About WARMSS 2027
Rehearsals
A WARMSS course is "all day", and our rehearsals and other sessions run daily from 9:45am to 9:00pm, including two significant breaks for food and rest. Each day ends with a Compline service at 9:00pm. The final day of the course, Sunday January 17 2027, finishes early, after our public concert.
Our rehearsal time together will be split into full choir rehearsals, work in smaller consorts, masterclasses, and lectures. For those who are interested, there can also be significant time spent on solo singing. While we will be constantly learning a substantial amount of new music, we will focus specifically on:
- Ensemble techniques such as intonation, balance, and phrasing
- Easy and flowing vocal production free from excess tension
- Scholarly engagement through a practical approach
- Advancing your sight-reading proficiency
Performances
The performances taking place at WARMSS 2027 are still being planned. In the past, the course has given these public performances:
- Compline services in Notre Dame University Chapel and the chapel at Aquinas College
- Choral Evensong at St. John's Anglican Church
- Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral
- Public Concert at St Patrick's Basilica, Fremantle
Confirmed details of where we will be performing in 2027 will appear here when they are available.
What's Included
Alongside the choir and consort rehearsals and performances, the course will include:
- Individual singing lessons for anyone who wants one, included free of charge
- Significant opportunities for solo repertoire coaching and performance, taking advantage of our newest staff member Matt Long's expertise in solo vocal repertoire from the Renaissance, and Matt Jones, our Course Accompanist, on the lute.
- Lectures and talks given by our members of staff
- Private staff recital given by our world class team of tutors
- Participants are entitled to take home all of the scores that has been prepared for the course, including brand new editions.
Logistics and Practicalities
Rehearsals for the course will take place at the Aquinas College, in Salter Point. It is accessible by public transport on bus route 30 from the centre of Perth and also has ample parking on site for those who drive. We will work with participants to make sure everyone can get to and from the course each day.
Accommodation
For those not living in the Perth area, finding accommodation is ultimately your responsibility, but in 2027 there will be a limited amount of accommodation available at the college itself and we are also working with local hotels to secure discounted group rates. There are Airbnbs in the area as well, and we can provide suggestions and advice, as well as put participants in touch with one another in order to make sharing Airbnbs more cost effective.
We have access to one boarding house at Aquinas College. There is a limited number of rooms available in this house, and these can either be taken by one person alone or two people sharing twin beds (i.e. separate beds, but in the same space). Aquinas College has graciously offered us below-market rates for these rooms.
These are:
- For single occupancy: $130 per person per night
- For each person sharing a room: $75 per person per night
Regardless of whether someone shares a room or not, all toilet and shower facilities will be shared by everyone staying in the house, with separate facilities for men and women.
These rooms are reserved for people coming to WARMSS from outside the Perth area who would otherwise be unable to attend. Students will be given priority.
If you would like to be considered for one of these rooms, regardless of whether you are a student, please indicate this on your application form. You can tell us whether you are happy to share a room with another participant or whether you prefer a single room.
We will allocate these rooms after our application deadline and inform you of whether we can offer you a room in the email you'll receive if your application has been successful.
If we aren't able to allocate you a room at Aquinas College, you are still welcome to take advantage of whatever group rates we can secure at local hotels.
Food & Catering
We have arranged with the catering team at Aquinas College to provide us with a full range of meals for participants on site. This is an exciting quality-of-life improvement over previous WARMSS courses.
The catering staff at Aquinas College to provide us with the following meals:
- Breakfast (continental and cooked options)
- Morning tea (including a light snack)
- Lunch
- Afternoon tea (including a light snack)
- Dinner
When we travel to other places for church services or other events, they will include a packed meal as part of their service.
They are providing one full meal plan for the duration of the course, which includes all available meals. This will cost $385 per person, for six days.
The precise menu at each meal will rotate throughout the course. All dietary requirements can be accommodated and we will be in touch in the lead-up to the course about this.
WARMSS will collect individual payments for the meal plan from participants and the catering staff will invoice WARMSS directly.
Participants who choose not to sign up for the meal plan will not be able to 'pick and choose' which meals they'd like at Aquinas College during the week. Given that the meal plan is extremely good value, all participants are strongly encouraged to sign up!
Accommodation and meal plan arrangements are not connected in any way. They will be dealt with and paid for in separate processes and there is no obligation or expectation that they will be linked.
A Typical Day:
9:45am to 10:00am - Coffee / Tea / Warm up
10:00 am to 12:30pm - Morning sessions
12:30pm to 2:00pm - Lunch
2:00pm to 6:00pm - Afternoon sessions including lectures, etc
6:00pm to 7:30pm - Dinner
7:30pm to 8:45pm - Evening session with Compline rehearsal
8:45pm to 9:00pm - Break
9:00pm to 9:30pm - Compline service
You will pick up a complete schedule when you arrive. Detailed scheduling usually isn't complete until close to the time of the course. If you have any scheduling questions, please get in touch and we'll do our best to help.