Join Us

Winchester Philharmonic Choir is always delighted to welcome new members. We are a friendly SATB choir of about 75 and rehearse for two terms a year – from September to November, and from January to March/April.

Rehearsal times

We rehearse on Tuesday evenings from 7.30pm to 9.30pm in term time, with a break for half term holidays. Rehearsals are in St. Michael’s Church, St.Michael’s Passage, Kingsgate Street, Winchester SO23 9PF. The venue was recently completely refurbished and enjoys good facilities and is well-lit and heated.

Come and See

We welcome you to come to rehearsals at any time to see whether this is the choir for you. Simply get in touch to let us know when you’d like to attend, or just come along on the night. Open rehearsals on the first two Tuesdays of term are a good time to visit, so that you can begin to learn the work with the rest of the choir.

Fun and Friendly

We asked our members to describe WMC: the most-used words were ‘welcoming’, ‘friendly’, ‘interesting repertoire’ and ‘a great conductor’!

All you need is the ability to be able to follow the score and sing the notes: sight reading is an advantage but not essential, and if you are prepared to put in some practice and learn from the conductor and those around you, you will flourish.

Auditions

If you decide to join then at some point our Musical Director will meet with you for a brief, simple audition (no need to prepare anything) to confirm your place in the choir.

Members of the choir are also routinely auditioned every three years or so to check their progress and that they are singing in the right voice part. Sometimes singers will be encouraged to have some lessons to improve technique, and we offer open Workshops every year giving local singers the opportunity to extend their knowledge.

Subscriptions

Annual subscriptions from September 2024 are £165 (reduced for prompt payment to £160) for the year. That’s great value at just £8.25 per rehearsal with a wonderful Musical Director and accompanist in warm and friendly surroundings. Alternatively, subscriptions may be paid termly: £110 for the Autumn term and £80 for the Spring term. We also offer a reduced subscription for Under-25s at just £30 for the year.

Singers praise WPC choir

"Rehearsals are great fun, energising, a lovely start to the weekend, inspiring and disciplined. Plus a wonderful Musical Director!"

"Concerts are amazingly satisfying- you can find yourself rising on tiptoe in the emotion of singing a big finale."

"Challenging and enjoyable, I love the great opportunity to sing with full orchestra rather than just piano or organ accompaniment."