We rehearse on Tuesday evenings at the Country Women’s Association headquarters in Boorloo/Perth, Western Australia.
Hengequeens sings in three main parts – High, Middle and Low – which are usually split into two groups, making six parts in total for most songs. There can be up to five singers in each group, so the maximum choir size 30 singers, but membership usually hovers around 25 people.
Hengequeens is open to people who are marginalised by the patriarchy. While we acknowledge that the patriarchy harms everyone, our membership is made up of those who are most marginalised by it - women, people of diverse gender identities, and trans people.
Our membership philosophy extends throughout our organisation, and we prioritise employment of women, trans and gender nonconforming professionals whenever we need a photographer, a band, a songwriter, a graphic designer, a web developer, or whatever. If you have skills you think we might need some time and want to spruik your services, drop Claire an email to hengequeens@gmail.com.
Hengequeens members hold a range of individual feminist ideologies, however our group’s approach is intersectional. No TERFs here.
We accommodate trans and non-binary voices in the following ways:
Trans people who are interested in joining and have recently started taking hormones are encouraged to let Claire know when they get in touch, so we can make sure we take good care of your changing voice, however such disclosures are not expected or required.
Hengequeens has welcomed some ace beginners in the past, however the choir is designed for people with some prior musical or choir experience. It’s not super high powered, but it’s also not an ease-you-in choir with lots of hand-holding for people who are just starting out. We’re open to you having a crack if you’re prepared to do some practice at home and make sure you’re keeping up with the group!
The first step is to drop Claire an email to hengequeens@gmail.com. She will send out some more info about how the choir works.
After that, if you decide Hengequeens is a fit for what you’re after, you’ll be invited to attend a trial rehearsal. Trial rehearsals happen three or four times a year, on a day that the choir is starting a new song.
You will get to learn one part of a song ahead of the trial, so you can participate in the rehearsal along with all the other Queens and see if you like the vibe. At the end, we’ll ask you to sing whatever we’ve been working on that day in a smaller group of 1-2 voices per part. You will not be required to sing all by yourself!
Our repertoire is by, for and about women and queer people. We sing “popular music”, in the sense that it’s not classical or traditional folk, but some of it is not that popular! Here is a list of the songs we’ve learned up until now:
Our songs are all arranged just for us by our conductor, Claire. If your choir wants to give one a whirl, Claire’s arrangements are available for purchase at Sheet Music Direct or Sheet Music Plus.
We love gigs! Please contact Claire at hengequeens@gmail.com to discuss whether we’re the right fit for your event.
It is quite random huh?! “Hengequeens” came from the 2019 tweet exchange below between writers Sophie Benoit and Chuck Wendig.
While the choir is not all women, all unmarried, or all between 46 – 55 years of age, we like that the term reclaims a patriarchal insult – spinster – and turns it into an expression of empowerment. “Hengequeens” is a word full of potential, because it doesn’t really have a single, specific meaning. We get to define it as we go.
Also it has great mouthfeel. Have you tried saying it out loud? Do it. “Hengequeens.” Never gets old.
Actually there are! Thank you for asking!
In 2022, Hengequeens received a grant from the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries to commission eight local songwriters to compose new songs JUST FOR US. We are pretty excited about it!
The songs are being written in the first half of 2022. Hengequeens start rehearsing them later in 2022, and we expect to debut the songs at the beginning of 2023. After that, the scores will be available for other choirs who want to include a diverse range of local WA voices in their repertoire.
Follow us on Facebook or Instagram to keep up with all the latest news on this project!
Hengequeens founder and director is Dr. Claire Coleman. Claire is a musicologist, choral conductor and music teacher currently based in Boorloo/Perth, Western Australia. She has worked as a choral conductor in Perth and Berlin for almost ten years. Apart from Hengequeens, she also founded Menagerie choir (Perth) and ok!choir (Berlin), and conducted The Dienstag Choir (Berlin).
Claire studied a Bachelor of Music Ed at UWA with an emphasis on piano and classroom teaching, and returned for Honours in English in 2011. She was awarded her doctorate by Western Sydney University in 2019. Her thesis examined nostalgia in indie folk music, but her current research interests have expanded to also include feminism, research-led creative practice, and multimodal analysis in popular music.
Alongside running Hengequeens, Claire currently performs with Sensorium Theatre, writes for Seesaw Magazine, and lectures at the British Institute of Modern Music in Berlin.
