Audition process
Auditions for the 2025 NextGen and Season Finale sequences will be held on Monday, December 16, 2024. Full season auditions take place in July/August each year. Auditions take place at Countryside Church, 1025 N. Smith Street, Palatine.
For the 2024–25 season, we will conduct auditions for prospective members, current members of the Soprano and Tenor sections, and any singer who missed a sequence during the 2023–24 season. Occasional exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Music Director.
Both current and prospective singers may be accepted on a probationary basis, in which case they will be required to reaudition at a future time determined by the Music Director. Requests for a change of voice part must be discussed with the Music Director and may require an additional audition.
What we’re looking for
Members do not need to be professional musicians, but they must possess an excellent choral skill set, including:
What to expect at an audition
Auditionees will be asked to demonstrate their vocal and musical skills through the following exercises:
Solo Auditions
Singers who would like to be considered for a solo opportunity need to complete a solo audition, which is separate from a membership audition for CMS. Solo auditions will be held prior to rehearsal on Mondays, September 9 and 16, 2024.
Interested singers will audition for specific solo opportunities by singing that passage as their audition. Singers may audition for as many solos as they would like and are not restricted to their assigned voice part. For example, a member who sings Alto in the chorus may audition for a Soprano solo. A packet of excerpts will be made available at a later date.
Auditions for the 2025 NextGen and Season Finale sequences will be held on Monday, December 16, 2024. Full season auditions take place in July/August each year. Auditions take place at Countryside Church, 1025 N. Smith Street, Palatine.
For the 2024–25 season, we will conduct auditions for prospective members, current members of the Soprano and Tenor sections, and any singer who missed a sequence during the 2023–24 season. Occasional exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Music Director.
Both current and prospective singers may be accepted on a probationary basis, in which case they will be required to reaudition at a future time determined by the Music Director. Requests for a change of voice part must be discussed with the Music Director and may require an additional audition.
What we’re looking for
Members do not need to be professional musicians, but they must possess an excellent choral skill set, including:
- Interest in a high-level choral experience
- Love of creating enriching musical experiences for audiences and themselves
- Established music-reading skills
- Nuanced musicality and phrasing
- Precise and clear intonation
- Comfort with and willingness to sing in languages other than English
- Ability and willingness to adjust tone, including eliminating vibrato
- Dedication to watching and following the conductor
- Care for consistent execution of musical details (desired vowels, precise consonants, releases, phrasing, etc.)
- Commitment to arriving to every rehearsal on time and prepared
- Willingness to work on music independently outside of rehearsal
- Strong work ethic and desire for musical and personal excellence
What to expect at an audition
Auditionees will be asked to demonstrate their vocal and musical skills through the following exercises:
- Vocalization
- Pitch memory
- Choral sight-reading (Auditionees will sing their part of a four-part piece. The accompanist will play all four voice parts.)
- An excerpt from the fourth movement, Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, of Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem. This excerpt should be carefully prepared and performed expressively, at the tempo indicated and with the markings observed. The Music Director will not be conducting, but the accompanist will play the orchestral reduction/accompaniment (not your part).
Solo Auditions
Singers who would like to be considered for a solo opportunity need to complete a solo audition, which is separate from a membership audition for CMS. Solo auditions will be held prior to rehearsal on Mondays, September 9 and 16, 2024.
Interested singers will audition for specific solo opportunities by singing that passage as their audition. Singers may audition for as many solos as they would like and are not restricted to their assigned voice part. For example, a member who sings Alto in the chorus may audition for a Soprano solo. A packet of excerpts will be made available at a later date.
Chicago Master Singers
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