CHOIR AUDITIONS
GENERAL INFO
Who needs to do auditions and what is required?
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All new and returning singers wishing to be in A'Choir or Daires must complete the 5 step audition process
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Singers wishing to be in Daires need to sing 20-30 seconds of a song of your choice
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Singers who are asked to attend call-backs for Daires must attend the in-person audition
How do I sign up for an audition?
To audition for choir, simply stop by the choir room at lunch, after school, or FLEX once auditions begin or go online to this spreadsheet and claim a spot!. Prior to your audition, you’ll need to complete an audition form which you can find HERE.
If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Cottrell at: acottrell@pps.net.
What am I auditioning for?
Auditions are required for admission into A'Choir and Daires. Nova Basso and Nova Altus are non-auditioned ensembles and open to anyone! Visit the Choirs & Class tabs to learn more about each ensemble.
Why should I audition?
The CHS Choir Program is an amazing way to a part of positive and supportive community! Each choir has something unique to offer and will be a great addition to your academic experience.
Below are a few extra bullet points as to why you should audition.
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Students who take choir are more successful in their other academic classes. Fact.
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Singing in a choir is the most popular community recreational activity in America.
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If you sign up for Nova Altus or Nova Basso, you are guaranteed to have a class with all of your friends who also sign up (anyone can join!)
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There is virtually no homework.
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It doesn’t interfere with sports or other extracurricular activities. It’s a class period during the day.
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Most students who sign up end up making the best friends of their high school career in choir.
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A'Choir is an OSAA varsity activity.
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Choir will allow you travel around the country and the world.
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If you like music, there is a type of choral music for you! We sing music from all genres from all over the world! Different choirs focus on different things!
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Choir singers are generally the nicest, most responsible students in the school :)
What if I did not forecast for choir?
No worries! It’s not too late to do an audition and have your counselor change your schedule/forecasting afterward. Approximately 25% of the students currently in the choir program didn’t forecast for it and ended up doing an audition.
What do I need to do to prep for my audition?
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First, you must fill out an AUDITION FORM. Please complete the form at any point before the audition.
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Work on the skills required for the audition - visit our resources page to practice!
INTERVIEW/AUDITION PROCESS
The Interview Process is supportive, encouraging, and open to students of all experience levels.
The audition is broken into 5 parts (step 6 is required for Daires, optional for A'Choir) .
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One on One discussion: about goals, skills, and previous year choir attendance, effort, and accomplishments
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Range Check: This portion of the audition is simply to hear how high and low your voice can go. It’s different for everyone and changes as you grow.
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Tonal Memory: In this portion, you’ll hear a series of “random” notes and you’ll be asked to sing them back on a neutral syllable such as “doo” or “la.”
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Chord Tone Matching: This part of the audition involves matching one of the three pitches in a chord. You’ll hear a chord made of up three notes and then be asked to sing one of the three pitches. This can be a difficult exercise if you’ve never practiced it before. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right away. Here are two websites that can be used to play chords for you to practice with: Autochords and Virtual Keyboard.
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Sight Reading: The sight-reading portion of the audition is only required for students who have already had a year of choral instruction, although, all are encouraged to try it. In this portion, you will have a short musical melody excerpt presented for you to sing. Mrs. C will play the starting note and a scale to establish the key. When you’re ready, you will sing the example to the best of your ability on your own. For an example, and to practice, please visit SightReadingFactory.
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Solo Song: (optional for A'Choir only auditions, Required for Daires) For the last part of the audition, you will be asked to sing 20 to 30 seconds of any song you like. It can be in any style. Please keep it short, and choose something that has continuous singing rather than long pauses. Sing something that you enjoy and feel you’re good at. It doesn’t matter what you sing, just how you sing it. This part of the audition is to be done completely a cappella, or without any accompaniment or backing tracks. Feel free to look at the lyrics if you need them.
What is required of Daires
Daires is our highest commitment auditioned ensemble at CHS. Members of this group are expected to maintain high standards in all aspects of their high school experience as well as commit to musical excellence.
To become a member of this ensemble a student needs to:
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Complete an in-person audition on the selected date
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Be comfortable with singing solo and with an ensemble
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Have attendance of 90% or above for the previous year
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Attended all concerts, required choir events, and meetings the previous year
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Maintained good communication with Mrs. Cottrell around missing class and other events the previous year
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Agree to doing Solo & Ensemble either as a soloist or in an ensemble
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Acknowledge that this class will have trips and performance events regularly outside of the school day
PROCESS
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Complete the CHS Choir Audition Process
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Prepare the provided sheet music above
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Attend the Call-Back if asked
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Wait for the results
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If accepted, Read and Sign the Daires Agreement