Tag: chorus

Resolving to Sing

Posted on January 3, 2012 by - Columns

New Year’s resolutions, while frequently focusing on the physical–going back to the gym, revisiting that diet, getting out the running shoes–can also bring singers out of hiding and into audition rooms. When January 1 comes around each year, audition requests start to trickle into choirs’ e-mail boxes as singers set new goals and plans for the year, and as groups broadcast audition details for the spring season.

Glancing through some of the messages I’ve received recently for Melodia Women’s Choir, I see inquiries from singers with as many reasons to audition as there are choirs in which to sing. An experienced professional who sings on commercials misses singing with a group. A recent graduate just moved to New York for a job and wants to continue her musical life and meet other singers. A singer recently completed a course of voice lessons paid for by a “passion grant” from the company where she works and is ready to try out for some choirs.

Many New York City choirs have a consistently rotating roster of singers as lives shift and change. Even when a choir may only have a few open spots, many choral directors are eager to hear all of the singers who are available to audition and who meet the choir’s membership criteria. Within a short time frame–usually 10-15 minutes–the director will make a rigorous survey of a singer’s skills. A series of vocal exercises, the performance of a prepared song, and a sight-reading exercise are usually part of the audition. For choirs that consistently tackle challenging contemporary works, a high level of sight reading is key in addition to highly accurate pitch.

For Melodia, we listen for a particular tone quality that is full-bodied but goes toward a straight tone without a big vibrato sound. Singers who don’t do well in the sight-reading part of the audition are rarely accepted. Melodia, like many choirs, has a lot of music to cover in a short time and needs singers who can read well and learn fast.

For a singer, finding a choir that is the right fit can sometimes take several attempts, but most will eventually discover a group that has the right pace, culture, and a repertoire that they love. Some singers, having joined a choir, will work on their vocal technique and choral repertoire in individual voice lessons. New York-based soprano and voice teacher Mary Ellen Callahan says that 95 percent of her voice students are currently singing in a choir. For many, voice lessons are an extension of their commitment to a choir and its repertoire, as well as their desire to continue working on vocal technique.

Have you defined specific music-related goals for 2012?

Holiday Music…Or Not

Posted on December 6, 2011 by - Columns

As seasonal decorations pop up all around New York City, holiday music now fills our ears wherever we go. Whether in a deli, a restaurant, or a department store, the annual holiday song mix rings out—a small taste of the vast selection of sung holiday music let loose in December. Notices of holiday concerts buzz into my smart phone all day long as choirs everywhere bring more than ten centuries of wondrous music to audiences who don’t seem to get tired of hearing it. But what about the choirs that don’t have a strong interest in performing holiday music? Where does contemporary choral music fit into the holiday music web? How do audiences choose what to go out and hear during this busy season?

For choirs that don’t have a burning interest in holiday-themed concerts—my own choir, Melodia Women’s Choir, included—an easy solution is to present a fall concert before Thanksgiving. Although this can mean a scramble to prepare and promote the concert in only a few weeks, it leaves the door wide open for broad repertoire choices regardless of the season. C4: The Composer/Conductor Collective based in New York that performs music written in the last 25 years with particular emphasis on works by composer-members also chooses dates before Thanksgiving for its fall concerts. C4 member and composer Martha Sullivan told me that she believes the challenge for a composer interested in writing seasonally appropriate choral music is to find texts that may lend themselves to a meaningful setting but still resonate with a broad audience. An example of one that Sullivan has used is the “O” Antiphons for Advent, adding that the “O” Antiphons are set to a text that is explicitly for sacred use, but many composers have used them in such a way that they are good for concert use as well.

San Francisco-based contemporary music vocal ensemble Volti presents a holiday concert of contemporary and premiere works that nods to the season but remains solidly rooted in the choir’s regular programming direction. Described by Volti as “a non-traditional program rich in poetry” and “an exploration of aspects of the divine in the most mundane moments,” this year’s concert features premieres by Mark Winges, Stacy Garrop, Ian Freebairn-Smith, and a 2009 work by Shawn Crouch.

Anonymous 4

As a choral music concert-goer as well as singer and organizer, I try to balance a couple of traditional holiday concerts by outstanding choirs with some performances that are especially exciting to me. Since treble repertoire is my favorite voicing, likely special treats will be Anonymous 4‘s performance of their “Anthology 25” program of ancient, traditional, and contemporary works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a performance of Messiaen’s Trois petites liturgies de la Présence Divine performed by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus. Other than that, I’ll dust off my holiday music choral CD collection featuring everything from plainchant to pop and listen to WQXR Holiday Music at www.wqxr.org. When I want some non-choral fun, I’ll watch my favorite holiday music YouTube clip of the Bowen Beer Bottle Band’s rendition of Angels We Have Heard on High. Enjoy!

What less-heralded music do you like to hear in this season?