Come along for a few weeks and enjoy the music, we will loan you a score for rehearsing. There is an informal voice audition at some point, mostly to confirm that you’re singing in the right section for your voice, before you sign up. We anticipate that you will commit to our weekly rehearsals. Don’t worry you don’t have to be a perfect sight reader but some musical knowledge is useful. We offer people who are keen amateur singers the opportunity to learn and to perform major choral pieces and other varied repertoire.
Our annual subscription is £80 payable at the beginning of the season and is pro rata, according to when you join. It is free for under 25’s and for students in full time education (conditions apply). We are a registered charity and if you are able to sign for gift-aid we can claim the tax back on subscriptions. There is a small charge for the choir badge and folder which is returned if you leave us.
Our choir dress code is black suit and tie and white shirts for men and black skirts/dress or trousers with black tops for women with a coloured jacket. The dress code is currently undertaking a review.
I Joined in 2012 to do the Messiah and enjoy the camaraderie and friendships I have made through making music. My highlight was performing Verdi’s Requiem.
Tom (Base)
Joined 1998. My memorable moment was singing Verdi’s Requiem jointly with two other choirs in Bolton and Beethoven’s 9th with the Liverpool Philharmonic at the Guildhall. I also enjoy having made friends through our singing, walking and social get togethers.
Gill (Soprano)
I Joined in 1980 just after my family moved to Preston and had only once ever sung in a choir – a baptism of fire as a first- time singer in a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Edinburgh with full orchestra. A colleague talked me into trying out the choir as he thought my faint Scottish accent meant I had a good singing voice. The rest is history and I have enjoyed 40 years with PCCS and learnt a lot and made many friends.
Janet (Alto 1)
Although I have been singing with various choirs for around forty years, I only joined the Cecilians in September 2018. My previous experience had been with small groups and I wanted the opportunity to sing big works with a large group of people. The work that made me join when I did was Howard Goodall's 'Eternal Light' requiem, a piece I had wanted to sing for a long time, and it did not disappoint. I find that there is nothing better than singing your heart out with a group of friends and creating such a wonderful sound to make you feel so much better in both body and spirit.
Liz (Alto)