; Instagram ;  x.com. For queries ask Sinem Erenturk.

• Fund-raising – even if we had three sell-out performances, the proceeds from ticket sales would not cover the cost of staging our three concerts. So there are various initiatives, including the sales of cakes at rehearsals, the “Skills and Services” scheme, jumble sales, the “100 Club” and a Friends Scheme. This page has details about last year’s activities to give you a flavour 2023 - 24 Activities .  Please do share your ideas for activities this season.

• Social events – We have drinks at St Margaret’s after our termly Open Rehearsals (usually the second rehearsal of term) and at the termly scholars’ recitals.  We would welcome your ideas to expand our social activities.

• Subscriptions – The annual subscription can be paid in termly instalments, or as a lump sum which is slightly cheaper. The assistant treasurer emails instructions for payment each term. For the 2024/25 season the rate is £85 per term or £227 for the full year. Full time students and those under 25 are free, and there is a 50% discount for those under 30. There are no concessions for Seniors. For queries ask Mike Scurr.

• Vocal assessments - members have an informal voice check with Harry every four years. For queries ask Sue Ready.

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Communications and feedback

• Mailing list – After you give permission to be added to the email distribution list, you will receive an email each week with the notices that were announced at the previous rehearsal, together with information about local events and members' news. This information is also uploaded to the members’ page of the choir website (see next item). For queries ask Veronica Tuffrey .

• List of members’ details – You can download a list of email addresses and mobile numbers of members who are happy to share their contact details, from the membership list on this page For Reference  (this page is also password protected as it gives access to members’ personal information).

• Section reps – Each voice section has a rep so you can direct any queries to your specific rep or any committee member - click here for their email addresses Key people. The reps also help with fund-raising, and ad-hoc activities.

• Your ideas and input – The committee meets at least once a term and always welcome input from choir members. Please contact your section rep or any committee member to share your ideas and comments. There is also an Annual General Meeting at the end of each Summer Term at which we welcome members’ input directly.​

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Is there anything else that it would be useful for new members to know?

If so, please tell Veronica (Veronica.Tuffrey@blueyonder.co.uk)​

Many thanks

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