WELCOME TO THE U3A PERTH CHOIR

The U3A Choir began in 2012, after a very interesting free U3A Lecture on the results of research showing the health and social benefits of group singing. Over the years we have confirmed these benefits having made many friends ourselves within the Choir as well as seeing the benefits of providing free concerts, especially within the Aged Care Community, and the enjoyment it gives them.

Practices start on Tuesday 20^th January 2023 and finish Tuesday 19^th December 2023

The Choir meets every Tuesday at the Auditorium Yokine Baptist Church 50 Frape Ave, Yokine. The venue is open at 9:30am with practice starting at 10am with a 15min refreshment break at 11:15am and practice concludes at 12pm.

To join the Choir you must first become a member of U3A Perth and a weekly practice fee (which includes morning tea) is then required for each practice attended. The venue has free underground parking and public transport is located close by.

There is no audition or requirement to be able to read music and we encourage anyone interested to visit us and join in a couple of practices first.

If you would like more information or would like to visit please contact Dinah 0408 936 737,  jackanddinah@optusnet.com.au

We are pleased to welcome back our Musical Director Richard Braham, looking forward to singing again with our friends and also welcoming visitors and possible new Choristers, if planning to visit us please contact us first.

Our end of year lunch revisited the Crown Atrium and was again enjoyed by everyone.

Our new larger venue has proven very effective with or without social distancing and we even managed to do one performance in September at the Guildford songfest.

We ended the year with a performance at our practice venue for family and friends. 30 singers gave their best with 14 well-rehearsed songs and our audience of around 45 people was very appreciative. A lot of photos and videos were taken. Our members supplied a very scrumptious late Morning-tea and coffee and tea making facilities were available for everyone.

The little exposure we had this year still brought quite a few people who were eager to join our Choir, which some did, but due to space limitations we were unable to take any more.  Once again some Choristers will discontinue for various reasons and we may be able to welcome a few new members this year.

Under normal circumstances part of our ethos is to present several free concerts at Community events and Aged Care homes, unfortunately most of last year this was still not possible however we are hoping that in 2023 we may be able to perform again.

Despite Covid we have, under the excellent direction of Richard, improved our skills, and hopefully this year we will be undertaking a few more performances.

THIRD AGE SINGERS

The second U3A Perth choir called “Third Age Singers” has now been established and was operational from 5^th September 2023.

It currently has 36 choristers with a further 4 scheduled to start over the next 3 months. There are still places available.

The Music Director is Richard Braham, who also directs the main choir.

Richard aims to develop our skills so that we sound awesome.

It meets at the same venue as the main choir, namely Yokine Baptist Church, 50 Frape Avenue, Yokine, on Tuesday afternoons with doors open at 1.30pm with practice starting at 2.00pm to 4.00pm, with a 15 minute refreshment break around 3.00pm.

It was created primarily because there was a long waiting list for U3A members wanting to join the main choir, but that was completely full, and was likely to remain full for an extended time as it is a lot of fun and choristers do not want to leave.

It is intended that the intake for the Third Age Singers will commence each year, around 1^st January, for about 3 months when a cut off is made, for musical reasons. This is the same intake period as the main choir.

Practice finishes on Tuesday 19^th December 2023 and will recommence on 9^th January 2024 (yet to be confirmed).

There are no auditions, nor are there any requirements to be able to read music (though of course that helps, but we generally provide lyrics as well as the music scores) and we encourage anyone interested, to visit us and join in for two sessions first.

If you would like more information, or would like to visit please contact Nigel Penfold on 04 17 710 714 or email nigelpenfold53@gmail.com.