Eclipse Choir

Want to join one of our Kingston choirs?

We warmly invite those interested in joining to get in touch so we can organise an informal audition and a taster session, and you would be starting in week commencing 15th September 2025.

What makes Eclipse Choir different?

Led by director, Jim Hawkins, Eclipse includes two friendly, aspirational choirs. In each group you'll:

receive high quality teaching, direction and musical insight
build singing, sight-reading and emsemble skills
encounter a broad-ranging repertoire, from traditional choral works through to new arrangements of contemporary songs
explore musical ideas and expression
perform in twice yearly concerts and additional events

Who should join Eclipse?

We have two groups presently which are designed to cater for different levels of ability and commitment.

Thursday Focus Choir

This group is for female amateur singers who are ready to progress from a community choir.

You want more of a challenge, but at a gentler pace.
You'll be up for singing with musical scores (you don't need to be a sight-reader, as you'll be given lots of support, but you're ready to have a go!)
And, importantly, you would welcome warm female fellowship and lots of laughs.

Monday Total Choir

Our Monday group is for both male and female amateur singers who aspire to be part of a committed SATB choir.

You know your voice, make a good sound, and can work on blending with others.
You are keen to receive instruction from our director.
You'll be confident reading music (you might be rusty, but you'll pick it up fast enough with practice).
You've also had some good experience singing in choirs or vocal groups (again you might be out of practice if you haven't sang for a while, but know it'll come back with practice).

What people say about us

"The choirs just get better and better. The performance on Saturday evening was very impressive with a wide range of genres and some very special performances."

"The concert was excellent. Very polished indeed"

From our members

"Never have I worked so hard on my music and enjoyed it so much!"

"I don't know if you could tell from my face, but God I loved every bit of the singing 🙂 I am definitely a little better at singing now than I was before Eclipse. I thoroughly enjoyed learning a number of pieces, especially Hallelujah and Disney Fly! But for me, the best parts were the warm-up exercises. They were so challenging yet so supremely fulfilling at the end of it."

"I have learned so much from Jim! I'm a better singer, and as a choir we have stretched and grown so much because of him. He is an exceptionally good teacher and drops amazing gifts of musical goodness into our lives on a weekly basis. If you want to become a better musician, and have a thoroughly satisfying time practising, then Eclipse is the choir to join."

About the audition

Our Monday choir (Total choir) is an SATB choir and has space for 1x soprano 1 x alto, 1 x tenor, and 1 x bass. Singers should be able to read music to at least a basic level and have some experience of choral singing.

Our Thursday choir (Focus choir) is an SSAA choir and has spaces for 1 x soprano and more altos. Whilst it is not an absolute requirement to read music for this group, it is something that you should want to learn.

The first step is coming along to meet Jim at his home studio for an informal audition, followed by a free taster session to see if you enjoy the choir and teaching. There's no need to prepare a performance of any kind. Jim will take you through some exercises to hear your tone, range, pitching, listening, rhythm etc. And you can ask any questions about his teaching and directing. Above all, this audition will ascertain if you're a strong enough singer to enjoy our choir.

If you are not certain of your voice part, or if it's been a long time since you last sang in a choir, please contact us - Jim will listen to your tone and range in order to suggest the right section for you. The audition is a blank slate and doesn't rely on your history of singing in other choirs. Your voice is what we want to hear! 😃