1. Membership
The Fun Times Singers encourages new members to join at the beginning of each session. All members are urged to participate in the functioning of the Chorus by joining the Board, a committee, or helping out when asked. Family members may also be asked to help at times. Willingness to help is essential to the smooth operation of the Chorus.
The membership section of the Policies addresses issues of registration, skipping sessions, dues and refunds, chorus size limits, and removal of members. Section 3 of the Bylaws addresses member qualifications and the non-requirement for auditions.
a. Registration. The Bylaws (Section 3.4) specifies the requirements for dues and participation. The policies here lay out the details of these requirements.
i. Registration Period. The registration period is during the first four rehearsals of each session. Exceptions for singers joining late require approval of the Choral Director.
ii. Pre-registration. To hold a position in the chorus for the next session, a current member must pre-register and pay the dues during the registration period.
iii. Session-skipping. A member may skip a session and still retain membership privileges. To do this, the member must pay in advance during the registration period for the following return session. Except in unusual circumstances, absence for two successive sessions will result in a loss of membership. Such exceptions may be granted by the Board.
b.
Dues, Fees, Refunds. Dues are set by the Board for
each session. They typically comprise about a third of the revenue, with
about two-thirds coming from ticket sales. In addition, voluntary
donations may be requested by the Board.
Members will receive a full refund of their dues if they drop out within the
first four weeks of a session and return their music un-punched, un-marked and
un-damaged. If music has been hole-punched, marked or damaged, the member
retains the music and a partial refund will be made. Members dropping out
after the registration deadline will not receive a refund unless there is a
financial hardship. The Membership Committee chair will make this
determination, with the Board having the final authority.
c. Voice Part. While auditions are not required by the Bylaws (Section 3.3), the Choral Director is responsible for the placement of both new and returning members in appropriate sections (Bylaws, section 14.3.a).
d. Chorus Size Limits. The Board may limit the number of members in each section (Bylaws, Section 3.5). The chorus size is limited by the number of spaces on the risers, as well as the distribution of voices. It is FTS policy that a balance be maintained between the parts. The target size for the chorus is currently 70. The section targets are: Soprano 23, Alto 23, Tenor 12, Bass 12. If the distribution of voice parts in the membership differs significantly from these, the Choral Director will determine the adjustments to be made in the section targets.
e. Member Removal. To maintain a fun and supportive choral experience for all, it may be necessary for the Board to require that a member resign his/her membership if his/her recurring actions are deemed disruptive to the goals of the chorus or disrespectful to the other chorus members or Choral director, and the situation cannot be resolved by any other means.
f. Membership Wait-Lists. As per item (d) above, FTS may not be open to accepting new members when the chorus size exceeds the limits. In such a circumstance a Wait-List will be maintained and names will be added to the Wait-List by the Membership Director in chronological order based on when the Membership Director receives the request either in person, by email, or by phone conversation. Inactive (former) FTS members who are not pre-registered for a session are not given any additional priority with respect to the Wait-List order and will be added to the end of the Wait-List at the time they communicate their decision to rejoin the chorus to the Membership Director.
g. Concert Participation. The Fun Times Singers tradionally perform two concerts per session, usually a Saturday matinee and a Sunday evening performance. We expect members to perform both days as a general rule, however, we recognize that unusual circumstances may prevent the participation in both performances. If you know that you will not be able to perform both days, you must let the Choral Director know this at the time of registration so that she can plan accordingly.