Glasgow Phoenix Choir

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where can I buy tickets for concerts?

Ticket sales are normally in the hands of the particular sponsor or venue but can usually also be bought from ourselves directly by contacting our Business Managers, or E-mail eventsco@globalnet.co.uk. Tickets for many UK and Ireland concerts may also be bought online by following the link against each listing on the concerts page of this site, which will take you directly to that event's booking page in a new window. We will endeavour to ensure that the links are correct, however, external websites are outwith our control so PLEASE CHECK THE DETAILS BEFORE PURCHASE AS MISTAKES CANNOT BE RECTIFIED AFTERWARDS. For concerts outside of the British Isles please contact the local sponsor.

2. What kind of music do you sing?

Our repertoire is wide and varied covering West End/Broadway musicals, operatic choruses, classical pieces, Scottish songs, sacred music, "easy listening" and humour, and a typical concert will cover most or all of these genres in one night! We are also fortunate to have some fine soloists too. We are not a religious/church or Cathedral choir, and neither are we a choral society or orchestral/theatrical chorus, though we have elements of all of these in our catalogue. The best way to find out is to come to a concert or look at the details on the recordings page on this site!

3. Can I book the choir for my event?

The choir is available for hire for fundraising or performance events from large Arts and Music Festivals and Corporate functions to small church fundraising concerts. In the past the choir has performed at the BBC Proms London, Celtic Connections Music Festival Glasgow, International Choral Festival Missoula USA, concerts for the Gubbay Organisation, soundtracks for Channel 4 television, and many other events both large and small. It isn't all serious though, and some of the choir have recently been involved in the filming of BBC Scotland's TV comedy "Still Game". For full details on how to hire us follow the "Contact" link in the navigation bar.

4. How many concerts do you perform a year?

It varies from year to year, but it's usually around thirty or so concerts in a season of about forty-six weeks, though we actually performed forty concerts in season 2006/7! Whilst most concerts are in the British Isles there are occasional foreign tours which in the past have included Europe, Canada and USA. Follow the "About Us " and "Past Events" links to find out more.

5. How often do you rehearse?

Every Monday evening during the concert season (usually August to June) from 7:30pm until 9:30pm at Adelaide's, 209 Bath St (at Pitt St), Charing Cross, Glasgow. If the season is very busy there may be an occasional Wednesday rehearsal. We do expect a serious commitment from our members but most of us have day jobs too, so an occasional absence is understood.

6. Must I be able to read music to sing in the choir?

No, contrary to popular belief you don't. Whilst some of our members do read music there are many who do not and record rehearsals on dictating machines, mini-disc players, portable tape recorders etc to help them learn their lines. We're used to having these things shoved under our noses so don't worry about that!

7. How much does it cost to join?

It depends on the type of membership. For singers the annual subscription is currently £50, unless aged between 16 and 21 when the cost is £25 annually. Follow the "Contact" link in the navigation bar for more details.

8. Do I have to buy my own music and uniform if I join?

Music and uniform will be provided by the choir, though whilst gents will be supplied with both a black and a white concert jacket they are required to provide a white shirt, black trousers and black shoes, though we expect you've probably got those already!

9. How do I get a password for the Members' Area?

This is only available to subscribed members and can be obtained from the webmaster either at rehearsal or via email.

10. How long has the choir been running?

The Glasgow Phoenix Choir was founded in 1951 when members of the disbanded Glasgow Orpheus Choir immediately voted to continue the tradition begun in 1901 when the Orpheus was founded. You can find out more by following the "About Us" and "Past Events" links in the navigation bar.

11. Does the choir receive any external funding?

Until recently the choir was almost entirely self supporting, obtaining its income mainly from concert receipts and fees, sales of merchandise and recordings, donations from some generous individuals and the efforts of a small but dedicated group of members who with our Business Managers organise regular fundraising events. One example of this is our very popular "Singin' Doon the Watter" private charters of the Waverley Paddle Steam Ship. In 2007 we were approached by The Co-operative Funeralcare with a view to sponsorship. Needless to say we were very happy to accept! Please contact our Business Managers for details.

12. Where can I get copies of discontinued recordings?

Unfortunately we can't really answer that one. We don't have a complete archive of all recordings, especially the early ones, though we are working on it. All we can suggest is searching in second hand and specialist music retailers or placing a request in online services such as e-bay.

13. What do the logos mean on the entry page and sidebar?

The first logo refers to "Glasgow, City of Music". Glasgow was awarded the title by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) on 20th August 2008, putting Scotland in the unique position of being the only nation in the world having two UNESCO Creative Cities designations, the other being "Edinburgh, City of Literature" (2004). You can find out more from the official "Glasgow, City of Music" site. (Link will open in a new window.)

The three "W3C" logos relate to website design standards, the "WAI-AAA" icon indicating that we have tried to make our site as accessible to people with disabilities as we possibly can - if we've missed anything, please let us know and we'll try our best to fix it! The other two refer to website design programming standards.

The remaining logos on the entry page provide download links to the most popular web browsers used in the world today, "Microsoft Internet Explorer" (62.12%), "Mozilla Firefox" (24.43%) and "Apple Safari" (4.53%, including the vast majority of MAC users). Together with "Google Chrome" (5.22%) these four account for 96.30% of all web users worldwide as at January 2010 (Source Market Share). For this reason the design and testing of the site is concentrated around these four browsers, though hopefully conformance to the website design standards mentioned above means that the site should work in any contemporary browser. If you find otherwise, please tell us!