What to Expect at our Rehearsals

Thinking of joining us for a Thursday night session? We’d be glad to welcome you; here’s some information to help you know what to expect when you come along.

Timing and Location

We rehearse every Thursday at Queens Park Govanhill Parish Church, 170 Queens Drive, G42 8QZ (‘The Yellow Door Church’). We are not, however, connected to the church and welcome those of all faiths and none. The church has two yellow doors – you’ll find us behind the one on the left.

Our doors open at 7.00pm; we start with announcements and warmup at 7.15pm sharp. Please try to be on time. We finish at 9.00pm, with a tea break at 8.00pm.

Our ‘welcome table’, with name badges, information, and donation stations is just inside the door to the rehearsal hall. If you’re joining us for the first time, let us know at the welcome table and we’ll show you the ropes.

Donations

Govanhill Voices will never require members to pay a fee. We are open to everyone, irrespective of ability to pay.

We do have running expenses, for example paying our songleader, rehearsal space hire, tea and biscuits, and various sundries. We receive no funding other than your donations.

If you can afford to give, we really value your donations. We currently suggest around £5 per session – think what you’d have to pay for a yoga class or gym session. We take donations in cash, by contactless payment or by standing order.

If you can’t afford that – absolutely no problem. We value your voice most of all.

Accessibility

Our rehearsal space is on the ground floor; you don’t need to climb any stairs to access the space. The doorway into the church from outside is 138cm wide, and the doorway into the rehearsal space proper is 102cm wide.

You’ll find toilets (men’s, women’s, and an accessible all gender toilet) right across the hallway from our practice room. We support everyone using the facility that is most comfortable for them.

There’s a lot of us, and names and faces can be hard to remember, so we have stickers available at the welcome table for everyone to share their name and pronouns if they want to.

Quiet Room: we realise that the bustle of our tea breaks isn’t for everyone. There’s a quieter space you can use – just out of the hall’s entrance to your right.

You can choose where to sit for the rehearsal: you’ll find our higher voices (sopranos) near the door, and lower (basses) at the far end. We do not assign seats based on gender or any other characteristic, and there are no auditions. If you’re not sure yet whether you’re a soprano, alto, tenor or bass, we suggest sitting somewhere in the middle to start with, and then you can figure out which parts feel most comfortable for you to sing.

We learn by ear, so there’s no need to be able to read music. We usually have A4 print-out copies of the words available for each person, as well as displaying the lyrics on a whiteboard at the front of the room. We can provide print-outs in large print or similar accommodations – just let us know what you need and we’ll get it organised.

If there is something else that might be a barrier to you being able to sing with us, or you have any questions, let us know at govanhillvoices@gmail.com