Gwangju Performance Project is starting a choir, with an opening meet-and-greet session for the new members to be held Saturday.

The choir will be directed by Heather Mary Aitken and Caitlin O’Neill, who were both heavily involved in choirs in their home countries.

Aitken said that there would not be auditions, and that the choir would be open to anyone interested in singing.

“We want to have a fun and relaxed atmosphere where people can be involved in something new or restart something that they have loved previously,” she said.

“A choir is a great way to explore music without having to take the spotlight and meet other people”

Aitken said they hoped to perform a variety of genres, including jazz, classical, pop, musical theater and world music. The time of the weekly rehearsals and the repertoire will be discussed at Saturday’s meeting.

“We are going to start off small to get ourselves known and work on the confidence of the group. So to start with, we will be hoping to perform at community events and at orphanages, aged care facilities and hospitals,” said Aitken.

“Once the group gets going we will be looking to hold a concert either on our own or in collaboration with other performance groups.”

The meet and greet will be held at 2 p.m. at the First Alleyway restaurant. See the Gwangju Performance Project’s Facebook group for more details.

(paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)