We have to admit, the Canberra Chordsmen have been a little quiet in the BHA community this year, but it has been for a very good reason! The Chordsmen have taken a serious and proactive approach to growth and development this year by rolling out our new and improved Sing With Us! program.

While our aim was to get as many members of the public engaged in singing, this program was extremely successful in attracting new members, in fact it resulted in one third of the cohort going on to pass the audition as opposed to the 1 in 10 we have seen previously.

The Sing With Us! program has evolved from ‘learn to sing’, ‘sing barbershop’, ‘new members night’ style events into a learning experience complete with social and performance elements. Over five weeks, guest singers developed their skills and learnt two new songs. Each week focused on a different aspect of singing and performance, starting with the fundamentals of alignment and breath, all the way to storytelling and performance.

The final session was a public performance for friends and family which created an opportunity to apply their new skills. Not to mention a supper for everyone afterwards. One important thing to note is that the rest of the chorus participated too! Everyone was learning together.

What makes this program different to previous events is a greater focus on structured learning, enjoyment, and a goal to work towards. Guests received all of the materials and learning schedule up front and knew from day one that we had a concert at the end.

At the end of the program everyone was recognised with a certificate, personally thanked by the president, and were now armed with audition songs they knew competently and confidently.

It was a great experience and taught us a lot about motivating the public to engage and ultimately go on to join the Chordsmen family. With a bit more refinement we will make our second program of the year even more successful!

Stay tuned! (pun intended)

Geordie Cullen