“C’mon Baby Light My Choir!”
ENROL – EXPERIENCE – ENJOY
Membership of Carlton Male Voice Choir is open to all equally with a lower register voice from all over the Nottingham region. If you love performing and singing whilst having fun and socialising then ‘Light My Choir’ and give us a try at our Netherfield Rehearsal Venue every Wednesday 7:30-9:30pm! Parking is available in adjacent streets or in the free carpark a few yards on from the rehearsal room entrance. The choir enjoys a regular stream of new members of all backgrounds and ages from their 20’s up and new singers will be exposed to so many types of different musical genres.
Do I need to be a great singer? No, of course not, we are here to help you develop that skill and as long as you are willing to give it a try and able to put in the work then we are committed to supporting your development and let’s see where it takes you. Our rehearsals are fun, rewarding and relaxed and you will develop your music skills little by little, bit by bit. You don’t need to read music as we will help you to learn that skill too if you like, it is just another language that you can start to understand within a matter of months with the right help and support from our great team at Carlton Male Voice Choir. You will soon be reaping in the benefits of singing with the choir.
Interested? Contact Us here!
“Alway Something Sings”
We are always actively recruiting to protect our future and have been fortunate to attract regular new members continually.
Joining a choir is a big thing to do, especially if you’ve not sung with others before, we know that as we have all gone through it, including me! But I can’t recommend it enough and those that give it a go reap the rewards in plenty singing with a great bunch of people, making new friends, having great fun in a great atmosphere and building new experiences together whilst performing some great and varied music at some wonderful and interesting venues for deserving causes. Carlton Male Voice Choir is a great place to start if you want to join a renowned and respected choir as an experienced singer with existing ability or also if you are a total novice; we cater for all at all levels and all people equally and will support your individual growth. What we do say is that you will learn to be a member as well as learning to understand music and the voice as these standards are important to us in the way that we learn and understand the music we perform. The choir has the skills and people to be able to develop your singing, music ability, confidence and stage-craft and provide you with experiences that some people only ever dream of! Come give us a try – you will be pleasantly surprised and you won’t regret it.
We meet on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9:30 pm and for half the year also voluntarily on Fridays from 7:00 to 8:30pm at our rehearsal venue:
Netherfield Baptist Church, Netherfield, Nottingham NG4 2LE.
Ian Watts (Musical Director)
Our comfortable rehearsal venue
10 good reasons why YOU should Join Us…
- Contribute to the sound of a large, premier level choir
- Learn to read and understand music, improving your voice and confidence too
- Take part in something that benefits general health of the body and mind, through improved breathing, reduced stress and overall better well-being
- Perform on stage in high profile venues, as well as intimate concerts for local audiences and in and outdoor public places
- Enjoy subsidised concert tours abroad and in the UK
- Help raise thousands of pounds for deserving causes – local, national and international
- Immortalise your voice as you sing with the choir on its next video or recording, distributed worldwide digitally in a choir with a record deal and chart success
- Enjoy new friendships with people who share a common interest – a love of singing
- Access to the choir’s social life organised by our Social Teams
- Get involved in a pastime that becomes seriously addictive – just ask any of our members who, once they started singing, simply could not stop! Here are some of their comments:
“I was made very welcome by everyone I met”
“The pleasure of singing and the challenge of learning new music”
“Everybody was friendly and encouraging”
“The first song made the hair stand up on the back of my neck!”
“I wished I’d joined years ago”
“I believe, to my great satisfaction, that my singing, has improved and I feel much more confident”
“I enjoy Choir tours which are very well organised”
“Carlton Male Voice Choir should be available on the NHS!”
Please contact our Secretary Garry if you would like further information or just a chat about the possibility of joining us.
Further Info on Joining Us
Membership is open to all equally, come an be part of our choir community.
