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Auditions
Lee H. Pritchard,
Artistic Director
Gary
Palmieri,
Accompanist
There are several
opportunities for interested singers to audition for the Choral
Society. We always hold auditions the second Monday night after
Labor Day each season, whatever that date may be. Auditions begin at
6:30 p.m. and singers must remain for the rehearsal which follows at
7:30. Our rehearsals never last beyond 10:00 p.m. Auditions are
also simple and need not be an inhibiting experience. We do our best
to put all auditionees at ease. The process is always the same and
is as follows:
-
Vocalize for range and
sectional placement. We always want to place singers on the most
comfortable vocal part for the best range of their voice.
-
Sing a verse of 'America'
in one or more keys.
-
Sight-read a passage of the
work currently in the rehearsal process.
We are looking for seasoned choral singers not
(necessarily) soloists. In fact the most important thing is that a
person must have control of their voice and have a wide range of
vocal expression. No one should prepare a vocal solo because we
won’t hear it. Before the audition we ask potential members to fill
out an application form which is retained by the organization and
not shared outside the audition committee. The information we ask
includes name, address, phone numbers, e-mail and background
information as a singer.
In addition to the September auditions we sometimes
audition singers before the January concert cycle begins. Singers
are expected to commit to our organization so that they can sing
every Monday night from Labor Day to Memorial Day, excluding the
Christmas Holiday season, with some extensions into early June when
each year the group holds its Annual Dinner and Meeting. At the
Annual Meeting the group elects three new persons to its nine
person Board of Directors.
As for our performance repertoire, it is extremely
broad in style and time - from the Renaissance to the 21st century. In addition to the standard classics of the choral
literature we sing Gregorian and other chant, we sing music from the
ballet repertoire to Broadway musicals, and we sing music from
Gilbert & Sullivan to Grand Opera. We sing with orchestral, organ
and or piano accompaniment, and we sing a cappella. We generally use
professional vocal soloists in our larger oratorio and opera
programming.
Finally, we
audition singers for the Choral Union which is described
elsewhere in this website. The Choral Union is basically a
combination of the Ulster Choral Society of Kingston and the
Camerata Chorale of Poughkeepsie with additional singers
invited to perform the larger choral masterworks in the
repertoire. This series of performances now occurs each season at
the end of April. For more information,
call (845) 399-3785
or 845-943-8962 and leave a voice mail
message. Please be sure to leave
your name and a phone number at
which you may be reached. You may
also e-mail the Director at
lpritchard241@gmail.com or
howemarg@aol.com.
NEXT AUDITIONS NOTICE !
Auditions for regular full-time
membership:
Monday,
January 23, 2012 – 6:30
p.m.
(Rehearsal to follow – 7:30-10:00
p.m.) *
Location:
Redeemer Lutheran Church
104 Wurts Street, Kingston, NY
*
Singers who audition must remain for
the rehearsal that follows which is
a part of the audition for
membership. No appointment is
necessary. |
Ulster Choral Society
