Chicago Master Singers
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Sing with Chicago Master Singers

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WELCOME!
If you are passionate about choral music and are looking for a rewarding musical experience, we would love to hear from you! 
 
Overview of the 2025–26 season
CMS presents a four-concert season with two performances of each program, except for the NextGen sequence. Concerts during the 2025-26 season will take place at Glenview Community Church on the following dates:
  • Fall: Saturday & Sunday, October 25 & 26, 2025
  • Christmas: Saturday & Sunday, December 13 & 14, 2025
  • NextGen: Friday, February 27, 2026
  • Season Finale: Saturday & Sunday, May 2 & 3, 2026  

Additionally, CMS members may choose to sign up for a performance tour to Leipzig, Dresden, and Prague from Thursday, June 25 to Sunday, July 5, 2026.

Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings from mid-August through early May at Countryside Church in Palatine from 7:30-10:00 pm. Optional but strongly encouraged sectionals are held weekly from 7:00-7:30 pm. Additionally, rehearsals are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings during the weeks of concerts. All concert week rehearsals begin at 7:00 pm and are mandatory. Click here for the season calendar (updated 5/19).

Membership dues are $135 for the current season; dues for 2025-26 will be announced soon. Members are also responsible for purchasing their own copies of the music.

Audition Process

Dates, Location, and Overall Requirements
Auditions for the 2025–26 season will be held from 6-10pm on Monday, July 14, Wednesday, July 16, Tuesday, July 22, Thursday, July 24, and Monday, August 4. Additional auditions for the NextGen and Season Finale sequences will be held on Monday, December 15. All auditions will be held at Countryside Church in Palatine.


For the 2025–26 season, we will conduct auditions for prospective members, current members of the Alto and Bass sections, and current Sopranos and Tenors who missed a sequence during the 2024–25 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 to change voice parts must be discussed with the Music Director and may require an additional audition. 
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What to expect at an audition
Auditionees will be asked to demonstrate their vocal and musical skills through the following exercises:
  • Vocalization
  • Pitch memory: The Music Director will play a series of pitches and ask the auditionee to sing them back on a neutral syllable.
  • Choral sight-reading: Auditionees will sing their part of a four-part piece twice. The first time, the Music Director will play their voice part with them. The second time, he will play all four parts.
  • ​Prepared excerpt: This excerpt is from the first movement of Egil Hovland’s Agnus Dei. Auditionees should prepare it carefully and perform it expressively, at the tempo indicated and with the markings observed. Auditionees will sing the excerpt twice. The first time, the Music Director will play their voice part with them. The second time, the auditionee will sing unaccompanied. Practice tracks have been made available to assist with preparing the excerpt.​ ​​

​What we’re looking for
Members of CMS do not need to be professional musicians, but they must possess an excellent choral skill set, including:
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  • ​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 at every rehearsal on time and prepared
  • Commitment to practicing music independently outside of rehearsal
  • Strong work ethic and desire for musical and personal excellence​
 

Schedule Your Audition

Click one of the links below to sign up for an audition time on your preferred date.

​Monday, July 14, 2025            Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Tuesday, July 22, 2025                Thursday, July 24, 2025

​Monday, August 4, 2025


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Questions?
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We will be happy to answer any questions that you have. Please contact our Managing Director via email at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 847-604-1067.
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Chicago Master Singers

P.O. Box 1503
Barrington, IL 60011-1503
​847-604-1067
​[email protected]

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  • Home
  • About
    • The Chorus
    • The Team
    • History & Repertoire
  • Concerts
    • 2024-25 Season
    • Guest Appearance
    • Performance Tours
    • Listen to CMS
    • Tickets for Teachers
  • Outreach
    • NextGen
    • Choral Scholars
    • Young Singers
    • Seniors
    • Summer Sing
    • CMS University
  • Support
    • Ways to Support CMS >
      • Tax-Wise Giving
    • Donate
    • Legacy Society
    • Benefit Gala
  • Sing With CMS
  • Shop
  • Members