The first visit of a new prospective member is an introductory one. On arrival, please make your way to the front of the room (stage area) where you will be warmly welcomed and introduced to our Musical Director who will do an informal voice check and assign you to a section, introducing you to your Section Leader. The Section Leader will provide you with a Welcome Pack which containing essential choir details and of course some music. In return, you are asked to provide your contact details and return the pack at the end of rehearsal. On your second visit the Welcome Pack is yours to keep hold of.
The Section Leader will assign an experienced ‘Mentor’ to help, support and guide the you through your probationary period. Access to learning tracks will also be provided to help you start to learn our music. The mentor will help guide you as you learn.
You can attend choir rehearsals until you feel sufficiently proficient in your voice and musical ability to take an audition to become a full member and appear with the choir on stage, the time taken for this is absolutely open ended; it takes as long as you like but we’d love you to work towards this. Details on the audition process will be made quickly available and it is nothing to fear.
Life in the choir is not all work! We are a community and rehearsals and concerts are often followed by a voluntary visit to a local pub for much needed (and earned) refreshment and sometimes an informal sing. Our Choir Support Group organise a number of fundraising events throughout the year which you are welcome to attend, there is also a wonderful opportunity to tour with the choir annually.
The Choir seeks to put on professional and entertaining concerts to a high standard. This is achieved by attendance at Wednesday rehearsals throughout the year and Friday rehearsals from November to the end of April, regular attendance in excess of 70% on Wednesdays is expected. We also ask that apologies please be given for any none attendance to the Section Leader and that a professional attitude and respect of others is shown at all times. Speak to us if your commitment levels differ from this expectation as we can always explore ways to make things work for you.
Scroll to the bottom of this page for Frequently Asked Questions.
Our Latest Members –
We are so pleased to welcome probation members Nicholson (2nd Tenor) and Will Houston (2nd Tenor) to our choir.
Congratulations to Dave Gee (1st Tenor), Nic Jepson (Bass) and Barry Dryden (Baritone) on passing their auditions.
Dave Gee
Nic Jepson
Barry Dryden
Congratulations to John Wilson (1st Tenor), Sean Mansfield (1st Tenor), Barry Austin (Baritone), Johnnie Elkins (2nd Tenor), David Smith (1st Tenor) and Graham Tonkin (Bass) on passing their auditions.
Sean Mansfield
John Wilson
Barry Austin
Johnnie Elkins
Graham Tonkin
Congratulations to Paul Madeley (Bass and pictured below) and Harold Huxtable (Bass) for passing their auditions.
Congratulations to Chris Davison (Baritone) and Joe Bean (Bass) and a welcome back to Howard Lloyd (Bass) pictured below.
Welcome back to Steve Musgrove (ex Baritone now Second Tenor) and welcome to new members Kevin Griffiths (First Tenor), Malcolm Fox (Bass) – Malcolm pictured below.
Congratulations to Philip Morgan (Second Tenor), Geoff Steele (Baritone) and Neil Mann (Top Tenor) who returns after moving back from the Shetland Islands, both pictured below.
Nigel Slater welcomes Phil Morgan (left) and Geoff Steele (middle) to the choir
Nigel Slater welcomes Neil Mann back to the choir
Some recent new members stories:
Nicholson joined us invited by friend and fellow footballer Sean, he has quite a bit of singing experience having sang through his school years and as a chorister in a chamber choir whilst doing his degree. He joins us as a music reading second tenor and we look forward to him taking his audition and becoming a full member soon.
Dave joined us as an experience Male Voice Singer in the region and has quickly started to enjoy what being a member of this choir is about. As a first tenor Dave’s awesome voice helps the choir shine and with his skills as a soloist we are sure to hear more from him as he gets up to speed with us.
Nic joined us by contacting the choir via facebook, he has started his new journey with the choir as a bass. The choir will make it possible for him to be involved despite his busy working schedule and family life. We can’t wait for Nic to develop in the fabulous bass section.
