Common Questions about Sydney Alterna Choir

Thursdays during school terms from 7:15pm to 9:15pm. Here are the school term dates for 2026:

• Term 1

  • First Alterna Session Thursday 5th February 2026

  • Last Alterna Session Thursday 2nd April 2026

• Term 2

  • First Alterna Session Thursday 23rd April 2026

  • No Alterna Thursday 11th June (choir excursion to Spooky Men’s Chorale gig at Enmore Theatre)

  • Last Alterna Session Thursday 2nd July 2026

• Term 3

  • First Alterna Session Thursday 23rd July 2026

  • Last Alterna Session Thursday 24th September 2026

• Term 4

  • First Alterna Session Thursday 15th October 2026

  • Last Alterna Session Thursday 17th December 2026 (Christmas singalong)

Alterna Choir meets weekly in Newtown in the Inner West of Sydney

2025 Venue:

OWN Newtown Wellness Centre

8-10 Victoria St, Newtown NSW 2042

All-You-Can-Eat Alterna Annual Membership

• Weekly 2 hour singing session with Alterna Choir, including professional vocal instruction, good vibes and bottomless cups of tea.

• Runs during school terms.

• Access to exclusive Online Members’ Area for sheet music and learning tracks all year.

• Two Sydney Sing Summit weekend singing retreats.

• $1350 per year

• $1000 per year concession

Choir Term

• Weekly 2 hour singing session with Alterna Choir, including professional vocal instruction, good vibes and bottomless cups of tea.

• Runs during school terms.

• Access to exclusive Online Members’ Area for sheet music and learning tracks.

• $280 per term (average $28 per session)

• $210 per term (average $21 per session) concession

Casual Choir Session

• Perfect for those who want to try a single session first.

• Perfect for those who can’t make it every week, but still want to hang out.

• Join us for one of our weekly 2 hour singing session with Alterna Choir, including professional vocal instruction, good vibes and bottomless cups of tea.

• Runs during school terms.

• $32 per session

• $25 per session concession

To join up for a term, or purchase a single session, click here.

The concession rate is available to low income/pension and concession card holders.

Nope! Everyone is welcome because everyone can sing. No really, everyone. If you can speak, you can sing (it's literally the same thing, we can help you finesse it)! If someone told you that you can't sing, they were wrong and we're here to prove it! We will teach you everything you need to know, so no experience is necessary.

No. We often use sheet music but don't expect you to be able to read it. Some of our members read sheet music confidently while others are completely bamboozled by all the dots and squiggles (though we teach you little bits along the way). We teach everything by ear (we sing your part and you copy) and provide learning tracks so you can listen to your part at home, too.

We sing an eclectic mix of:

• great indie pop music (including songs by Matt Corby, Fleet Foxes, Tim Minchin, Ingrid Michaelson, Regina Spektor, Radiohead, The Shins, and Ron Sexsmith)

• contemporary folk (like Gillian Welch, Lucy Wise and The Maes)

• some lesser known songs by well-known artists (Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Missy Higgins and the Beatles)

• gorgeous gospel and songs from around the world.

You can listen to many of the songs we sing as performed by the original artists on our Spotify playlist.

Our Instagram has clips of us singing some of our songs, too.

This is a very common story! Many of us sang in a choir at school and loved it, then left school and somehow life took over and we forgot to find a choir again until now!

That makes you the perfect person to join Alterna. We'll help you ease your way back into singing, figure out which voice part is most comfortable and reconnect you with that joyous, uplifting feeling you remember.

Rather than working towards regular performances, we sing for ourselves because it feels great, is lots of fun and is great for our wellbeing. We want coming to choir to be the thing that refreshes and rejuvenates you, not the thing that leads to additional stress.

We occasionally sing a couple of songs for passers-by on King Street just for fun but there is no obligation to partake.

Of course! You don't need any experience, just a sense of humour and a sense of fun! We teach everything by ear (we sing it for you and you just copy), so that everyone feels comfortable regardless of whether or not you have sung before.

People often associate the word 'choir' with church music but it just refers to a group of singers. We occasionally sing gospel tunes but we are a secular group.

For weekly Alterna sessions

When you book a casual session, this will be applied to the next scheduled Alterna session. If you have booked a casual session and are unable to attend the week you booked for, you can use this to attend another session during the same term (see term dates on the Alterna website).

In extenuating circumstances if you need to withdraw from your term membership, please apply in writing. 

For Alterna special events including Sing Summit

A full refund is available with more than 10 days’ notice. After this cutoff no refunds are available. Alternatively, we would be happy to credit funds towards a future event.

Join our mailing list and we’ll send news about Alterna events straight to your inbox every month or so.

Yippee!! We can’t wait to sing with you!

Just come along! You don’t need to book for a specific session: casual bookings can be used for any session during the term they were booked in.