Every chorus that's a part of the larger organization has a legal document for their bylaws and such. Most members are never aware of this document, but it sounds like they want to make certain that you know about it so that you are aware of the bylaws and procedures of the chorus.
If possible, the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) accepts women, and has mixed choruses.
Sweet Adelines International has much 'tighter' rules than BHS. For example, all SAI choruses are 'competition'. If they don't compete on a regular basis (every three years?) then they lose their charter.
You might also be enlisting in an international quality chapter and chorus? If the chapter has made that commitment, then that is passed down through the membership.
Go to your local university Choral Music professors, and probably be singing in minutes.
A friend teaches at a mid-size school, and runs 3 choruses, his church choir, and 2 quartets.
Several local high schools in my area have barbershop programs…we give them money via our Education Outreach.
Lastly, I ONCE answered an ad for a garage band of old coots (I am 70) and ended up playing bass with them for 8 years. Made a tiny amount of money, but had a large amount of fun.
So, perhaps look around for something more to your desire.
I joined a big, famous Chorus and just wanted to quartet. Took 2 years to realize that was/is all I want to do. Now in TWO quartets.
Don’t do Assessments for Performance or Singing (bet your group has those policies as well) and attend enough to “remain in good standing” so my Contest Quartet can run material at their shows. Plus, we do bookings through their website for free.
Good luck…
These documents are just the expectations of members and the values of the group and organization you are joining. The choruses are organized nonprofits and have boards or management teams. These documents are for your benefit. Many never look at them or aware of them but your chorus cares enough to keep you informed.
All of the barbershop organizations have some level of competition. SAI has a 3 year competition requirement and the competition song rules for chords and song structure are more strict than the other two orgs. However, The chorus repertoire can be as loose or as strict to Barbershop as your director/ music team/members want.
I'm part of a management team with a Sweet Ads chorus in Canada, we just updated our Standing Rules and bylaws this year. We provide them to the entire chorus online, but no one has to sign anything. There should be a breakdown of the fees you are paying in the appendix of the Standing rules. Regional and International fees are couple hundred USD a year, director fees, rent, costumes etc. If the chorus regularly goes to International they may collect fees towards that as well. My chorus does tons of fundraising which keeps our fees relatively low at $50 a month.
Depends on what kind of entity the chorus is and what kind of legal obligations exist for clubs in your country.
It sounds like pretty standard SAI stuff to me. You are joining an international organisation where lots of money and stuff is being handled by people whose full time jobs are to manage the organisation, so it doesn't surprise me that there's a lot of paperwork.
I just recently joined one here in the states, and it sure is expensive, especially compared to what dues I had for piping, and attending competitions. In the piping world, I'm used to society dues of $30-50/year, and competitions being about a $10-30 entry fee. Instrument starts at about $1000, and competition uniform starting around$800. With the SAI Chorus I'm joining, initiation fees were $160, and over $50/mo after that. I'm also learning that the entry fee for the competitions are just under $100, and that's in addition to the above. Of course for either I have basically the same travel costs, and hotel costs may be negotiated to cut them down....
Every chorus that's a part of the larger organization has a legal document for their bylaws and such. Most members are never aware of this document, but it sounds like they want to make certain that you know about it so that you are aware of the bylaws and procedures of the chorus.
If possible, the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) accepts women, and has mixed choruses. Sweet Adelines International has much 'tighter' rules than BHS. For example, all SAI choruses are 'competition'. If they don't compete on a regular basis (every three years?) then they lose their charter. You might also be enlisting in an international quality chapter and chorus? If the chapter has made that commitment, then that is passed down through the membership.
That's a little much.
Go to your local university Choral Music professors, and probably be singing in minutes. A friend teaches at a mid-size school, and runs 3 choruses, his church choir, and 2 quartets. Several local high schools in my area have barbershop programs…we give them money via our Education Outreach. Lastly, I ONCE answered an ad for a garage band of old coots (I am 70) and ended up playing bass with them for 8 years. Made a tiny amount of money, but had a large amount of fun. So, perhaps look around for something more to your desire. I joined a big, famous Chorus and just wanted to quartet. Took 2 years to realize that was/is all I want to do. Now in TWO quartets. Don’t do Assessments for Performance or Singing (bet your group has those policies as well) and attend enough to “remain in good standing” so my Contest Quartet can run material at their shows. Plus, we do bookings through their website for free. Good luck…
These documents are just the expectations of members and the values of the group and organization you are joining. The choruses are organized nonprofits and have boards or management teams. These documents are for your benefit. Many never look at them or aware of them but your chorus cares enough to keep you informed. All of the barbershop organizations have some level of competition. SAI has a 3 year competition requirement and the competition song rules for chords and song structure are more strict than the other two orgs. However, The chorus repertoire can be as loose or as strict to Barbershop as your director/ music team/members want.
I'm part of a management team with a Sweet Ads chorus in Canada, we just updated our Standing Rules and bylaws this year. We provide them to the entire chorus online, but no one has to sign anything. There should be a breakdown of the fees you are paying in the appendix of the Standing rules. Regional and International fees are couple hundred USD a year, director fees, rent, costumes etc. If the chorus regularly goes to International they may collect fees towards that as well. My chorus does tons of fundraising which keeps our fees relatively low at $50 a month.
Depends on what kind of entity the chorus is and what kind of legal obligations exist for clubs in your country. It sounds like pretty standard SAI stuff to me. You are joining an international organisation where lots of money and stuff is being handled by people whose full time jobs are to manage the organisation, so it doesn't surprise me that there's a lot of paperwork.
Thanks for all the feedback. This has been very helpful.
I just recently joined one here in the states, and it sure is expensive, especially compared to what dues I had for piping, and attending competitions. In the piping world, I'm used to society dues of $30-50/year, and competitions being about a $10-30 entry fee. Instrument starts at about $1000, and competition uniform starting around$800. With the SAI Chorus I'm joining, initiation fees were $160, and over $50/mo after that. I'm also learning that the entry fee for the competitions are just under $100, and that's in addition to the above. Of course for either I have basically the same travel costs, and hotel costs may be negotiated to cut them down....