How Does COTE Work?
Welcome to Choir of the Earth!
Are you considering joining us? Let us show you around!
How it works: the short version
Our talented and charismatic Musical Director Ben England BEM teaches the music line-by-line in full choir and sectional rehearsals via YouTube.
We give you the opportuntiy to record your own voice at home singing along with our professional guide singers - don't worry, you don't need any special equipment and it's easy to do.
Our team of sound engineers combine everyone's voices in the recording studio.
We play back YOUR performance in an online concert premiere that all your friends and family can attend.
Our performances have made headlines around the world. In 2023 we earned second place in Britain's Top Choirs™ with our rendition of Eric Whitacre’s Seal Lullaby!
Choral singing for all
We teach each piece note by note, voice part by voice part, and provide innovative learning and rehearsal resources that enable singers of all levels to join in.
We have members who have never been in a choir before singing alongside music teachers and professional performers, and everything in between.
We believe a musical journey is never complete and that there is always something new to learn.
Choir of the Earth provides a safe environment to learn for those just setting out on their musical adventure, whilst also challenging experienced choristers.
For those interested in improving their choral skills or exploring music theory or music history in more detail, we also offer our supplementary Around Sound series.
About our courses
At Choir of the Earth we learn the choral parts of the entire work, not just a few movements, and we take pride in giving you opportunities to sing great choral works that smaller local choirs often cannot offer.
You will receive all the support you need to learn and record the music at home, including the highest quality resources, using the latest teaching technqiues and innovative technological developments in online education.
You are welcome to learn and record as much or as little as you like: some members record multiple times for multiple voice parts, while others simply enjoy the rehearsals and choose not to record at all. It is your choral education to enjoy however you like.
All of our courses are led by our charismatic and insightful Musical Director, Ben England. His inspiring and enthusiastic teaching encourages even the least confident singers to exceed their own expectations, while still challenging the most experienced choristers.
Ben’s teaching goes beyond the notes, taking you inside the music and helping you appreciate what makes it special, whether you are singing a piece for the first or fifteenth time.
Our online choir rehearsals
With traditional choirs, your director usually has to deal with all of the voice parts in one weekly session. We appreciate the value of bringing everyone together once a week but we also think it’s easier to learn the music at separate rehearsals focused on each voice part… plus this means you can come along to as many rehearsals - and learn as many parts - as you like!
We hold a full choir rehearsal on Monday at 17:00 UK time and then separate voice part rehearsals, usually on Tuesdays through Thursdays between 17:00 - 20:00 UK time.
Each rehearsal lasts around 60 minutes and we carefully schedule them so that each voice part has rehearsals on a variety of days/times, making sure as many members can attend live as often as possible.
Of course if you can’t make it live, it’s not a problem - our rehearsals are recorded and stay available so you can take part at a time that suits you best.
All members are very welcome to attend as many rehearsals as you like, even if it’s not aimed at your voice part.
The resources you need to take part in our courses are available on our exclusive Members Area, which you will have access to as soon as you sign up.
We provide the PDFs of the vocal scores we use where possible, or the information you need to buy scores for any pieces still in copyright.
Our learning tracks are recorded by talented professional singers and musicians, giving you the best possible resources to learn from.
At our rehearsals, we will give you all the latest news and warm up together before the singing begins.
We invite members to use YouTube’s Live Chat function at our rehearsals to connect and share the experience with your choral colleagues around the world.
We are very proud of the friendly, supportive and fun choral community that thrives at our rehearsals. That said, if you prefer not to chat and would rather switch it off and just focus on the music, that’s great too - it’s your experience to enjoy however you wish!
Between rehearsals, we keep in touch by email, including a weekly email from Team COTE to keep you up to date with all things COTE. We also have active social media accounts you can engage with.
Become a Member today
Becoming a Member gives you access to our:
Current Choir of the Earth choral courses.
Ever-growing library of past courses and course materials - learn and revise popular choral works, taught note-by-note by top conductors, with rehearsal resources recorded and prepared by professional choral singers and accompanists.
Collection of lecture series about music history, skills, theory and more.
Additional educational resources, such as in-depth interviews with leading musicians, composers and key figures in the classical music world.
Live chat during rehearsals, concerts and more - connect and make friends with like-minded music-lovers from around the world.
Members-only events, including monthly Town Hall meetings - help us shape the future of online choral education!
Much more!
Get all this for just £29 per month, or get an extra 10% off when you join as an annual member! Not sure yet? New monthly members get the first month free when you sign up using code WELCOME1 at checkout, so give it a try risk-free. We hope to see you in our online choir room very soon!
