Community Choirs in Australia · Community Choirs in Australia Page 2 The Survey The Music in...

Community Choirs in Australia

www.musicincommunities.org.au

Introduction The Music in Communities Network’s research agenda includes filling some statistical gaps in our

understanding of the community music sector. We know that there are an enormous number of

community-based groups but there is no statistical information about how many people are in them,

how often they perform, what music they play, what issues they face, or their demographics.

The second in a series of surveys focuses on community choirs. For the first time we have a

statistical picture of the demographic and gender makeup of community choirs, how they are

supported, some information about budgets and revenue streams, and an indication of the

contributions that choirs make to their local community.

The survey took place in 2012-13 and has been analysed by Alex Masso, manager of the Music in

Communities Network, a program of the Music Council of Australia. The 19 questions (see Appendix

2) cover a range of topics including demographics, leadership, budgets, and repertoire.

Key findings: Almost all Australian community choirs sing Australian music (Figure 2)

Most Australian community-based choirs have been running for less than 10 years (Figure 3)

There is a gradual increase in choir participation with each age bracket, 45-54 year olds

being most likely to sing in a choir (Figure 5)

Over 80% of choirs are ‘mixed’ but only 30% of singers in community choirs are male (Figure

7)

Almost two thirds of choir directors/leaders have a degree related to music and most of

those have a degree in music education

The number of choirs where ‘singers must be able to read music’ is only 8%, in 57% reading

is ‘useful but not required’, and in 36% of choirs ‘singers don’t need to be able to read music’

(Figure 10)

Almost all community choirs give their time to the local community, with three quarters

giving free concerts and even more performing at community events (Figure 12)

About a quarter of Australian community choirs have annual expenses of under $1000

(27%), a further 10% have between $1000 and $2500 in their annual budget.

Besides the choir director or leader, the highest expenses for community choirs are Venue

Hire, Sheet music, Public Liability Insurance and Accompanists (Figure 13)

More than half of all community choirs receive some form of support from local

government, 13% receive support from state governments and 5% from the federal

government (Figure 14)

Besides local government, the next highest level of support for choirs comes from churches

and religious organisations (Figure 14)



The Survey The Music in Communities Network conducted an online survey between September 2012 and

January 2013, open to any choir to complete. Over 200 choirs responded to the survey which was

distributed through the Music in Communities Network with the help of the Australian National

Choral Association and others. All of the choirs included in these results fall into what we consider

‘community choirs”. A small number of school and professional choirs were removed from the

responses because there were too few to compare results (for example, between “community”

choirs and “school” choirs) and because in some cases these results would alter the overall results

(for example, directors’ fees for professional choirs).

The survey had 19 questions, listed in Appendix 2

As an indication of the field of responses, the largest categories were Classical (20%), Multicultural

(14%), Folk / traditional (13%) and the group of choirs that indicated “many” or “various” (16%)

(Figure 1). A very small proportion identify as a “musical theatre” choir, this may be the result of

reaching fewer theatre groups than standalone choirs, or may be an indication that “musical

theatre” is one of a number of genres that some choirs sing but not the primary genre.

We treat this result with some caution as an indication of the overall breakdown of genres chosen by

choirs.



Findings

Australian Music Almost all Australian community

choirs sing Australian music (Figure 2).

Our question was about the place of

Australian music in the choir’s

repertoire, based not on a proportion

of repertoire but the effort or priority

placed on Australian music. Almost

none (0.5%) indicated that “it’s all we

sing”, but a third (34%) indicate that

they “make a conscious effort”. A

much larger group sings some but

doesn’t make a conscious effort

(58%), bringing the total number of

choirs that do sing Australian music to 93%.

Participation, Concerts and Rehearsals

Based on respondents, Australia’s

community choirs have an average

of 37 members, rehearse 43 times

per year and perform an average of

11 concerts per year.

Age of Choirs Most Australian community-based

choirs have been running for less

than 10 years. The highest

proportion have been running for

less than five years (39%), followed

by five to ten years (19%), with

fewer choirs as the number of years

increases. (Figure 3)

One observation here is the

comparison with community orchestras, which we have found to show the opposite trend (Figure 3).

