‘How can I find out when the Society is performing?

All performances will be announced as far in advance as possible on the site. Forthcoming concerts will appear on the front page and throughout the site. Have a look at the calendar page to get details of all events.

Sign up to the newsletter to get information on all society events and to get alerts about forthcoming concerts.

Look out for posters locally - many local businesses are generous in allowing us to place posters.

Look in the local press ‘What’s On’ sections.

‘Where can I get tickets for the performances?’

Tickets for concerts are usually sold via the venue for the performance, on the door, or can be obtained from Society members. If you would like tickets you can also use the contact us details on this site.

For larger events tickets will often be sold via local outlets (such as Allens Music in the past). These will be announced with details of the performances and in any publicity material

‘Can anyone come to rehearsals?’

We would encourage those who want to know whether joining as a singing member is for them to come to rehearsals and experience the Society at first hand. Rehearsals are our main meeting point.

It would be helpful if you contact us first. There may be times when scheduled rehearsals are cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. Many members first visit has been through contact with someone in the society.

It is also helpful to know in advance you are coming so that we can try to arrange copies of music for you - although there will always be someone to share with.

Please be aware that when performances are close that rehearsals can be very intense and it may be more difficult to join in - but you’ll still get to see us working and experience what life with G&S is like.

We don’t generally expect an audience at rehearsals, although if we are holding open rehearsals and encouraging an audience this will be announced.

‘I sing with another musical group and have been part of other drama groups. Can I still come to G&S?’

‘Yes’ is the short answer. Many of our members have other musical interests and commitments and they do not mean you can’t join. People who have a genuine love of music and theatre will often have a range of tastes and interests.

We do ask, though, that when members audition for principal roles in concerts and performances they let us know about any commitments (not just the musical ones) that may interfere with rehearsals - and of course we would expect you to be available for the performances themselves. Being unavailable, though, doesn’t mean you can’t come and join in.

We are aware of other groups in the area and will try to avoid clashes - if only because many of our members like to attend other performances as well - but it is not always possible.

Performances are usually planned well in advance and if additional dates are to be added at short notice we will consult members first.

‘Who are the social events on the calendar for?’

As with most societies as well as our core activities we have a range of social events. Members and friends of the society will be invited to these.

They are not ‘closed’ events and members and friends will often bring other people with them - they are also a good way to get to know the Society.

We include these events on the site as it is a good way to keep in touch with members and friends of the Society, and also because it gives visitors to the site an idea of the sort of social life that comes with joining.

What is on the members’ pages of the site?

The members’ pages have more photographs that have been taken at Society events which can be purchased (profits to the Society). They tend to be photographs that may not be of general interest in illustrating the life of the Society but that members might like to have - pictures of themselves, family and friends.

Hopefully having them in a separate area avoids cluttering up the site and makes it more accessible and enjoyable.

Also included are details for various people that members might want to be able to contact, such as individual committee members. Having them here gives access to those who might need them but hopefully avoids them becoming the targets of copious spam! (All contact through the contact us page will still get to the right people.)

We would also like to add news and information about members to these pages - sometimes it does not seem appropriate to publish these things world wide - but that does not mean that some news of interest cannot be added to the public areas of the site. We do want to celebrate other things that our members do.

Other things may be added as the site develops, but at the moment this is all it involves. It is part of the intention to make the site a useful place for members to communicate.

Who can have access to the members’ pages?

All members and friends of the Society who have an internet access and an email address can have a user name and password for this area of the site. This will be allocated if we have the information.

We are also happy to consider requests via members for other interested friends and family to have access themselves. All requests for this nature will go through members of the committee.