How do I access the members section of the website?

Click the login link at the bottom of the menu on the left. Click Create new account. Fill in your details. The system will send you a verification email to your email address. Login using the link in the verification email and create a password.

What's with the religious music? Is AUCS a church choir? ... Did you guys really sing Queen?

AUCS is noted for its eclectic and diverse music tastes - we sing everything from madrigals to musicals to Vaughan Williams to pop, and some interesting pieces in between. The music we choose every year will depend on venue, number of choristers, the whims/interests of our musical director and assistant conductor and availability. As AUCS members are from all walks of life, and have different beliefs, ideas, and levels of talent, we switch up the music as much as possible. However, it must be noted that some of the best choral music that we can find has been commissioned by churches, and that will always be of a religious nature. AUCS has no leanings one way or another - we just like nice music!

So, are you all musical students? I've never sung in a choir before, and I can't read music. Is this ok?

Absolutely! The University of Adelaide has several choirs within its hallowed halls, and we are the one that is non-auditioned, full of social events (and beer) and we are made up of students and non-students from all faculties and backgrounds. As we are non-auditioned and get together to have fun as much as to sing fabulous music, we only have a few music students (as they are mainly connected with the Elder Con choirs) and a lot of students from Engineering, Arts, Maths, Science, you name it. Anyone is welcome and that includes people who have no previous experience within a choir.

What do we wear for a concert?

It varies from concert to concert, but generally you need a long-sleeved black top (collared for gentlemen, at least collar bone height for women) and long bottoms (pants or skirt). Details are given for each concert. See the Concert Dress page (visible only to current members).

How are rehearsals run?

Rehearsal starts at 7pm sharp with a 10 minute warm up or so, and then music is rehearsed. At roughly 8:30pm, a break ensues where announcements are made by one person on behalf of the committee (so pay attention!) and the esky is opened for the consumption of chocolates and drinks. Rehearsal resumes 10 minutes later and goes til 9:30pm when the choir moves on to "coffee". This is in an ideal world, so be prepared for some interesting interpretations of this timeline.

What is "coffee"?

Coffee is the "social" part of the choir. It alternates between going to a pub for a drink, and going to someone's house for a drink. It's a great way to socialise and get to know other members of the choir better! If you'd like to host coffee at your place, talk to the social secretary (coffee, tea, sugar, milk and cups are provided — all you need to do is make some water hot, and help wash up afterwards and return the coffee set to the social secretary).

What do I bring to rehearsal?

A pencil and eraser; money for chocolates/drinks at break; a bottle of water; your music; something to do while note bashing is going on (read a book, do some homework, knit/crochet/cross stitch something, solve the Rubik's cube, but above all keep quiet!); and a sense of humour.

What is the deal with music?

Music is lent free to you as a member of the choir and is managed by the Librarian. It is often handed out over a series of rehearsals at the beginning of the rehearsal period, and may be available on the AUCS website for printing. You need to look after all music and return it promptly after the concert. It is usually collected at the end of the concert so if you know you're not singing in the concert, please return it before then.

The music we use is often borrowed from other choirs around Australia. If we don't return what we borrow, or we return it in poor condition, we risk not being able to borrow music in the future — meaning we'd have to buy it all, and that's extremely expensive! AUCS lends out music all the time and usually gets it back in good condition and time, so hopefully we can continue the theme of goodwill between choirs around the country. Sometimes music is offered for purchase, such as when AUCS wants to purchase a large number of scores for its own library, so keep an ear open for this option as well.

Who is Audrey? And what's with the penguins?

Audrey is our mascot. And she is an auk. A great auk, to be precise. Eaten to extinction. She gets upset when you call her a penguin, which isn't even an auk, let alone a great one. Aucs are nice.

Who do I go to if I need to ask for help? Who do I go to if there is a problem?

(not necessarily the same thing)
You can ask anyone you like for help – we suggest starting with anyone whose name you remember, or who has said hello to you. There are some fabulous more experienced choristers around who are more than happy to help, or point you to someone who can help. If you have a problem, speak to your Section Leader, or to a Harassment Officer if it's that kind of issue. The Section Leaders and Harassment Officers should be pointed out to you by the president at regular intervals, or else you can quietly ask someone who may know.

What happens if I miss a rehearsal?

Let someone in your section know (preferably your section leader) or write a note on the roll if you know beforehand that you will miss a rehearsal, or else make sure your absence is noted on the roll the week you return. If it's a lot of rehearsals you'll miss (for example, a rehearsal camp which is 4 rehearsals) talk to your section leader.

What are the rules of the email list? Can anyone post to it? I need a new flatmate / have a car to sell / want to track down a recording of Mahler's music - is this appropriate to post?

Unfortunately no. There isn't a huge call for this but if you do, let the editor of our magazine Skwauc, know!