The majority of orchestras have been running for more than 20 years with a small percentage being

created in the last five years, while choirs appear to be more recently established. There are at least

two possible explanations for this: one is that there has been a new burst of activity in recent years,

to the point where one in three choirs has been running for less than five years. Another possibility



is that choirs naturally ‘come and go’ more frequently than other kinds of

community music group (orchestras, for example), perhaps because that is the nature of the sector

or because they are less established and not sustainable. We estimate that there are far more

community choirs than orchestras (Appendix 1), it is possible that there are just as many long

established choirs as there are orchestras but the high proportion of new choirs includes less

established groups.

Another observation is that the age of a choir might be determined by the style of choiri. We have

found that choirs identifying as “classical” are far more likely to have been running for over 20 years;

in fact half of all respondents that have been running for over thirty years also identified as

“classical”. Pop/contemporary choirs, on the other hand, are far more likely to have been

established in the last five years.



Age of Members The most startling observation

about the age groups included

in choirs is the gradual increase

in participation with each

increasing age bracket. The

highest proportion of

participants are in the 55-64

age category (24%), with a

gradual increase from the 18-

24 age category (6%). 25-34

(9%), 35-44 (13%) and 45-54

(21%). In total, almost two

thirds of choir members are

over 45 (65%) with a very small

proportion of people under 25

(Figure 5).

Our 2012 survey of community

orchestras found that different

age groups are represented

more consistently, and in more

orchestras, than the balance of

age groups in community

choirs. We treat this with some

caution since the surveys were

slightly different, but Figure 6

suggests a clear trend.ii While a

consistently high number of

orchestras include members

from each age group, choirs are

increasingly more likely to

include people from age groups

as they increase.

This suggests that relatively few people continue group singing after school, many more return to it

or commence group singing later in life.



Gender One issue that affects choirs

in a different way to other

music groups is gender

balance. Unlike orchestras,

brass bands, jazz bands, rock

bands, ukulele groups, pipe

bands and so on, the voice is

the primary instrument and

therefore the combination of

voices is a matter of

ensemble balance as well as

the social makeup of the

group.

There is a clear gap between

the numbers of men and

women in community choirs. We estimate that 30% of all singers in community choirs are men, 70%

are women. Our research found 81% of choirs being ‘mixed’, 6% ‘male only’ and 13% ‘female only’.

As Figure 7 shows, the largest group of singers in community choirs are women in mixed choirs

(60%) followed by men in mixed choirs (23%), then women and men in gender specific choirs (12%

and 5% respectively).

The proportion of participation in

mixed and gender specific choirs

is approximately the same (about

81% of male singers and 80% of

female singers are in ‘mixed’

choirs), although the number of

women is much higher. It is also

very rare for a ‘mixed ‘ choir to

have a majority of men; Figure 8

shows that mixed choirs are most

likely to have 20-40% male

members, somewhat likely to

have fewer than 20% male

members, but only 4% have over

60% male members.



Choir Leaders Approximately 95% of respondents said that their choir’s director or conductor has some form of

musical training, with only a small proportion having no musical training (5%). Almost two thirds

have a degree related to music (62%) and most of those have a degree in music education (58%).

Almost half have a degree in music other than education such as performance (45%) and 7% have a

music therapy degree.iii Of those with no formal qualification, nine out of ten have a ‘non-degree

education in music’.

In total, 59% of choir leaders are paid while the remainder take on the role voluntarily. There are a

large number in both categories and a wide range of fees for those that are paid, ranging from a

modest stipend through to ‘per rehearsal’ fees and even salaries. Choir leaders with a music degree

are twice as likely to be paid for their role as they are to lead a choir voluntarily (67% vs 33%). Choir

leaders with no music degree are just as likely to be paid as to take on the role voluntarily (49% vs

51%).

Figure 9 shows that a quarter of paid choir directors/conductors receive less than $2500 per year

and approximately 16% of directors receive more than $10,000 per year. The largest bracket is

between $2500 and $5000.iv It is important to remember that this figure only represents

respondents who stated the annual or weekly payment of the director/conductor, and that these

figures are for individual choirs. We know that some people run a number of choirs and are paid by

each separately, therefore these people will have higher earnings from choral conducting/directing.



Entry to Choir Participation

Audition and Reading

Skills About one in five choirs

audition their members, which

means the vast majority have

an ‘open door’ policy. The

number of choirs where

‘singers must be able to read

music’ is only 8%, in 57%

reading is ‘useful but not

required’, and in 36% of choirs

‘singers don’t need to be able

to read music’ (Figure 10).

