Do parents/carers need to attend?
A child’s guardian is responsible for ensuring that they arrive safely to the Usher Hall and back home again afterwards. We ask that you bring your child into the building and sign them in with us in person, and collect them from us at the end of the rehearsal. You are welcome to stay in the building during the rehearsal, however we have a team of volunteer chaperones who look after the choir so you are alternatively welcome to leave for the hour. The safety of your child is our top priority.
How much does it cost and how is my donation used?
The suggested termly donation is £45. This contributes towards the cost of 8 rehearsals, professional musicians’ fees, music arranging and preparation, rehearsal management, concert planning, marketing and production costs. And – of course – hours of fun! As a charity, we raise additional funds to subsidise the cost of running the choir as it costs us around £150 per child each term.
What if I can’t afford to pay for my child or children to join?
You are welcome to donate what you can afford or to let us know you would like a free place when you book. You don’t have to prove your eligibility; we won’t ask you any questions about your personal circumstances.
Can you help with transport costs?
We have a transport budget and are happy to discuss the best way to help you attend the choir if you can’t afford to cover transport costs on a weekly basis. Please select the relevant option on the form on the Join page and we will get in touch to discuss this with you.
Can my child or children come for a taster session?
Yes. Please complete the registration form on the Join page, and then contact us to let us know you’d like to come for a taster session. We’ll suggest a week when we can safely accommodate you. A guardian will be required to stay in the building for the whole session. If there are places available for the rest of term we’ll be happy to sign your child up. If membership is full for the term, we will add you to the waiting list for the next available term.
If you attend a taster session, please make a donation to the charity if you can afford to do so – £6 is the suggested amount, however donations of any size will help us to fulfil our charitable objectives.
Who runs the choir?
You can find out more about the team on our Junior Choir team page.
Love Music is a charity registered in Scotland co-founded by professional composer and educator Stephen Deazley and events production expert Ruth Davie. The Junior Choir is lead by Sally Jaquet and Clare Bauld. Love Music is managed by a small dynamic team respected nationally and internationally for their work in music education as inspiring music leaders, creators and commissioners of innovative participatory music projects, and producers of international performance work.
Love Music works for and with schools and communities and deliver projects to the highest professional standard. Our mission is to inspire and empower people to be curious, creative and adventurous with music regardless of their skill base or background, raising aspirations and changing lives. We do this through a national portfolio of projects of uncompromising quality.
Please visit our charity’s website to find out more about the charity and our other projects: lovemusic.org.uk.
Who are the chaperones?
Many of our volunteer chaperones are members of Love Music Community Choir, and others are people who work or have worked in education, childcare, health or music. They have been interviewed, PVG checked, and we’ve received good references for each person on the team. We arrange professional training in child protection, and chaperones are trained in the basics of first aid and all our day-to-day procedures ahead of terms beginning. If you’d like to see who they are before you arrive, you can look at their photos here: Love Music Team. Our year-round production team are first aiders.
Can I support Junior Choir in other ways?
Our chaperone team is required to be in the building from 3.45pm for a briefing, and to remain with us for a debrief after all the children have left, so it’s usually not practical for guardians of members to join the team. However we may occasionally have other things you can help us with while rehearsals are on, so do let us know if you are keen to help.
We always greatly appreciate help with marketing for our end of term events and to recruit new Junior Choir members, so spreading the word around your communities and friends is appreciated – we love to perform to a very full Usher Hall! If you can help distribute flyers, let us know. Our next concert details can be found on the Love Music website.
If you can afford to pay more than the termly membership cost we would be hugely grateful for further contributions of any size, either when you pay for the term, or you can click on the DONATE button at the bottom of the page. The costs of membership fees do not cover our outgoings each week, so we are hugely grateful for any additional donations you can make.
Please put us in touch with colleagues in local businesses or companies that might be interested in supporting our work.