Who selects the music and how?

We have two ish musical directors, and they pick it. Blame them for any music you hate. Love them to pieces when they do some music that rocks.

How do I learn/get the music people are singing socially? I have a song I'd like to introduce to the social singing - do I just sing it or what?

There are song books of the traditionally-sung songs. If you have a new song, bring it up with the musical directors and see when the next "pub song" rehearsal is.

Am I at a disadvantage if I **don't** go to dinner before/drinks after rehearsal?

There is no Official Disadvantage to it, but Disadvantage is in the eye of the beer holder I guess, and if you don't go then you won't know what you're missing! It depends also on what you're in the choir for - if you're wanting lots of friends and wanting to do things with like-minded people, then cheap eats and cheap beer is a good way. There are lots of reasons for not going to dinner, and coffee though - work commitments, budget restrictions, busses to catch home, early shifts the next day, early shifts that day so you're exhausted, being on call, whatever, and everyone understands the conflicts, so don't feel obliged! Do ask the Social Secretaries if you need a lift there, or home again.

Soloists? Chamber choir? Busking? Caroling? Oh my!

Keep an ear out for when auditions for the first two are, and when the calls are for the latter two. Auditions are done by the musical directors, and who gets the solos is based on the music being sung, the ability of the singers, and how many are needed... and if you're brave enough, why not try out? It's great experience!

Glossary

AUCS

Adelaide University Choral Society

BOF

Boring Old Fart. Someone who is all of the those things when their tongue is firmly in cheek. Sometimes used in a self-deprecating way to describe anyone who isn't a fresher but is young enough to be mistaken for one. It's usually someone who is older, rarely a student, and demonstrates with gusto that they know a lot about being in a choir. And about beer, wine or port. Most often seen offering lifts, buying drinks, upholding traditions of past years and regaling people with stories of the last time a piece of music was performed.

Committee

AUCS is run by a lovely band of volunteers who are elected each year to run the committee. Be nice to them as they are usually holding down a job, studying for a degree or two, having a relationship or two, and do the committee stuff for love, not money.

Fresher

choristers who are in their first year of membership of the choir.

IV

Intervarsity choral festival. A two week long festival where choristers from around the country come together for intense rehearsals and partying and traditions. The festivals are held in a different city each year, rotating around the whole country roughly every 7 years. Melbourne hosted one in 2005, then Adelaide in 2006, Brisbane in 2007 and Sydney in 2008. The next one is in Hobart in 2009. They are an amazing experience and a lot of fun, as well as being a cheap holiday (usually $300-$400 for the festival with transport and spending money your own responsibility)

Note bash

to work through a part of the music, note by note, for each section. This can be long, dull and frustrating for those listening, so bring something quiet to entertain yourself during this part of the rehearsal - knitting, reading, homework, cross stitch, pen twirling, macrame and so forth.

Sculling

Is not to be confused with skulling, which is a non-existent word, most often used by people who can't spell sculling. It is not, as one might think, a big boat race, but a beer drinking relay race that choirs participate in. These are held at the annual IV and there are 6 trophies up for grabs. AUCS brought home 4 of them in 2008, doing the choir proud and giving us bragging rights for at least 18 months.

Sections

also known as “voice parts”. There is the soprano (higher women's voice), alto (lower women's voice), tenor (higher men's voice) and bass (lower men's voice). Usually. You can sing whatever part you feel like, and there are well known examples of soprano arias for tenors and basses, and Brad the alto, and AUCS usually hosts at least one female tenor of which we're very proud. If you don't know what you sing, then pick one section and try it out for a rehearsal. You may find that you sing across two parts, depending on the music. Within each section, there are also the firsts and the seconds – sometimes this relates to whether you sing the higher part or the lower part, but in other situations it may be representative of two separate yet equally important parts. Again, choose the part that you like and try it out, and if you're not happy early in the rehearsal period, change!

Section leader

the leader of the section for administrative stuff. See them for marking yourself off the roll each rehearsal, for any issues you have with the choir that you'd like taken to the committee, or anything in general you need to talk about regarding you being in the choir *as a singer*.

PCP

post concert party. This soirée is usually hosted at someone's house where it is expected that you bring a bottle to share and your voice to abuse while singing to 80s music, pieces from musicals, and other music that works in 4 or more parts.

PK

Peter Kelsall, conductor

QUMS, SUMS, SCUNA, TUMS

other choirs around the country that are fraternal to AUCS. If you ever move to another capital city, you could look them up and join a similar group of people! And sing.

Warm up

scales, tongue twisters, pitch exercises, breathing – all sorts of fun things to warm up your mouth and face and voice. Keep your eyes open and your ears peeled and try not to drink too much before rehearsals so that the warm ups aren't more dramatic than they need to be.

Wilky

Andrew Wilkins, former president, 2007, 2008