Auditions
Join the May Festival Chorus!
2020 May Festival Audition Information
Thank you for your interest in auditioning for the May Festival Chorus and the May Festival Youth Chorus – we look forward to hearing you! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the May Festival will hold auditions online in the fall of 2020. Additionally, the Choruses will not meet in person for the rest of the calendar year, but will instead gather bi-weekly for virtual engagement sessions. Those singers who successfully audition into the May Festival Chorus and Youth Chorus in the fall of 2020 will be invited to join these virtual activities. When the Choruses resume in-person activities in 2021, all new May Festival Chorus members will be asked to sing for the Director of Choruses for the purposes of voice placement. (All May Festival Youth Chorus members, both new and returning, will sing for the director when in-person activities resume.)
Audition instructions and repertoire differ for the May Festival Chorus and Youth Chorus, so be sure that you’ve signed up for the correct audition and accessed the appropriate materials. Questions? Contact our chorus manager, Kathryn, for more information.
If you are interested in auditioning for the May Festival Youth Chorus, please scroll to the content at the bottom of the page.
May Festival Chorus
We welcome auditioning singers of all voice types. Auditions will be heard live via Zoom on August 30 from 3-5pm. A list of audition works appears below. Please select one work from the list and be prepared to sing it along with the pre-recorded accompaniment in your audition. Additionally, the auditors may also ask you to perform some vocal exercises.
For each work listed, there are three files: a .pdf copy of the score, a MIDI learning track, and a piano accompaniment. The learning track is for your reference, and mirrors the learning tracks made available to chorus members each week in preparation for our rehearsals. Use the piano track for your audition.
Fill out the online audition form to indicate your interest. Our chorus manager will contact you to arrange a time. If you are unavailable for the scheduled audition time, other arrangements can be made. The audition will last approximately ten minutes, and we will notify you of the result within one week. For your audition, we encourage to you face a good lighting source, such as a window, so the auditors can see you well.
Audition Piece | Score | Learning Track | Piano Track |
---|---|---|---|
Schubert, An Die Musik (D major) | View | Listen | Listen |
Schubert, An Die Musik (B flat major) | View | Listen | Listen |
Giordano, Caro Mio Ben (E flat major) | View | Listen | Listen |
Giordano, Caro Mio Ben (D flat major) | View | Listen | Listen |
Mozart, O Isis und Osiris | View | Listen | Listen |
Traditional, The Water is Wide | View | Listen | Listen |
Purcell, When I am Laid in Earth | View | Listen | Listen |
May Festival Youth Chorus
We welcome auditions from singers of all voice types in grades 8-12, including those with changed and changing voices. Auditions will be heard live via Zoom on August 30 from 12-2pm. A list of suggested audition works appears below. Please select one work from the list and be prepared to sing it along with the pre-recorded accompaniment in your audition. Additionally, the auditors may also ask you to perform some vocal exercises and/or ear training exercises.
If you prefer to perform a song not listed here, that is acceptable. Please notify the Chorus Manager when you sign up of this preference. We prefer that you sing along with an accompaniment track, but a cappella auditions are acceptable as well.
For each work listed, there are three files: a .pdf copy of the score, a MIDI learning track, and a piano accompaniment. The learning track is for your reference, and mirrors the learning tracks made available to chorus members. However, you should use the piano track for your audition.
Fill out the online audition form to indicate your interest. Our chorus manager will contact you to arrange a time. If you are unavailable for the scheduled audition time, other arrangements can be made. The audition will last approximately ten minutes, and we will notify you of the result within one week. For your audition, we encourage to you face a good lighting source, such as a window, so the auditors can see you well.
Audition Piece | Score | Learning Track | Piano Track |
---|---|---|---|
Amazing Grace (E flat) | View | Listen | Listen |
Amazing Grace (F) | View | Listen | Listen |
America the Beautiful | View | Listen | Listen |
My Country, Tis of Thee | View | Listen | Listen |
Schubert, An Die Musik (D major) | View | Listen | Listen |
Schubert, An Die Musik (B flat major) | View | Listen | Listen |
Giordano, Caro Mio Ben (E flat major) | View | Listen | Listen |
Giordano, Caro Mio Ben (D flat major) | View | Listen | Listen |
Traditional, The Water is Wide | View | Listen | Listen |
Purcell, When I am Laid in Earth | View | Listen | Listen |