John turned up to a rehearsal after meaning to come to us for quite a while and we are so glad he did as his ability to learn music quickly is really paying off as a new first tenor and he is clearly using the learning tracks to great effect to enable him to use his voice with confidence in rehearsal.
Will joined the choir as a guest of member Joe and is enjoying taking on the music we are learning as a new second tenor. Will is working in schools during the day and is soon gaining speed as a new singer with the choir. What a great way to put the rigours of the day behind you!
Sean joined the choir recently and is already singing out confidently as a first tenor, he is a training solicitor and has quickly become a brilliant new member of the choir and soloist too.
Johnnie joined us as a second tenor and is soon to undertake his audition under the guidance of assistant Musical Director Andrew Atkinson. Johnnie is a bank manager and will clearly make a brilliant addition to the choir.
David joined the choir as an ex-member of the renowned Northampton Male Voice Choir. He used to travel to Northampton regularly for work hence his involvement with them but as his work duties have now changed he has looked for something more locally and I am pleased to say he has found us at Carlton. David is becoming a great friend of us all socially and brings tonnes of experience to the choir as a first tenor with a lovely bright voice.
Barry A joined us to further increase his musical ambitions, he is also a member of another choir and various music groups and is soon becoming a popular character in the choir as a baritone. We cannot wait for Barry to get through his audition and sing with the choir in concert.
Graham joined us very recently in the bass section, he immediately impressed the section with his music reading capability and although this is by no way a requirement of joining us it will certainly help speed up the process for him. Graham became a full member and is now using his musical skills as a peri music teacher to assist our own music team. His rich and powerful voice really enhances the bass section.
Barry D came along to ‘Bring A Friend Friday’ and enjoyed the experience, he has joined us as a Baritone and currently is working towards taking an audition to get his choir stripes and join us in concerts. As the husband of renowned Mezzo Soprano and Guest of the Choir Katherine Dryden he is sure to be well supported and we wish him well as he grows in confidence. He has quickly established himself as a popular member of the choir.
Harold came along invited by another recent new member Phil. He is an experienced bass singer originally from Swansea and an ex. member of our friends at Mansfield MVC but wanted to try something new. Harold passed his audition efficiently with his Welsh blood and a version of Gwahoddiad. Welcome to Carlton MVC. Harolds’ first trip was to Great Yarmouth where he sang in the beautiful Yarmouth Minster with the choir and he also performed brilliantly at Nottingham’s Albert Hall!
Paul was looking to use his voice in a choir and was introduced to us by his mother Jean who sings in our MD’s ladies/upper voice choir – Lyrical SoNGbirds. He has joined us in the bass section, being mentored by Alistair and as a sight singer quickly showed us what he could do in learning the music and reaching some extremely low notes. He came to hear the choir at the Brackenhurst Campus in Feb 2022 and clearly enjoyed what he heard. Paul has now passed his audition, has performed in some high profile events and has even been heard singing solos at Festival Concerts! Paul demonstrates commitment and reaps the rewards of his hard work with confidence.
Joe heard the choir perform at our Christmas Festival concert and was impressed enough to get in touch and come along to the early 2022 rehearsals as a bass, with glowing reports from his mentor Ian Gibson and as a sight singer he was soon passing his audition with a note perfect version of a new piece The Flower That Shattered The Stone. Joe has plenty of experience in singing with choirs from his days in choral societies and church choirs and we love having him performing with us, he has now become the choir’s Treasurer and continues to show a massive commitment to his singing with this wonderful choir. Joe also helps the music team with split rehearsals leading the learning of a section.
Chris came along ‘out of the blue’, and ex Navy man who was used to singing Navy songs and wanted to become part of something special. He was mentored by our Baritone Section Leader Mick Walker and could immediately be seen enjoying his learning, he passed his audition first time demonstrating a lovely full toned baritone voice and sang with the choir live at Brackenhurst Campus only two weeks later where he got his first taste of a choir ‘afterglow’ in the pub. Chris keeps us entertained after rehearsals with his hilarious Navy stories. Chris has performed solos at some high profile concerts and has become a stable and confident member of the baritones.
