FAQ

What’s “FAQ”? It’s short for “Frequently Asked Questions”! Click the questions below to see the answers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do you meet?

We presently practise in the Gathering Place at Leigh Square: 2253 Leigh Square, Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 3B8.

When do you practise?

We practise on Monday afternoons from 3:00-5:00. We don’t meet on statutory holidays. Check our Calendar for rehearsal times.

When do you perform?

We perform roughly twice a month at various care homes. We also sing for some community events and we have a year-end concert at the beginning of June. Check the right side of the page for upcoming performances, or look at our Calendar.

How much does it cost?

You need to be a member of the Wilson Centre, which is the seniors’ centre of the City of Port Coquitlam. Choir membership is an additional $20.00 annually, payable by the end of October.

You’ll be given one set of printed music for the current season’s repertoire. We ask that you take responsibility for it. We charge a small fee for replacing lost or forgotten music to cover printing costs.

You’ll also have access to the Music Collection on this website, where you can download printable copies of our music.

How well do I have to sing?

It would be nice if you could carry a tune and sing comfortably as part of a group. We’re not a professional choir. Our mandate is to have fun making music and sharing that enjoyment with others.

Is there an audition?

Good heavens, no! Drop in to a rehearsal and see if you like us!

Do I have to read music, sing harmony, sing a solo or do anything else scary?

Most of us don’t read music. If you can, that’s wonderful.

We do some simple harmony work but most of our songs are sung in unison.

Nobody sings solos. If you’re looking for a place to showcase your soloist skills, you might not find us a good fit!

Scary stuff? Hardly. We perform at various seniors’ care homes and do a couple of concerts at community events but if it’s stage fright you’re worried about, set your mind at ease. You’ll have 20 to 30 other choir members singing right along with you!

Am I expected to perform?

Your involvement in Silver Chord is always optional but always encouraged. The more people that participate in a performance, the more fun it is for the choir and the audience. Please join us at our performances whenever you can.

What commitment am I looking at?

We’re a recreational choir and we get together once a week to make music and have fun doing it. Come as often as you can.

We’re also an entertaining choir, meaning we perform in various venues such as care homes and community events. To perform well, we need enough people who know their music.

We will ask that you come to practices regularly so you can learn your music (even if you can’t memorise it and get “off paper”).

Is there a uniform?

When we go to performances, we ask that you wear:

  • gentlemen: black pants, white shirt, black shoes (we supply your bow tie);
  • ladies: long black skirt or pants, black top, black shoes, pearl necklace (we may be able to lend you one)
I don’t drive. Can I still participate?

Of course! The Gathering Place, where we practise, is well served by transit. When we go to performances, we arrange carpools from the Gathering Place for those who need them.

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    • A Great Year for the Silver Chord Choir
      Here we are just before Christmas and as the year winds down to a close, it's a good time to reflect on what the Choir has accomplished in 2024. Several new members joined us and we're very grateful for the voices they bring to our sound. Our summer picnic in Settlers Park brought out quite a number of us and it was nice to see each other in a different setting from rehearsals and performances. We sang beautifully (even though Stephanie's keyboard started complaining). We joined once again in the Seniors Singing Jamboree with five other choirs at Edmonds Community Centre, and came away with some new song ideas. We also performed at Meeting of the Melodies at Glen Pine Pavilion - indoors this year, as it was decidedly inclement outside! We kicked off Seniors Week in June with a concert after the Seniors Breakfast - lots of fun. We joined up with the Wesbrooke Glee Club in March and had a great time singing a whole show of Broadway hits. There's a video here. We sounded wonderful together! Sadly, we lost one of our choir members, Linda Tarantino, in the spring. We had the great honour of singing at her Celebration of Life. We moved rehearsals back to the Gathering Place now that construction outside is not quite so noisy. It'gs great to be back in a place with lovely acoustics amd lots of room! Our Christmas repertoire has expanded with several new songs as well as new arrangements of familiar ones. Our audiences love the upbeat selections we sing for them! We entertained at a number of seniors' residences over the season and we sang everything from traditional to Elvis, to the delight of our audiences. The thing that has struck me most about Silver Chord this year is the enthusiasm and the wonderful changes in our sound and energy. I  joined the choir as your accompanist in 2017 (wow, so long ago!) and have enjoyed every minute I've spent with you all. 2025, here we come!  
    • What an amazing group we have!

      We've begun work on our Christmas repertoire. We’ve had many requests for new music and for some challenges, so Nigel, our conductor and myself (Stephanie, your accompanist) have obliged with no less than eight new Christmas songs. They range from familiar tunes not often heard to some unique and beautiful ones. Did you know there are three tunes to O Little Town of Bethlehem? How about an Elvis tune? Maybe a bit of Gordon Lightfoot? Are you intrigued? Would you like to sing with us? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page to learn more and visit our Contact us page to sign up.

    • Welcome to our new members!

      Well, our 2024/2025 season is off to a great start. We have quite a few new members, for which we’re always very thankful, and they bring lots of musical talent to the choir. Our Silver Chord sound is always amazing in the Gathering Place and the great acoustics work wonders for our enthusiasm and energy.

      Learning new music is always fun and interesting. We had a look at three new ones in the middle of September and we’ll tackle a few more for Christmas in the coming weeks.

    • Fun warmup exercises!

      I (Stephanie) subscribe to a website called Choir Warmups. They’ve recently made all their warmup exercises free to download. Most are original and all are fun. Check it out! (The link opens in a new tab so you won’t lose your place here.)

    • Back to the Gathering Place!
      We’ll be meeting in our favourite rehearsal venue again in September! The reconstruction of Leigh Square continues, but the work is quieter and the actual construction activities are more contained. The piano will be tuned and overhauled, so we can get back to making beautiful music in beautiful surroundings once again. See you there!