New Members
The Fun Times Singers has become so popular, especially for Sopranos and
Altos, we had to put limits on the growth of the treble sections.
At this time, the Soprano and Alto sections are closed but we can
add your name to our waiting list and you will be contacted when
openings become available.
A full description of the Fun Times policies regarding the
chorus size limitations can be found in this
policy document.
New Tenors and Basses are welcome to join us during the month of September
when music is readily available and we are all learning
our parts together.
The last night to register for the Fall/Winter session is Wed, September 29th.
To help preserve the musicality of our peformances,
we ask that new members only register to
sing in the sections that are appropriate for their vocal range.
Each year has 3 Seasons:
| Spring: |
January - April |
| Summer: |
May - August |
| Fall/Winter: |
September - December |
When
The first rehearsal starts Wednesday, September 8th 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 performances are scheduled for December 17th and 18th and
we have mandatory attendance for the tech-week rehearsals on December 8th, 12th and the 15th.
Please check your schedules carefully and confirm that you are available
for these mandatory dates before registering.
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 $45.00 each session.
This covers the cost of music, practice CDs and other expenses of the organization.
This fee only partially covers the operating cost of a session. The remainder of the
cost is covered by the revenue from our concerts, so performing in the concert
and selling tickets to the concert are parts of each member's commitment when joining.
Any uniforms or outfits for concerts are the financial responsibility of the member.
Partial scholarships are available to those in need.
Contact our
membership director
for more information.
Required Skills
There are no auditions required to join the chorus; just a love of music and singing.
The director (or a group of section leaders) 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 are welcome to sit in on a rehearsal or two
to get a feel for the music genre, director style, and group dynamics.
However, due to logistical and musical reasons, the Fun Times Singers
cannot accommodate the participation of non-members in our rehearsals.
Members may from time to time bring visiting guests to rehearsal to share the evening
except during our technical week just prior to our performance.
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 winter costume 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.
For spring and summer we often have a more casual custome.
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 be willing 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.
An important way to contribute is for members to sell tickets to our concerts to friends
and coworkers.
We depend on concert revenues to pay for the expenses of the session and to keep our
membershp dues low.
Any Other Questions Before Giving Us a Try
Contact the
FTS president