New Members Welcome
Come any time, but joining at the beginning of a season will mean
music is readily available and you will have the best opportunity to learn
your parts in advance of the performance.
If you do join us too late in the
season, the director may ask you to wait until the following season to perform
with us, though you are welcome to come to practices.
Each year has 3 Seasons:
| Spring: |
January - April |
| Summer: |
May - August |
| Winter: |
September - December |
When
First rehearsal starts at 7 PM to allow time for registration. Regular
rehearsals are each Wednesday evening from 7:15 PM to 9:30 PM.
Each season ends with a concert on a successive Friday and Saturday night.
Our Spring 2008 season begins Wednesday, January 9th.
The concert is scheduled for Friday/Saturday May 9th and 10th.
Our Summer 2008 season will begin near the end of May and
the Summer performance is scheduled for Friday/Saturday August 22nd and 23rd.
Where
We rehearse in Saratoga at:
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
Fellowship Hall
12770 Saratoga Ave, Saratoga, CA 95070
Get Map
What to Bring
- Filled out registration letter
(click here to get a
printable copy)
- bottle of water
- pencil
- highlighter pen
- black 3 ring binder for music
- chair cushion for the hard chairs (if you have a bony rear end)
Cost
The registration fee is $40.00 each season.
This covers the cost of music, practice tapes and other expenses of the organization.
Any uniforms or outfits for concerts are the financial responsibility of the member.
Partial scholarships are available to those in need.
Contact Lynda at
membership@funtimessingers.org
for more information.
Required Skills
There are no auditions required to join the chorus; just a love of music and singing.
The director may ask you to do some scales to place you in the correct section
(Bass, Tenor, Alto, or Soprano). Want to check us out? Visitors welcome at rehearsals.
There is a short break at 8:30 for announcements.
Feel free to ask us questions then.
Equipment
The FTS makes use of various tools for practice and communication.
We put our music on CDs so that members can practice at home, so it is useful
to have access to a CD player that can handle "home-made" CDs.
Most CD players sold now can handle these files. Also, we use E-mail and the FTS
website to communicate information to the membership.
So the following equipment is useful to fully participate in the FTS
experience:
- CD Player
- access to a computer for E-mail
- access to a computer for browsing the FTS web site
- access to a computer with a sound card to listen to
the practice music on-line
Performance Attire
Our new look for women is
a long dress with short sleeves that comes in a variety of jewel
tones (red, maroon, green, blue, or purple).
The dress is ordered through the FTS chorus and costs around $60.
The FTS just started using this dress so you can expect that you
will be able to use this dress for a number of seasons to come.
In general the choice of color is up to the member unless for some reason
one or another color starts to dominate.
For men the attire is black tuxedo pants, white tuxedo
shirt with wing tip collar, and black bow tie. Everyone wears black shoes.
Sometimes we vary this look, for example one spring concert everyone wore pastel
shirts of a rainbow of colors.
Special Performances
In addition to choral selections during the concerts, there are "specials" -
solos and small ensembles.
Auditions for soloists and small ensembles will be held as needed before
a panel of judges not connected to Fun Times Singers.
This panel decides which specials will be selected for each concert.
Commitment Asked of Chorus Members
We ask that members commit to regular attendance at rehearsals and concerts.
Choral singing is a group activity and we need to work as a group to learn our parts,
rhythms, and other nuances of the music.
We ask for quiet attentiveness during rehearsals to optimize learning.
(We have a break for socializing each rehearsal).
We ask that members to sign up to perform a small task in support of
our concerts or our program so that no members feel overburdened by the
behind‑the‑scenes work of the chorus.
The Fun Times Singers hold fundraisers during the year to help offset
the expenses incurred by the group.
Members are expected to participate in various ways to make these activities successful.
Any Other Questions Before Giving Us a Try
Contact the president@funtimessingers.org