2011-2012 Season Auditions Announced!

Please read dates & requirements below, then call (215) 751-9494 and press 5 to schedule your appointment.

After the tone, please leave your full name, audition date, and phone number. Please specify if you will be auditioning as a Core Professional, Chorale Professional or Volunteer. Someone will call you with your scheduled audition time.

AUDITION INFORMATION

Returning Professionals
Re-auditions for professionals will be taking place on Wednesday, June 1st and Thursday, June 2nd from 5-9PM at The Curtis Institute of Music. You will have approximately 6 or 7 minutes for your reaudition.
Click here for Reaudition Requirements.


New Professionals
Auditions for new professionals will be taking place on Tuesday, May 31st from 5-9PM at The Curtis Institute of Music. You will have approximately 15 minutes for your audition. If you wish to be considered for the Core ensemble, you may also be asked to attend the Ensemble Callback Audition as well. See "Audition Information" below for more information.
Click here for Audition Requirements


Returning Volunteers
We will not be holding auditions for returning volunteers this season.
Click here for Reaudition Requirements


New Volunteers
Auditions for new volunteers will be taking place on Friday, June 3rd from 5-9PM at The Curtis Institute of Music. You will have approximately 10 minutes for your audition.
Click here for Audition Requirements




AUDITION REQUIREMENTS for New Professionals

By contract with the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), all professional members of The Philadelphia Singers and The Philadelphia Singers Chorale are paid for rehearsals and performances. A professional singer must have a trained voice of solo quality with language experience in English, Latin, German, Italian and French. A singer does not need to be a member of AGMA to audition, but acceptance of a contract will require the singer to become a member of AGMA.

All new Professional singers should prepare two selections (selections should be memorized).

• Selections should demonstrate contrasting styles/tempi.
  
• Selections should demonstrate the expressive range and flexibility of the applicant’s instrument, especially with regard to dynamics and vibrato. Music Director David Hayes is interested in the ability of each singer to keep vibrato under control at all volume levels, particularly in high voices.
  

After your audition as a Core or Expanded Core Professional, if you are being considered for a spot in the ensemble, you will be asked to come to an Ensemble Callback Audition. This will take place on Thursday, June 16th and Friday, June 17th from 6:00p to 9:00p at The Curtis Institute of Music.. (You won't be required to be there both days, nor for the entire time.) You will be asked to prepare and sing assigned selections (listed below) with a quartet, both accompanied and a cappella. You must be able to attend the Ensemble Callback Audition if you wish to be considered for the Core ensemble. If you are not asked to come to the Ensemble Callback Audition, or if you cannot attend, you will automatically be considered as a Chorale Professional for a spot in The Philadelphia Singers Chorale.
     If you have been selected (notified via email) to come to the Ensemble Callback Audition, please download and prepare the following excerpts (note: the files are relatively big - between 1 and 2 MB each):
     Josquin, "Mille Regrets"
     Rorem, "While All Things Were in Quiet Silence"
     Schubert, "Mass in A-flat"



For Chorale Professionals

• One of your two selections must be Art Song/Lieder (preferably in German or in French).
  
  
• Prepare two excerpts from Handel's Messiah:
    "For Unto us a Child is Born"
  • Soprano: Measures 7-18
  • Alto: Measures 56-61
  • Tenor: Measures 38-41
  • Bass: Measures 19-25
    
    "All We Like Sheep"
  • Soprano: Measures 11-29
  • Alto: Measures 13-23
  • Tenor: Measures 23-43
  • Bass: Measures 43-53
    
    
  Please sing these as close to quarter note=110 as possible.
  

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS for New Volunteers

All new Volunteer singers should prepare two selections (preferably sung from memory):

• Selections should demonstrate contrasting styles/tempi.
  
• Any genre of classical music is acceptable: aria, Art Song, Lieder. Broadway show tunes or other popular music selections are not acceptable.
  
• Selections should demonstrate the expressive range and flexibility of the applicant’s instrument, especially with regard to dynamics and vibrato. Music Director David Hayes is interested in the ability of each singer to keep vibrato under control at all volume levels, particularly in high voices.
  
• If studying, provide a statement from your teacher attesting to recent progress and frequency of lessons.
  
• Provide a reference letter from or contact information for a choral professional attesting to your ensemble skill.
  

In addition to hearing both of your selections, we will do a short evaluation of musical skills (rhythm, tonal memory, etc.) and ask you to sight-read something (with accompaniment).

If you wish to audition for the Chamber Chorale (a select group of volunteers who join professional singers in smaller Philadelphia Singers Chorale ensembles), other requirements are as follows:

For Chamber Chorale Volunteers

• One of your two selections must be Art Song/Lieder (in German or in French).
  
  
• Prepare two excerpts from Handel's Messiah:
    "For Unto us a Child is Born"
  • Soprano: Measures 7-18
  • Alto: Measures 56-61
  • Tenor: Measures 38-41
  • Bass: Measures 19-25
    
    "All We Like Sheep"
  • Soprano: Measures 11-29
  • Alto: Measures 13-23
  • Tenor: Measures 23-43
  • Bass: Measures 43-53
    
    
  Please sing these as close to quarter note=110 as possible.
  

REAUDITION REQUIREMENTS

For Returning Professional Singers