Membership

The Gentlemen of Fortune welcome interested singers!

Is this right for you?  If you love to sing, especially in harmony, the answer is "probably yes."   Here are some things to know.  You don't have to tick all the boxes, but in general the more "yes" answers, the greater the chance a cappella will be a good fit for you and you'll love singing with us!

• Do you love singing? (It's what we do!  We are friends who love to sing together.)
• Do you sing with the radio?  In the shower, stairwell or elevator?  (Good. Singing comes naturally to you!)
• Did/does your family sing?  (Skills and habits learned in childhood are deeply "second nature.")
• Do familiar melodies persist in your head? (We call these "earworms?" We're chips from the same block!))
• Did you sing in choirs at school, church, or other singing organizations?  (Then you know what we mean!)
• Have you had some musical experience - lessons as a child, choirs, bands, orchestras, school music courses?  (Not a requirment but certainly helpful.)
• Can you match a tone easily and naturally?  This is the first step in learning any song, so it's actually pretty important,  It's possible to learn this here but it makes for slower progress.)
• Can you learn and sing a simple melody?  (Like matching a tone, you CAN learn this here, but if you can already carry a tune you'll be having fun sooner.)
• Can you sing a melody while someone harmonizes?  (Yes?  You must have a cappella genes!)
• Do you love to harmonize?  (Come on, come clean - You must be a "plant" sent by another chorus!)

If this sounds intriguing or to learn more: 

Phone:  Call David at 604-230-5695.  We LOVE to chat about singing!

Email:   bookings@gof.bc.ca.  (this email address is NOT just about bookings!)  We'll happily share information about the chorus, like requirements, auditions, rehearsals, song learning, performances, costs, time required.  

In Person -  visit us at a rehearsal and let's chat!  

We look forward to when you visit us at a rehearsal. Click for instructions. .  Covid protocols remain active, including - QR code proof of vaccination; information for contact tracing and reporting; masks mandatory indoors including while singing (which actually works quite well!); frequent hand washing/sanitizing; avoiding close contact/social distancing.  

What happens when a guest singer attends a rehearsal?

Welcome:  A friendly membership guy will look after you, make you a name tag, make you welcome, (and in the current setting gather the mandatory information for Covid contact tracing.)   
Voice Part Assignment: A music team member will chat with you to figure out which voice part best suits your voice. provide a guest music book and introduce you to some fellow singers and our amazing music director Andry Layarda. 
Sing with us!  You'll be invited to sing with us through our initial vocal warmup and exercises.  Most evenings we learn at least one short brand new piece of music and you'll be welcome to join us for that too. 
Work on repertoire with us!  Depending on your comfort level and sight reading proficiency, you'll be welcome to rehearse repertoire with us.  Some prefer to listen and follow along until further along learning the music.  (We do use sheet music for rehearsal, but mostly we learn our songs from professionally recorded "learning tracks" with your voice part solo, predominant, mixed, subdued or missing.  We learn "by ear" at our own comfortable pace, using the sheet music for reference.  
If you find yourself interested in singing with us, you'll be welcome.  You'll have a provisional "voice placement" interview with our director - we want to be sure you're in the best vocal section for yourself and for the chorus.  You'll find out about the costs of membership (generally about $300/year) and what's expected of members.  You'll gain access to our full repertoire including learning materials, and you'll receive notices about rehearsals, repertoire, meetings, projects, etc. 
The final vocal requirment for a new singer to become a member is that they can ultimately learn at least one of our repertoire songs, using our available learning materials (and lots of coaching from our music team!).  This often takes a few weeks, which is why we say there's never any hurry.  When you're ready, sing the song with the chorus or a smaller ensemble 
Your initial voice placement interview is "provisional" because as you sing more and more, your voice will become stronger and your range will change and extend.  A different part may become more suitable 

Public health announcement: Harmonizing is addictive!