Howard has rejoined us since leaving the choir three years ago to join a mixed choir with his wife and our friends at South Notts Men’s Choir. We are so pleased that he has returned to us with his wonderful deep and accurate bass voice. He now sings in two male voice choirs and is our very own Gaston!
Steve has rejoined us since having to leave the Baritone Section through health issues affecting his voice, with time and support in recovery his voice has now started to come back although at a slightly higher register, hence rejoining as a Second Tenor. Steve is a real fixture in the choir and we are all so pleased to see him return to us and grow his ability all the way back to singing solos.
Kevin is an experienced male voice singer having come to us recently from another local choir in Derby. He is taking a Uni course in Welsh in his spare time leaving a Wednesday the only night free. Fortuitously for us it is the night we rehearse and I am glad to say he is currently travelling from Derby and learning with us in the first tenors. His audition came and went and was a breeze for him. We hope that Carlton provides him a good home during his Uni course and hopefully even further into the future. Kevin has stayed with us and brings his welsh singing to the fore with solos to enhance our welsh based lower voice music.
Malcolm was present in the crowd at Arnot Hill Park when the choir performed one of its ‘gets back to singing’ outdoor performances. We often invite men to come and have a sing with us on a few tunes which is always a real thrill to the choir. Malcolm was brave enough (or was pushed by his partner) to get up and have a go and he stood with our basses. He signed up there and then to come to a rehearsal and did not let us down, turning upon a couple of weeks later to give it a proper go. He was assigned to his new mates in the basses and is currently doing brilliantly. When some people first join it takes them a while to get used to singing in parts but we support and assist doing this and he has taken step after step into this new world. Malcolm attended our first formal indoor concert as an audience member and gave some glowing feedback, he passed his audition with ease and become one of the Carlton family formally singing with us live at Christmas 2021 and at the Brackenhurst Campus. He is now singing his first solo with the choir. A real success story.
Neil used to be in the choir some years ago but left to live in the Shetland Islands. He would on occasion visit the choir at performances and rehearsals and was always made a fuss of and made very welcome. On returning to the area recently he decided to quickly return to us and it was a great pleasure to have him back in the ranks of the Baritones! It didn’t take long until he was through his audition. Once a member – always a member!
Philip recently came along having checked out a few other choirs in the area. Philip was looking for something to replace his previous singing in the excellent Bournemouth MVC and spend a good deal of time making sure that Carlton MVC was the choir for him. We were of course willing him to join as his pedigree at Bournemouth would be a massive advantage for us and the members around him were all giving me the thumbs up, but this did not affect Phil. He need to be sure himself. I am glad to say that after giving us some brilliant compliments he joined up and passed his audition! He has now sung with us both outdoors and in and we are very glad to have him on board!
Geoff came along out of the blue one day and said he wanted to have a go, we duly placed him in the Baritone section and he has worked hard, gradually getting himself into a good position to perform as his confidence grew. Just before the Covid lockdown in March 2020 Geoff passed his audition beautifully but had to wait to be officially welcomed to the choir until September 2021. No matter – he’s in now, he made it and what a dedicated chap he is too! If there is ever someone to ask about enjoying singing and performing just ask Geoff!
Andrew came along to the choir, joining as we started learning the repertoire for 2019, he quickly got himself established as a key top tenor to the future of the choir and auditioned his way to a uniform and a place in our 2019 Festival Concert at the Albert Hall (what a first gig!) where he excelled himself. Since then he has already sang at the Castle Rock Brewery, Newark Show, Dumfries and Newstead Abbey! Andrew has a fine voice with excellent control and pitching and his solo live performance of Eric Claptons’ Wonderful Tonight at Dumfries showed the choir his solo potential which he has put to good use with Carlton MVC on a couple of pieces already.
