Auditions for Singers

Central City Chorus

Central City Chorus in NYC is now holding auditions for singers and musicians to join the chorus. Central City Chorus, now in our 30th season, performs a repertoire consisting of old masters, new masters, contemporary works, commissioned pieces, and a cappella music.

Rehearsals are held at the Church of St. John the Baptist, midtown Manhattan, just across from Madison Square Garden.

We seek singers with strong sight-singing skills, excellent musicianship, and an interest in varied repertoire. In addition to hiring professionals, we audition soloists from within the Chorus, and singers with strong solo performance backgrounds are especially encouraged to respond. This season we are under the baton of our new Music Director, Phillip Cheah, a versatile perfomer and conductor in the New York City choral music scene, assisted by Brian Hamer, assistant conductor.

Auditions will be held on Monday March 14, 2011, from 7:30 p.m., and Thursday March 17, 2011, beginning at 6:30 p.m., by appointment. Auditions are held at our rehearsal space at the Church of St. John the Baptist Parish Hall, basement. Enter through the gate on West 30th Street, just west of 7th Avenue. To schedule an audition please send an email to CentralCityChorus@gmail.com or call (212) 330-7293 and leave a message. For audition requirements, please see the following links:

We rehearse at the Church of St. John the Baptist (210 West 31st Street, just west of 7th Avenue) on Thursday evenings, 7:30 to 9:45 p.m., from September through May, with three Saturday “intensive” rehearsals per year.

We sing three to four concerts per season. This year we have scheduled concerts in December, March, and May; plus an extra fundraiser, the Central City Cabaret III, in January.

Those planning to audition can download the audition piece here

What to expect at the singing audition:
audition requirements

1. The audition will begin with some vocalizing to get a sense of your range and register.

2. Please prepare two pieces: The first will be a short selection of your choice of up to three minutes preferably in a
language other than English. Your selection may be accompanied or a cappella, but you
do not need to provide your own accompanist. PLEASE DO NOT BRING AN ARIA.
Art songs will be perfect for the purposes of this audition.
The second will be Thomas Tallis’ If ye love me, a copy of which has been attached with this
letter. Please prepare your voice part without repeats. You will be asked to sing your
part with me as I harmonize on a different part.

3. There will be some brief pitch-matching and/or pitch-recognition exercises.

4. Finally, you will be asked to sight-read a piece