NC Middle Honors Chorus Audition Prep

I have already sent out communication about the audition process for NC Honors Chorus, but wanted to let all of you know that the after-school audition prep rehearsals are starting up next week.  I offer this as a way to further assist and guide students who are interested in auditioning for NC Honors Chorus.  Being placed into NC Honors Chorus is the greatest privilege and highest honor for a middle school chorus student.  We had two students make it into Honors Chorus last year and we would love to have students placed into Honors Chorus this year as well.

The rehearsal calendar is as follows:

Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays for 3 weeks from 4:30-5:30 PM for a total of 9 rehearsals.

Week #1 = 9/11, 9/12, 9/13

Week #2 = 9/18, 9/19, 9/20

Week #3 = 9/25, 9/26, 9/27

The audition fee is $15, however, please keep in mind if you get accepted into NC Honors Chorus, you will have to pay an additional fee and will be staying in a hotel the evening before the concert in Winston-Salem.

Only students who are serious singers and are dedicated to practicing diligently should audition.  There are practice tracks on the website (https://nwsachoralarts.com/middle-school/student-activities/nc-honors-chorus/) and I expect students to come to rehearsal next week with the music already mostly learned.  Your student should also do some Google and YouTube searches for additional practice tracks because practicing with the tracks that are posted on the website are difficult to learn with due to the track being simply a piano playing their part louder than all of the other parts with no words or pronunciation.  I already passed out the music to students at the end of last year and again at the beginning of this year.  So, if your student is interested in auditioning, they should have already received the music and I hope that you have already heard them practicing.  If you have not, then that means that they only have the weekend to learn the song.

These after-school rehearsals are not going to be spent teaching the audition song.  My main focus during the after-school rehearsals is to address issues like breath support, phrasing, pronunciation, diction, dynamics and other vocal technique areas.  The other main focus of the after-school rehearsals will be to coach the students through sight-singing exercises and make sure students are prepared for that portion of the audition process.

Please know that if your student comes to rehearsals next week, that does not mean that they have committed to auditioning for Honors Chorus.  They are welcome to change their mind if they realize that it is too much for them.  However, I will need to know whoever is fully committed to auditioning for NC Honors Chorus by Wednesday, 9/13/2017, because the deadline for registering students is 9/15/2017.

The actual audition is on Friday, 9/27/2017, in Hickory, NC during the school day.  All of the rest of the information is available on the website at: https://nwsachoralarts.com/middle-school/student-activities/nc-honors-chorus/.  Please read over all of the information and make sure that you are available 11/11-11/12/2017 before committing to these rehearsals and auditioning for NC Honors Chorus.

Thank you so much and I look forward to seeing students who are interested in auditioning for NC Honors Chorus this coming Monday, 9/11/2017, from 4:30-5:30 PM!  Parents, if you want to know more information or have any questions, please feel free to come into the rehearsal on Monday!  See you then!