The auditioned choirs are far

more likely to require singers

to read music (Figure 10). In a

third of all auditioned choirs reading is ‘required’ in a further 60% it is ‘useful’, while in non-

auditioned choirs the number where reading is ‘useful’ is almost the same (56%) but almost half do

not require singers to read music (43%). Only 1% of non-auditioned choirs require singers to read

music.

Participation

Fees The vast majority of

community choirs

involve some fee for

participation (79%).

These range from an

annual membership

fee or contribution

through to weekly,

term-based or

activity-based fees.

About one in five

choirs have no

membership or

participation fees

and a similar number



of choirs fall into the under $100, $100-$250 and $250-$500 categories.

Approximately 10% of choirs have participation fees of over $500 per year. (Figure 11)

The fee per rehearsal is between $5 and $10 for approximately a third of the choirs with fees, $10 -

$15 for a further 17% and 10% pay more than $15 per rehearsal, on average. Approximately 43%

have a fee so low that it probably isn’t collected or calculated on a weekly or rehearsal basis, these

annual fees are under $5 per week on average.

Contribution to Community The contributions made by community choirs to their local communities are diverse and significant

(Figure 12). Almost all respondents (92%) indicated that they perform some kind of community

service, the highest ranking of the options given being ‘performing at community events’ (87%)

followed by ‘free performances’ (75%). Many other activities were mentioned as ways in which

choirs contribute to their community: mentoring generalist teachers in local primary schools, singing

for church services, promoting the work of Australian composers, singing at political demonstrations

and events, and supporting music students through scholarships.



Finance & Support

Overall Budgets About a quarter of Australian community choirs have annual expenses of under $1000 (27%) and a

further 10% have between $1000 and $2500 in their annual budget. While the survey does not

cover budgets in more detail, these findings suggest that choirs cover a wide spectrum of financial

capacity and that a significant number operate with a very small annual budget.

Expenses Besides the choir director or leader, the highest expenses for community choirs are Venue Hire,

Sheet music, Public Liability Insurance and Accompanists (Figure 13). There are some differences

between choirs with very low budgets (27% of choirs with an annual budget under $1000) and those

with higher budgets.v

More than half of all choirs list sheet music as being one of the highest expenses (54%), even more

so among the choirs with less than $1000 in their annual budget (64%). This suggests that the cost of

sheet music has a major impact on community choirs. Venue hire is the highest expense overall and

particularly for choirs with over $1000 budgets.



Support from Community & Government Institutional support for community choirs comes from a range of sources, with both financial and

in-kind support coming from the government, private and community sectors. While 64% of

community choirs indicated that they receive some form of financial or in-kind support, only 41%

overall indicated that they receive financial support from institutions in their community or

government.

By far the highest level of support comes from local government, with 35% of choirs receiving

financial support and 28% receiving in-kind support, in total 57% of choirs receive some support

from their local council (Figure 14).vi The other tiers of government are far less likely to support

community choirs, with 13% and 5% receiving some form of support from state or federal

government respectively.

While almost all community choirs receiving financial support from their local council also perform

at civic or community events (93%), only 26% of choirs that perform for community or civic events

receive financial support from their local council.

Churches are the non-government institutions most likely to support community choirs although this

is more likely to be in-kind support such as use of spaces for rehearsals and performances rather

than financial support. Businesses, Clubs and Philanthropists follow local government as the most

common financial supporters of community choirs (15%, 13% and 13% respectively), although more

choirs receive in-kind support from businesses than cash (19% in-kind).



Schools and Arts Organisations are similar to Churches in that they are far more

likely to provide in-kind support to community choirs than financial support. While about one in

twenty choirs receive in-kind support from an Arts Organisation, almost none receive any financial

support from these organisations.

Credits Report published 2 December 2013

Survey design: Alex Masso and Tina Broad

Report author: Alex Masso

The Music in Communities Network is an initiative of the Music Council of Australia


www.mca.org.au

Appendix 1: How many choirs are there? The question of how many choirs currently exist in Australia is well beyond the scope and

methodology of this project. Anecdotally we know that there are over 1000 members of the

Australian National Choral Association (ANCA), many of them are community choirs.vii In 2012 there

were 152 Sing Australia groups across Australia.viii There are many choirs that fall into very specific

categories, such as the 30 chartered choruses registered with Sweet Adelines Australiaix or that

simply operate independently.

Without more data we are reluctant to estimate the number of choirs in Australia but it seems likely

that there are well over 1000 choirs, there may in fact be several thousand.

