Similar to LCV, at its core Belfast Voices will be a collective of highly skilled professional and aspiring-professional singers from diverse musical and cultural backgrounds. This diversity will be central to the group’s contemporary sound: a rich, layered blend of voices that carries authenticity, emotional depth and a unique energy. Singers will be united by a love of collaboration, creativity and powerful storytelling, aiming to create performances that feel like shared experiences for musicians and audiences alike.

All singers will have their own specialisms and preferences. However, our aim is to recruit singers who are open to singing different types of music and are not solely rooted in one tradition or genre. Over time, our aim is for the choir to be able to move fluidly across genres, performing everything from folk and traditional songs to contemporary alternative, pop, gospel, jazz, electronica, classical crossover and cinematic vocal textures.

All applicants must be aged 18 or over. In order to be eligible for paid opportunities you must have the right to work in Northern Ireland. Applicants must have sung with other voices in multiple-part harmony before – usually as part of a good choir, a cappella group, musical theatre chorus, or as a backing vocalist. It’s fine if you haven’t yet worked at a professional level - we expect some students, early-career professionals, established professional musicians and excellent non-professionals who are looking to take their singing further. This will be a high-standard group.

Our rehearsals will usually be score-based and we expect most singers will be confident using scores, including some sight-singers. All singers will need to be able to follow a musical score (or willing to learn quickly), even if they primarily rely on learning by ear.

While things are being tested and established, the 2-3 initial pilot rehearsals are unpaid. However, our intention is to start generating paid opportunities for the group as early as possible. For the pilot rehearsals, we can cover travel expenses up to £15 per rehearsal where receipts are provided.

If you are only able to attend paid rehearsals, please wait for the project choir to become fully established before applying at a later date, in a future recruitment round.

 We hope many singers will want to be part of the new group from the outset, as it’s a chance to create something new together and inform where things go. We’re aiming for rehearsals to be fun and rewarding for all.

These are still to be confirmed, based on the size of the final group. Details will be added here in due course.

Send an email to LCV Co-Founder Didier Rochard using didier@lcvchoir.co.uk

Please include the following:

1. Attach your musical CV, or include a short summary of your musical background (bullet points are fine).

2. Note whether you’re an established professional singer, early-career professional singer, aspiring-professional singer, or somebody who sings mainly for fun.

3. Note whether you’re a soprano, mezzo, alto, tenor, baritone or bass, and your range (if known).

4. Note the names of any other choirs or vocal groups that you’ve have been part of.

5. Note any relevant professional music experience and/or music training.

6. Give a sense of what you enjoy singing most – e.g. Your favourite artists or composers.

7. Include at least TWO links or attachments which show you singing individually, and ideally unaccompanied. These do NOT need to be recorded to a professional standard – a phone recording is fine – it’s just for us to get a sense of your voice. Ideally you should select songs that show your specialism and also some versatility. Short extracts are fine, we don’t need the whole song.

Selected applicants will be invited to attend a short audition.

Auditions are nothing to be nervous about – we want you to feel comfortable showing off your voice, and we’re friendly! Auditions will be short – 15-20 minutes max. You’ll be asked to prepare two short pieces or extracts of your own choosing in advance, each approx. 2-3 mins and unaccompanied.

One piece can be any song of your choosing and should show off your specialism and personality. The second piece should be a contrast, sung in “straighter” style – usually a classical song, folk song, hymn or carol, with most ornamentation stripped away.

If we need a greater sense of range, we may ask you to repeat your piece with a different treatment, or with different dynamics.

We’ll then ask you to do a quick sight-singing exercise or a listen-and-repeat exercise (depending on how comfortable you are with scores). We may also check your range.

Overall, we’ll be thinking about the quality and unique nature of your voice, your performance style, your versatility and/or specialism, the fit with other voices we’ve heard and whether we’re the right choir for you.

Please email any questions to Didier Rochard, Co-Founder of London Contemporary Voices using didier@lcvchoir.co.uk