For SATB community choirs, chamber choirs, and choral societies
Community Choir Software for volunteer choirs
Voice-part sections, a choral music library with checkout, a weekly email your conductor approves, attendance by voice part, and every singer reached with or without the app. Built first for bands — and it works for choirs.
90-day free trial · No credit card · Built first for bands, works for choirs
What is community choir software?
Software built for the way a community choir runs: sections by voice part, a music library that handles arrangements, weekly rehearsals leading to scheduled performances, conductor-led communications, and attendance tracking by section.
The category overlaps a lot with concert band software. Your sections are voice parts, not instrument families, and your library is vocal scores and octavos, not band parts. Backstage Baton is built first for bands, and it works for choirs: set your sections up by voice part and rename roles to your own titles (Conductor, Section Head).
Who community choir software is for
If your group rehearses weekly, learns by section, and performs choral repertoire that requires real coordination — this is your category.
Community choirs
The classic: 40-120 volunteer singers, weekly rehearsals, 3-5 concerts a year, a conductor who's also the program selector and the email writer.
Chamber choirs
Smaller, more selective groups (20-40 singers) with rehearsal-intensive seasons and demanding repertoire. Per-voice-part chair management for the spots that go to specific singers.
Choral societies
Often the larger umbrella organization that runs a community chorus plus a chamber group. Multi-ensemble support handles both under one membership and one board.
Church choirs (community-aligned)
Volunteer church choirs that operate alongside a music ministry. The same roster, music library and communications, with your own role titles.
Show choirs and a cappella groups
Performance-oriented choirs with frequent gigs. Set sections up for whatever voice arrangement you use (TTBB, SSAA, mixed).
Youth and school-affiliated choirs
Volunteer or community-affiliated programs operating alongside a school chorus. Your own colors and logo to match the school.
Built for choir-specific operations
The features that matter when your sections are SATB instead of brass and woodwinds.
Voice-part sections (SATB and beyond)
Set sections up for the voice arrangement your choir uses: SATB, SSAA, TTBB or mixed. Each singer has a voice part, and can have a different one in each ensemble. Section leaders take attendance, message their section and manage chairs for their voice part.
Choral music library
Catalog with composer, arranger, publisher and grade, plus each piece's parts list as printed. Catalog lookup fills in details it can find. Smart Import parses CSV, XLSX, PDF, DOCX, and even photos of paper inventory lists. Track which arrangements you own, which are pending purchase, and which are borrowed.
Conductor-led weekly communications
Each week the conductor gets a prompt for news, and the weekly email goes to every singer on the day your choir picks — rehearsal logistics, the week ahead, music to bring, and the conductor's notes word for word. Someone you choose approves it before it goes out. No BCC. The cadence is structural, so the choir's rhythm doesn't depend on how busy the conductor is that week.
Attendance tracking by voice part
Section leaders take attendance per rehearsal in their voice part. Switch it on separately for concerts and rehearsals, so you can track concerts and skip casual rehearsals if you prefer. Attendance rates show in the attendance report.
Concerts, season planning, and rehearsal schedules
Build the concert season with venues, dates, and call times. Add the rehearsals leading up to each concert in the same step. Setlists tied to each concert. Cancelling keeps the event visible to singers (red CANCELLED treatment) so nothing disappears. The rehearsal reminder email reaches every singer the morning of.
Grant reporting for choral arts funders
Tap-once-per-person audience counter for performances, audience by county, and your performance history. The grant report puts it on one page for arts-funder applications.
Your own role titles
Rename roles to what your choir calls them: Conductor, Choirmaster, Music Minister, Section Head. It's built first for bands, so some screens still say Performance and Setlist; the workflow is the same.
Every singer reached — the app is optional
Singers get the weekly email, a one-tap link to say they can't make it, and the schedule in their own phone calendar, with no login needed. Those who want the app add it to their home screen from the browser, no app store needed: tonight's rehearsal with start time, location, and music to bring.
Related guides
Sibling page
Community Band Software
The full platform overview for community concert bands and orchestras.
Grants
How Community Choirs Can Win More Grant Money
Audience counts by age and county, and the numbers arts funders ask for.
Communications
The Email BCC Problem
Why conductors hate their inbox — and the weekly digest fix.
Frequently asked questions
Is community choir software different from community band software?
It's the same platform. Backstage Baton is built first for bands, and it works for choirs: set your sections up by voice part and rename roles to your own titles. The music library, attendance, communications and member links are the same.
Does the music library handle choral arrangements correctly?
The same way it handles band music: composer, arranger, publisher, grade, duration and the parts list as printed. There are no choir-specific fields for voicing or octavo number; most choirs note those in the title or the librarian notes. Smart Import handles existing choral inventory from spreadsheets, PDFs, and DOCX files.
Can we run a community choir PLUS a chamber choir as separate ensembles?
Yes, on the Complete tier. Up to 5 ensembles per organization, members in any combination. Many choral societies run a 100-voice community chorus PLUS a 24-voice chamber choir; both live in one org with one membership but separate rehearsal schedules and music libraries.
What about church choirs or volunteer ministry choirs?
Same platform. Church choirs typically use volunteer-org-style governance with a music minister + choir director + section leaders. You can rename roles for your tradition. The communications, attendance, and music library workflow all apply.
How does it handle the difference between rehearsal attendance and concert attendance?
Per-event-type attendance toggles. Many choirs track concert attendance (which feeds the attendance report) but don't want the friction of rehearsal attendance every week. Flip the rehearsal-attendance toggle off and the platform skips it cleanly.
Does this work for choirs that record albums or perform online?
The core platform fits any choir that has a recurring rehearsal-to-performance cycle, whether the performance is a concert, recording session, or livestream. The Performance entity in the platform is flexible enough to cover all three. Grant reporting handles recording-session events too.
Run your community choir on real software
90-day free trial. No credit card. Smart Import handles your existing roster and choral library.