Appendix 2: Questions

Please note that the term “choir” is used throughout to cover any kind of group where singing is the

main reason for being.

1. What best describes the style of your choir?

Options: African-American Gospel; Barbershop / Sweet Adeline; Classical; Folk / traditional;

Multicultural; Musical theatre; Pop / Contemporary; Religious; Other (please specify)

2. What best describes the pathway to membership of your choir?

Options: By audition; Non-audition / Open Door

3. What best describes the musical demands of your choir?

Options: All singers must be able to read music; Being able to read music is useful but not required;

Singers don't need to be able to read music



4. How would you best describe the place of Australian music in your choir? (ie.

music by Australian composers)

Options: It's all we sing; We make a conscious effort to include Australian music; We sing some but

we don't make a conscious effort; Not appropriate to our type of choir

5. What best describes the training of your music director? Please select one.

Options: Degree in music education; Degree in music therapy; Other degree in music (eg.

performance); Non-degree education in music; No music training; Other (please specify)

6. How much is the musical director paid per year? (if it is an unpaid/volunteer role, please type "0")

Options: Text box

7. Apart from the cost outlined in Question 6, what are the choir's costs per year?

Options: $0; up to $500; $500-$1000; $1000-2500; $2500-$5000; $5000-$10000; $10000-$50000;

$50000+

8. Apart from the cost of your musical director, what are the three biggest expenses? Please select

three of the following:

Options: Venue Hire; Public Liability Insurance; Professional Development / Workshops; Travel;

Recording; Production management for performances; Marketing/publicity; Sheet Music;

Commissioning new works; Accompanist; Other (please specify)

9. During the last year, has your choir received support from any of the following? Select any that

apply

Options: Two columns (“Cash” and “Non-cash / in-kind (eg. waived venue hire, free printing)”) and 8

rows: Business; Church / Religious Organisation; Federal Government (or agency); Local Council;

Local Club (eg. RSL, Bowling); Philanthropy; Professional Arts Organisation; School; State

Government (or agency)

10. Annually, what does each singer pay to be in your choir? (if they don't pay anything, please type

"0")

Options: Text box

11. How does your choir contribute to your community?

Options: Fundraising for charity; Free performances (in nursing homes, hospitals, schools, etc);

Performing at civic events (eg. ANZAC Day, Citizenship ceremonies); Performing at community

events (concerts in the park, carols, multicultural festival, etc); Singing workshops for the

community; Other (please specify)

12. Name of choir

Options: Text box

13. Which of the following best describes your choir?

Options: Community-based Choir (adult / all ages); Semi-professional or Professional Choir;

Institution-based Choir (eg. workplace, church); School Choir; Community-based Youth Choir (ie.

outside school)



14. How long has the choir been running?

Options: 0-5 years; 5-10 years; 10-20 years; 20-30 years; 30+ years; Don't know

15. How many people from each age group sing in your choir?

Options: under 18; 18-25; 25-35; 35-45; 45-55; 55-65; over 65

16. What percentage of your singers are male/female?

Options: Male; Female

17. How many times each year do you rehearse, on average?

Options: Text box

18. How many times each year do you perform, on average?

Options: Text box

19. What best describes the, town, city or area in which your choir is based? (eg. "Inner Sydney,

NSW", "Toowoomba, QLD")

Options: Text box

20. If you would like to hear about the findings of this survey and join our mailing list, please provide

your email address

Options: Text box

i This comparison should be treated with caution statistically since it has a smaller sample than other results in this study. ii For the Community Orchestras in Australia survey we asked whether the group includes members from each

age group; for the Community Choirs in Australia survey we asked how many members of the group fall into each age category. Therefore, in both surveys we asked whether any members fall into each age category but the questions are not identical and should be compared with caution. iii Some people have more than one degree, this total does not equal 100%

iv Salary brackets are chosen for the purpose of demonstration; four ranges of $2500 for up to $10000, then

two ranges of $5000, then ‘over $20000” v These figures are based on the expenses other than the choir director or leader.

vi The ‘total’ figure for this section is not the sum of cash + in-kind because some choirs receive both kinds of

support but are not counted twice. vii

Australian National Choral Association (Accessed 20 November 2013) http://www.anca.org.au/find-choir viii

Sing Australia (Accessed 20 November 2013) http://www.singaustralia.com.au/Information-About-Sing-Australia ixix

Sweet Adelines Australia (Accessed 20 November 2013) http://www.sweetadelines.org.au/about-us/about_choruses

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