Eclipse Choir

Want to join our Kingston choir?

We're about to start our September term on 9th September 2024 with the next 14 weeks of music culminating in our Christmas concert on 12th December. It is a good time for new members to join. We welcome you warmly to get in touch so we can organise a taster session and then an informal audition if you would like to continue singing with us!

What makes Eclipse Choir different

Led by director, Jim Hawkins, Eclipse is a friendly choir, with a safe, welcoming atmosphere. The aim of Eclipse Choir is to produce better singing, develop your musicianship further, and deliver well-prepared, considered, musically sensitive performances.

Jim selects a broad-ranging repertoire, from traditional choral works through to new arrangements of contemporary songs, all keeping us on our toes! At Eclipse you'll receive high quality teaching, direction and musical insight, with the goal of building singing skills and delivering moving performances. Therefore, we do expect a positive, open-minded attitude towards learning, and a level of commitment to attend weekly rehearsals and put in some rehearsal time at home - of an hour or two per week.

What people say about us

"The choirs just get better and better. The performance on Saturday evening was very impressive with a wide range of genres and some very special performances."

"The concert was excellent. Very polished indeed"

(After our Summer Concert in 2023)

From our members:

"Never have I worked so hard on my music and enjoyed it so much!"

"I don't know if you could tell from my face, but God I loved every bit of the singing 🙂 I am definitely a little better at singing now than I was before Eclipse. I thoroughly enjoyed learning a number of pieces, especially Hallelujah and Disney Fly! But for me, the best parts were the warm-up exercises. They were so challenging yet so supremely fulfilling at the end of it."

About the audition

Our Monday choir (Total choir) is an SATB choir and has space for 1 x alto, 1 x tenor, and 1 x bass. Singers should be able to read music to at least a basic level and have some experience of choral singing.

Our Thursday choir (Focus choir) is an SSAA choir and has spaces for more altos. Whilst it is not an absolute requirement to read music for this group, it is something that you should want to learn.

The first step is coming along for a free taster session to see if you enjoy the choir and teaching. Then auditions are private at Jim's home studio, with no need to prepare a performance of any kind. Jim will take you through some exercises to hear your tone, range, pitching, listening, rhythm etc. And you can ask any questions about his approach to teaching and directing. Above all, this audition will ascertain if you're a strong enough singer to enjoy our choir.

If you are not certain of your voice part, or if it's been a long time since you last sang in a choir, please contact us - the taster session will give you a good feel and then Jim will listen to your tone and range in order to suggest the right section for you. The audition is a blank slate and doesn't rely on your history of singing in other choirs. Your voice is what we want to hear! 😃