Sing along

Sing with us. Get music to know in all its details and beauty. Relax and enjoy! Receive energy from an evening of singing and become euphoric after a successful concert in a nice concert hall.

Who are we?

Concertkoor Haarlem is a lively quality choir of about ninety members with a good distribution of the various vocal parts. The choir has a rich history and has
long-term memberships. The tradition since its establishment in 1946 has been a varied programming of old, new, well-known and/or unknown works, offering challenges to the singers. Many members invest in themselves and the choir by taking singing lessons.
Through good preparation, we hope to move beyond singing notes and convey the emotion of the music at the concert. This is in good hands with conductor and artistic director Bernhard Touwen. Every rehearsal with him is an experience in which he teaches the choir members a lot of singing technique. At every concert, he carefully selects soloists whose voices match the work and whose voices complement each other. Through his good cooperation with the International Vocal Competition in Den Bosch, he brings exceptional singers to Haarlem. Professional orchestras provide the accompaniment, often in large ensembles.

What can you expect at Concertkoor Haarlem?

Rehearsal evening
Concertkoor Haarlem rehearses on Monday evenings from 20.00 - 22.15 hours in the Church of the Nazarene, Zijlweg 218, 2015 CK Haarlem. We kindly invite you to join us for an evening of listening and singing. Please send an email to info [at] concertkoorhaarlem.nl if interested. We will make sure that there is sheet music ready for you. If you are present 15 minutes in advance, we can get acquainted and show you your seat.

If you have come to listen for the first time, it can be fun to get to know other choir members and to ask any questions you may have.
And if you think it’s music, take the next step!

Voice test
If you want to continue singing with us, we will schedule an appointment with the conductor for you. He will classify your voice according to vocal group (soprano, alto, tenor or bass) and assess it for quality and musicality.
This acquaintance with your voice has several purposes: we keep the level of our choir high, and can also help you to enjoy your voice as long as possible by giving advice about the use of your voice. After all, every instrument needs maintenance, as does your voice. Because when you find the right tone, all of life is music.

Once you have been accepted, we naturally hope that you will pull out all the stops to stay with us for a very long time! After all, we are not a project choir. That is why we repeat the vocal test every three years, when every choir member has the opportunity to have his voice heard by a certified vocal pedagogue. If there is something wrong with your voice, or if you are not using your voice properly, you are always on time. The vocal pedagogue will then give you good advice so that you don’t have to end your singing career.

Permanent seats
Assuming that all the tests are successful and you sing your heart out, you will be allocated a permanent seat by the board. Every week the rows rotate by moving one row forward. In this way, you experience the singing from every seat and are not surprised when the concert arrangement starts a few weeks before the concert and is always different from the fixed arrangement.

Sheet music.
The sheet music is always purchased through the choir, if you do not already have it. This has two advantages: you work from the same edition as the conductor and it is cheaper because of the group discount. The board makes sure the music is available at the first rehearsal night of the new season.

Choir day
Once a season a choir day takes place on a Saturday. On this day the whole choir is present. We rehearse from 10.00 - 16.00 hours with breaks. Our conductor has a lot do do during this day, which without exception always gives a wonderful result and brings the music to a much higher level.
It happens regularly that a dinner is organised afterwards for and by choir members.

General rehearsal and concert.
And then, after months of rehearsing, the end of the season comes. The final rehearsal is always an extra rehearsal in the week before the concert. If possible -and usually this is the case- it takes place in the hall where the concert will take place. For the Concertkoor Haarlem this is the beautiful Great Hall of the Philharmonie in Haarlem.

During the half-day of general rehearsal and of course the performance, conductor, choir, soloists and orchestra are present and all stops are pulled out to bring the rehearsed works to a musical climax: a euphoric experience that we often talk about for weeks afterwards.

Helping out
Organising a concert involves much more than we can mention here on the website. Concertkoor Haarlem has a board consisting of seven very enthusiastic and passionate volunteers who play the first fiddle with heart and soul.

Would you also like to play first fiddle? There are always tasks where we can use help. Together we sing the highest song!

Costs
The annual membership fee is EUR 300. For pupils and students the annual membership fee is 150 EUR.

All this probably sounds like music to your ears. Therefore, do not sing a song of longing and register via info [at] concertkoorhaarlem.nl.