ON Saturday 16 September the Seaside Singers will take to the stage at the Soldiers Point Bowling Club, with their Annual Spring Concert the culmination of several months of tireless preparation.

“It takes about a third of a year to practise,” said recently elected Seaside Singers president Libby Booth.

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“All the different sections – the altos, the men and the sopranos – all meet and rehearse in their own groups once a week.

“Then we get together with the full choir the next night and practise the songs we are learning, with Robyne Egan conducting.”

The Seaside Singers are a passionate local community choir, started in around 2009 by Diana Souter and her husband Ronald.

“Everyone in the choir is a local.

“There are no auditions required to join the choir, it is just people that like to sing and get together.

“We accept everyone, so long as you love to sing.”

Libby said the choir was designed to be fun and didn’t take itself too seriously.

“We are called the Seaside Singers, we don’t call ourselves the ‘Royal Gala Chor’ or something like that, we aren’t here to sing opera or that kind of music.

“It is enjoyable music that people can toe-tap to or just sit back and reminisce and remember.”

Choir membership has myriad benefits as people age, according to Libby.

“There is a great social element.

“It is also good for memory and for all sorts of things as you get older.

“The average age would be… getting on,” Libby laughed.

“A lot of us sit down, a lot of us can’t stand up for too long.”

Libby, an alto, moved to Port Stephens in 2018 after visiting the area for 30 years.

“I was in a choir when I left Sydney, and the first thing I had to do up here was to find another one, which I did.

“I have made a lot of friends through it.”

The Seaside Singers perform two major concerts annually; the Spring concert and a concert earlier in the year, usually around Seniors Week.

The choir’s Annual Spring Concert is on Saturday, 16 September at 2pm in the Soldiers Point Bowling Club Auditorium.

Tickets cost $20 for adults, $15 for concessions (seniors and students) and children under 15 are free.

You can book and buy your tickets by phoning the Bowling Club on 4982 7173 or visit the club in person.