Come and Join Herts & Soul

The Most Minimum Fuss and Best Value for Money Choir in Herts & Essex

Join the Herts & Soul Community Choir

We are very accommodating bunch and happily welcome new members to come along and sing with us at a free taster session before committing further.

There is no need to audition and we will provide you with everything you need for your taster session, including a ‘buddy’ who will subtly make sure you are looked after. If you enjoy your session and wish to continue coming to rehearsals, you can register with us at the end of the rehearsal and you’re in! Simples.

Taster sessions are usually conducted at the beginning of January and the beginning of September, after the Christmas and summer breaks (and usually after our most recent concerts) which allows newbies to join us when we are all learning new songs together (rather than rehearsing songs from our concert repertoire). Taster sessions can easily be arranged on a more ad hoc basis if a potential new member feels confident in joining us part way through learning a concert repertoire.

We operate on a ‘pay as you sing’ fee basis (currently £6 per rehearsal) with no membership or termly fees, but we do expect Soulsters to regularly attend rehearsals in the weeks preceding a concert if they are performing in it.

We aim to rehearse all year round with a short break at Christmas, in the summer and for bank holidays.

Concerts are open to all Soulsters to perform in, but we need commitment in advance so that we can achieve the right balance and blend between vocal sections. Soulsters not performing in concerts are welcomed to all rehearsals.

We also have a range of social events including workshops conducted by leading musical and choral practitioners, an annual party, invites to local performing arts events and discounted theatre trips.

Our rehearsal night is Friday, at Herts & Essex High School, Warwick Road, Bishop’s Stortford, CM23 5NJ, from 7.15 – 9.00pm.  We have a short break during the rehearsal when you can get to know your fellow Soulsters.

Herts and Soul has a basic formal concert dress – black dresses, skirts or trousers and black coloured tops and blouses and black shoes for our Soul Sisters (with bling or corsages provided), and black suits, black socks and shoes, white shirts and red bow-ties (provided) for our Soul Brothers. For less formal singing events, we do tend to flex our dress according to the mood and theme of the concert (witness the photos of our recent ‘60s and 70s’ concert!) but we try to ensure that the dress code is acceptable to all, at low cost and easy to source.

And if, after all that, you still fancy coming along to try us out, please get in touch via the information below – it’s helpful to know if you are coming. We’d love to see – and hear – you!

For any further questions or details regarding membership, please contact Lucy on 07956 195186 or email hertsandsoulchoir@gmail.com

Or simply click to complete our Contact Form.

  • Thank you again for inviting me to conduct a choral workshop with you and your choir… Not only did they sing beautifully, but they were a joy to rehearse and perform with.  Bob Chilcott, one of the world's premier composers and choral conductors in Britain today.
  • I wish you all the very best with your latest concert. It is great to see a choir such as Herts and Soul sitting at the heart of its community and supporting it so positively through the power of singing.  Gareth Malone OBE, Britain’s favourite Choir Master
  • Herts and Soul’s performance was confident, well-paced and passionate with an infectious energy and sense of enjoyment…a big choir with a very big heart. Lovely all round!  Judging panel, UK Choir Festival
  • Herts and Soul’s Christmas concert was a most admired and popular event. It was wonderful to see the choir perform. Our heartfelt thanks go out to you and everyone for supporting this event. Christmas can often be one of the hardest times of the year for the families we support. Everybody got into the festive spirit at the concert while fundraising for a fantastic cause, meaning our Family Support Workers can help those families have the best Christmas possible.  Emma Haines, Rainbow Trust’s Director of Marketing and Fundraising
  • You, the choir and your sizzling band never fail to pull out all the stops. It was so wonderful to be part of such a joyful evening of entertainment. The money raised will cover the cost of 6 home visits by one of the Hospice’s Clinical Nurse Specialists, and is invaluable in helping us to continue to provide home care to local people facing a life-limiting diagnosis.  Renee Friend, Chairman of the Isabel Hospice Fundraising Support Group
  • THANK YOU! We were delighted to receive your donation of £1250 raised at your ‘Herts and Soul Sing the 60s and 70s’ concert. What an amazing contribution. On behalf of all the people assisted, we would like to say a big and heartfelt thank you. What inspirational leadership, what a choir and what a sound!  Essex and Herts Air Ambulance
  • Everyone certainly got into the Groove for Grove Cottage with the Herts and Soul community choir on Sunday. The weather was great, the venue fantastic and the choir and the audience were amazing. It was a brilliant day, enjoyed by everyone and the money raised will make a real difference to local people with learning disabilities. A true example of real community support and involvement. Thank you.  Natalie Trapmore, Fundraising Officer, Mencap Grove Cottage
  • It is good to see how much the Soulsters enjoy what they are doing.  It is abundantly evident from the smiles on every one of their faces.  The choir provides an emotional link between individuals that transcends language, an intimacy that makes them want to smile and really enjoy each other's company.  They clearly have a ridiculously good time and it's infectious.  That number of people can make a big noise that washes over you like Mediterranean waves, leaving you feeling great.  Chas Gill, Bishop's Stortford Independent