Mt SAC Choral Program Audition Information

Fall, 2014

Concert Choir - 

The Mt. SAC Concert Choir is a large mixed choral ensemble that is typically 64 to  72 voices.  All interested students should plan on attending our initial class meeting at 11:30 AM on MONDAY, AUGUST 25 in room 2-M108.   Information will be distributed regarding the Concert Choir followed by individual auditions. The audition will be brief (3-4 minutes) and will include singing scales and some tone memorization.  You do not need to prepare a song in advance and you will not be required to sing a solo. Tenors and Basses may also try out for Fermata Nowhere during the same audition time slot.  A sign up sheet will be available beginning at 11 AM on Monday August 25, so if you want to be selective about your audition time, be sure to arrive early.

Fermata Nowhere -

Fermata Nowhere is an all male contemporary a cappella ensemble which has won national recognition for its energetic performances throughout the country.  In 2009, they shocked the a cappella community by taking first place in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.   Fermata Nowhere auditions will be in two parts.  Part one will be individual auditions which will include singing scales to determine range, tonal recognition and sight singing.  Part two will be a group audition which will include learning two very short pieces and singing them in quartets.  You will also be asked to sing a brief 30 second solo without accompaniment for the group so please think through what you would like to sing in advance.   The schedule for Fermata Auditions is as follows:

           

            Monday, August 25  - Initial information meeting at 1:15 in room 2-M109             followed by individual auditions.  Music for the group audition will be distributed at this time. 

            Wednesday, August 27 - The group audition will begin promptly at 6 PM in             room 109 and will conclude around 8 PM.  If you are unable to audition on Monday, August 25, times will also be available on a sign up sheet for Tuesday, August 26.

Vocal Jazz Ensembles

Frontline and Singcopation are the two performing vocal jazz ensembles at Mt. SAC.  Singcopation is the more experienced of the two and it is expected that students auditioning for this group will have prior experience singing jazz and scatting.  Frontline welcomes returning students and new students who show strong musical aptitude as the repertoire for this class can be extremely challenging.  The audition for both of these ensembles will be in two parts. Part one will be an individual audition which will include singing scales to determine range, tonal recognition and sight singing.  Part two will be a group audition in which students will need to sing through two brief excerpts in quartets (the music does NOT need to be memorized)  and sing a brief jazz solo (we will give you two to choose from).  If you are auditioning for Singcopation, you will also need to do some scatting over 12 bar blues.  If you are auditioning for Frontline, you are welcome to try scatting, but it is not mandatory.  The music for the quartets and jazz solos will be distributed on Monday, August 25 at 4:30 PM.  There will be a rehearsal at that time, and again on Tuesday, August 26 in order to help you learn your part on the group songs as well as the solo. We will be doing individual auditions while these rehearsals are taking place. 

The schedule for Vocal Jazz Auditions will be as follows.

            Monday, August 25 - We will have an informational meeting at 4:30 PM in room             2-M108 after which we will pass out music and begin individual auditions.  We             hope to have all of our auditions completed by 6:30 PM.  Rehearsal for the group             pieces will take place as soon as the individual auditions begin.

            Tuesday, August 26 - We will continue individual auditions following another             informational meeting for those students who might be auditioning for Frontline             only or those who were unable to come on Monday.  The meeting will begin promptly at 1:15 PM in room 2-M108.  Please feel free to return for extra work on the quartet and solo pieces even if you already auditioned on Monday.

            Thursday, August 28 - The group audition for Singcopation and Frontline will             begin at 4:30 PM and will continue until around 7:30 PM.  The audition will begin with quartets and will be followed by solos and scatting.  Please keep in mind that the music does NOT need to be memorized and that if you use music, you should plan on using a music stand as you will be singing into a microphone.   Scatting, as stated above, is NOT mandatory unless you are auditioning for Singopation.