New Members' Representative

It is week two of the winter season and things are going really well. We have pretty much covered the Britten carols - it certainly helps that half of us have sung it before - and will be polishing the music from here on in.

The first three weeks are also all about welcoming new members, and it has been a hectic time. Much of the congratulations goes to Liang who has been a very proactive new members' rep. In the past few seasons we have seen something of the order of a dozen would-be Pinkies coming along at the start of the season. Since Liang took over, however, we have had that many coming each week. This is not a surprise really, as Liang has gone out of his way to keep newbies up to date about the joining process, and put a more personal touch to making sure the new members are orientated.

I've had a chance to speak to many of the would-be new members and the overwhelming response is that they think we are a friendly bunch. Of course we are, but I also think that it helps that the section leaders are very keen to get to know the new members, and that the general Pinkies are also putting much more effort into it. After the rehearsal yesterday all bar one of the new members joined us in the pub for drinks, and they weren't all seated together either, but spread out amongst the regulars.

When I first joined, the Pink Singers were nowhere near as convivial and it took a couple of seasons to find my groove. I've noticed in the last couple of years that the atmosphere is changing though, and certainly for the better. It is counterintuituve, but as the choir gets bigger, there seems to be fewer and fewer factions, and more and more cohesiveness. It could be that the music is now our common focus, but I do think it reflects well on us as a community.

I have, for a long time, been worried about what will happen to that community as our group grows. At present we are 16 per section, or a total of 64 members. With the huge influx of new members and our relatively low turnover of existing members, Mladen mentioned that we could take on up to 15 newbies this season, and are now exploring going up to 18 per section, or a total of 72 members. That is more than twice the size of the choir I joined in 2002. At present, everyone still knows everyone else and we are all good friends. I imagine that 72 is probably the top end of what it is possible to cope with and still keep that great Pinkie vibe.