How the Choir Operates
The choir continually welcomes new members. At any given time the choir will be working on repertoire for upcoming performances. New members receive support and tuition to enable them to sing with the choir as quickly as possible.
Young children with little or no experience are welcomed into our reserve choir. All children are warmly welcomed into the Bendigo Youth Choir family.
BYC is a not for profit organisation, surviving on fund raising efforts of the choir staff, members and parents with funding support from private and community organisations, business and government authorities.
This enables an annual membership fee to be kept to a minimum. A number of yearly scholarships funded by the some very generous community organisations, such as the Y’s Ladies Kangaroo Flat and Rotary Club of Bendigo are offered.
Our Music Staff
These are the people who freely give their time, talent and expertise to teach, coach and nurture the young members to reach their full potential as singers and confident young people.
The Reserve Choir:
Most choir members enter the ranks of the Bendigo Youth Choir through this group. Entry to this group is open to all, no audition is necessary. The average age is 7 to 12 years. The group has vocal training and exposure to simple choral music. The main focus of the Reserve Choir is the enjoyment of singing together in a supportive, relaxed environment, while growing confidence and developing the ability to sing in tune. Depending on maturity, confidence and skill development, members of the Reserve Choir then audition for entry to the Performing Choir. The Reserve Choir often combines with the Performing Choir during rehearsals, for music workshops and sometimes for combined performances.
They rehearse each Wednesday night during school terms from 6pm to 7pm.
The Performing Choir:
To become a member, an interested young person sings before a panel of music staff, in a friendly, supported audition process with the singer and parents informed of the outcome. There is a trial period to ensure the new member is coping with the material and settling in well. The Performing Choir’s emphasis is the development of more complex choral music skills. Members will learn a vast range of music from many genres and in many different languages. Over the years, the Choir has commissioned many original works from Australian composers, and has had the opportunity to workshop with many talented choral experts. The Performing Choir sings at a broad range of events, from festivals to civic ceremonies to private celebrations. The choir performs on average several times per month and more often in the lead-up to Christmas.
The Performing Choir rehearses each Wednesday night during school terms from 6pm to 8pm.
This process of introduction and ongoing development is focussed around the individual and has the flexibility to accommodate, recognise and nurture existing capability and potential and the particular needs of each individual.
Working with Children:
The endeavour of the Bendigo Youth Choir is the development of young people through teaching, training and development of choral abilities and then performing as a choir. At the front of mind and embedded into the routine operations of the choir is the responsibilities to each young member of their safety and wellbeing.
When the choir travels accompanying parents are required to have passed the Working with Children Check with Department of Justice Victoria and the choir is accompanied by a Certified First Aider.