Gary passed his audition singing Stay With me ‘Til The Morning, Garry has been in the choir some years ago leaving due to work commitments and has now decided that he will join us once again as things have become easier at work, he sings beautifully and has now been heard singing the top tenor part in concert with the choir once again. As an Engineer Garry is a top hand at electrics and now helps with the choirs technical equipment, he also gets on the mic and sells joining our choir to the audience which is much appreciated. Garry had offered to do a solo in our Show Medley which he sings brilliantly and he also notably became Choir Secretary in 2020 – well done Garry!
John joined Carlton choir as a Second Tenor choosing Stay With me ‘Til The Morning as his audition piece, John is a great example of perseverance as he worked really hard and passed on his third attempt. The audition process can be a little nerve wracking but it is essential to ensure consistent quality in the choir – especially for the second tenors which is possibly the most challenging section, the Musical Director will often make suggestions for improvements of challenge singers to meet further expectations – not a problem to most including John – well done sir! John is a light aircraft pilot – we have all sorts of wonderful people with interesting backgrounds at Carlton. He now thoroughly enjoys his performing.
Nigel Slater welcomes Andrew Moffat to the choir.
Nigel Slater welcomes Garry Roberts to the choir (who soon becomes Choir Secretary!).
Nigel Slater welcomes John Greasley to the choir.
Charles Beaumont (Bass)
Charles passed his audition singing Gwahoddiad. Charles shows great potential as a deep bass with his low register, he will admit himself that he needs to grow his experience but so do we all! Charles has gone headfirst into doing just that singing his first concert at West Bridgford, then following it up with some great sings at Christmas 2018, Albert Hall 2019 and Dumfries on his first choir tour – well done Charles!
Nigel Slater welcomes Charles Beaumont to the choir.
This has been a fruitful few months for the choir with an influx of new members joining: John Greasley (Second Tenors), Andrew Moffatt (First Tenor), Ian Gibson and Nigel Wildgust (First Tenor) – good luck gentlemen in your first few months with the choir! We also had two new prospective Baritones walk through our doors in the last weeks. Keep them coming…read on to discover more.
New members at their first Festival Concert (L-R) Charles Beaumont, Carl Spencer, Ian Gibson and Andrew Moffat
FAQ’s
Q. Am I good enough?
A. You don’t need to be able to read music to sing with us. A core of members do read music which is of course a benefit and they help and support those of us who don’t. Every newcomer sits alongside an experienced singer, to help and guide them during their early days in the choir and to make their joining as easy as possible. We hope that we can help you to understand the language of music as you go along.
As well as being provided with the score for each item of music, members also have recordings of the song parts for their particular voice to make the learning process very easy.
You don’t need to be the best singer as we enjoy developing your skills and performance abilities.
Prospective members can take as much time as they need and our aim is to give newcomers every assistance. We will develop you up to a point where you take a short audition to demonstrate your abilities and although it can be a little nerve wracking every attempt is supported to positively point you in the right direction; so it is absolutely nothing to be frightened of.
Rehearsals are really enjoyable – hard work and learning tempered with good humour, appropriate banter and reward. All that is asked is that individuals attend rehearsals regularly, be professional, are willing to learn and are prepared to put in a little time outside rehearsals to facilitate the learning process – ‘little and often’ is an established formula for success in learning both music and words. You will be supported as you continue to develop your love of singing.
At the end of the day, the only real answer to this question is to ‘give it a try’, so why not come along and see us in rehearsal? You will find that we are a friendly and welcoming bunch and very keen to help you enjoy your singing with us.
Q. How much time will the choir take up?
A. Most of the year (except for the summer break in August), we rehearse weekly for two hours on Wednesdays. During November (the lead-up to the Christmas season) and in January through to April (learning most of the new repertoire for the Festival concert) we rehearse on Fridays as well from 7:00-8:30pm allowing ample time to get out and do something sociable afterwards. It also helps if choristers can spend a little time between rehearsals by going over the song parts and again before concerts, learning tracks are provided to make this very easy. Most songs are sung without music copies so these need to be known ‘off-by-heart’ and the the ability to do this only comes with practice – you will be amazed how quickly this skill comes with the help from all around you. Music copies can be used in concert for the first six months after becoming a full member. Choristers are expected to attend Wednesday rehearsals on a regular basis and Fridays when they can.
