BEC's contact information
Rehearsals
The venue for our rehearsals is kindly provided by St. Albans Church, located very close to Tokyo Tower. In the course of each term, we meet every Tuesday from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, except holidays. The closest subway station is Kamiyacho. You will find a map under the "Location" tab on St. Albans Church website.
Additionally, we regularly attend weekend choir retreats.
In April we stay over the weekend away from Tokyo and enjoy lots of singing as well as various sessions and fun events.
On a Saturday in October we plan a one-day "in town" retreat.
Member Fees
Choir members are required to pay 10,000 yen per term. In addition, new members and singers returning after missing 2 or more consecutive terms are required to pay an additional 5,000 yen joining fee. Music for major works can be kept by singers, but sheet music in general is collected after each term and returned to our library. Members are also required to use a standard issue black folder for performances which costs approximately 3000 yen. If a new member already has a black music folder they think may be similar in appearance and function - it may be used pending approval from the member's section leader.
The British Embassy Choir Tokyo sings for charity and it is free to attend our concerts. Guests are asked to make a voluntary donation to the charity being supported at a given concert. All of the money collected at our concerts goes to our chosen charities and none to support the choir itself. This means that fees for orchestras, accompanists, guest soloists, our rehearsal and concert venues, the cost of music and copying, fees to people who record our concerts, etc. must come from the members. Please note that everyone supporting the management of the choir itself, most importantly our conductor, Steven Morgan, is a volunteer. Neither Steven, nor the board members are compensated in any way for their time. To the best of our knowledge, the BEC's fees are the least expensive among similar choirs in the Tokyo area and members are not required to sell tickets (as is the case with most other choirs).
Auditions
Singers are generally recruited at the beginning of each term, but we can sometimes accommodate more members according to our needs. New applicants need to pass an audition with our music director, Steven Morgan: voice exercises to check range, pitch and suitability for the choir, and some simple sight-singing.
Audition status: Please note that auditions are now closed for the spring 2012 term (January - June 2012).
For more information, please contact Wendela Elsen-Nakajima.
