Choir Auditions for Fall 2023*

*Fall 2024 Audition Information will be posted Spring/Summer 2024.
 

Welcome back!  We are excited to make music together. Here is the information you need for planning your fall choral experience.

Audition Information

  • New student auditions are offered in 10-minute segments.  Auditions are held during Welcome Week.  Schedule and sign-up link will be shared with you.
  • Returning student auditions for Concert Choir and Cantala – please send us a link to a recording of you singing.  We’re looking to hear how you sound since the last time we heard you one-on-one.  You can share your video on OneDrive, YouTube, Vimeo, etc.
  • Returning students interested in Viking Chorale – please email Dr. Sieck to let him know!
  • Returning students, if you feel your range has changed significantly, or if you would like to meet with us to discuss anything, we are happy to set up a Zoom meeting this summer or schedule an in-person meeting in September.  Please just drop us a note to let us know.

If you are auditioning for Cantala, Concert Choir, or LU Vocal Spectrum, or if you're pursuing a voice-primary major (such as choral music education or vocal performance), you will need to complete the full choral audition (see below). A major factor in your successful audition for these ensembles will be how accurately and musically you prepare an assigned musical excerpt to perform.  We will send the score out in late August.  We want to see how comfortable you are teaching yourself a short amount of choral repertoire. 

If you are interested in Viking Chorale, we will use your audition time to check your happiest vocal range.  There is no formal audition testing, no sight-reading, no prepared excerpts.  If you are a returning student who wishes to continue singing in Viking Chorale, please email Dr. Sieck directly - no need for an additional sign-up.

New students, here’s what the full audition looks like:

1. We’ll let you into the room when we’re ready.  It’s best to arrive a few minutes early and take a few deep breaths.  You’re going to do great!
2. We’ll start with conversation.  We’re excited to speak with you. 
3. We’ll move to vocalizing you throughout your range.
4. We’ll then try to find your voice’s healthiest range (where it likes to hang out, so to speak).  You’ll sing “My Country Tis of Thee” in a range of keys.  If you’re not familiar with that song, please click HERE to get a copy of the song. 
5. We’ll move next to some ear-training games.  We’ll play some intervals on the piano and ask you to sing them back.  We’ll play a chord on the piano and ask you to sing the lowest, highest, or middle notes. 
6. Finally, we’ll move to some sight-reading exercises.  We’ll suggest a line from a document on the music stand, and ask you to clap through the rhythms.  We’ll suggest a line from the document on the music stand and ask you to sight-sing the melody (we’ll give you the starting pitch and ask you to sing it unaccompanied). 
7. Please look through and prepare the assigned score (to be posted in late August).  We will ask you to sing through it to learn how you prepare music on your own.  

And that's it! This isn't a competition, and we're not here to ascertain if you have "it". We're here to celebrate what you know, figure out what you don't yet know so we know what to teach, and help you find the right choir for this year. Enjoy the process, sing with pride, and help us get to know you!