Having learned the repertoire, we enjoy around 20-25 public performances a year, usually in the evening but sometimes in the afternoon. Whilst most performances are in the Nottingham area, some can be a little further afield. Our annual Festival Concert includes an afternoon rehearsal before the Saturday evening concert. Most concerts are followed by an optional ‘afterglow’, a visit to a local pub for refreshments and sometimes an informal sing. Rehearsals are often followed by a voluntary social gathering in a local pub and all are welcome.
Q. How much will it cost me?
A. Choristers pay an annual membership subscription, this is a reasonable amount for a choir of decent repute. This covers essential running costs as well as paying the music team, purchasing music and funding the rehearsal venue. The choir puts aside some funds for members who may have difficulties meeting costs, so finances need not deter those who want to sing with us. Details of the current subscription amount can be requested via the contact page.
Our uniform is purchased by you from our supplier but this comes off your first years subs payment. the choir provides you some additional accessories to complete your uniform.
Members are usually expected to make their own way to concerts and other events, although there is a very active car-sharing scheme within the choir to offset costs which we encourage thoroughly as part of our environmental policy. Let us know if transport is a problem and we will endeavour to help.
From time to time, national or overseas tours are organised for the choir to travel and sing with other choirs. The cost of such trips has to be borne by the individual members, but there is often a valuable subsidy from the funds raised by the Choir Support Group through various social activities. The trips are voluntary but encouraged.
Q. How will I fit in?
A. Fitting-into the choir is very easy, we are committed to being open to all people with a lower voice register equally and to treat everyone with respect and equality. Rest assured that regardless of your background, experience, ethnicity, neurodiverity, abilities, sexual orientation, religion, spirituality or age you will be warmly welcomed and supported. Encouraging new members is one of the ways in which our choir has maintained its numbers, standards and reputation over many years. The choir comprises of people from all walks of life, of all ages, some working, some retired, all coming together to create something that they really love and which our audiences will enjoy. Meeting likeminded people is something we think is a benefit of joining the choir. We enjoy social occasions together from formal tours or a planned event to an informal drink in the pub after rehearsal for those that want to attend.
Q. Will I like the music you sing?
A. We really hope so! Carlton Male Voice Choir prides itself on maintaining a large, wide and eclectic repertoire of music to suit ALL tastes and all audiences, you may not like everything of course, but you will certainly like much of it. We are not just hymn singers but appreciate the need to maintain the traditional as well as staying relevant to changing audiences.
We are a ‘progressive’ choir who sing a mix of music for lower voices including well known songs from films and shows such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and a show medley from Joseph to Oklahoma to classical/operatic repertoire such as Nessun Dorma from Tourandot and Speed Your Journey from Nabucco to religious music such as Cwm Rhondda and Amazing Grace to contemporary pop music including Someone Like You by Adele, It’s All About You by McFly, Viva La Vida by Coldplay plus classics from past eras such as Bridge Over Troubled Water, Blackbird, Good Vibrations, Bohemian Rhapsody, Delilah and Heart of Gold. We also enjoy performing fun genre songs such as A Medley of Sea Shanties, Gaston and They Can’t Take That Away From Me and of course traditional classic Lower Voice repertoire such as Gwahoddiad and Morte Criste. Importantly we sing music composed for lower voices and specially commissioned pieces for the choir.
Rest-assured that every newcomer is assigned to an experienced choir member and singer to help and guide them during their early days in the choir and to make their joining as comfortable, easy and as fun as possible. Why not give it a go?
Interested? Contact Us here!
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