Auditions for the fall season in September 2024!
Voices Rising is an auditioned community chorus. Before auditioning, we highly encourage you to attend a concert to hear the diverse style of repertoire, to listen to the level of musicianship, and to feel the camaraderie and energy of our members. We strive for our audition process to be gentle, welcoming, and supportive.
Date: Sept. 10, 2024 (with potential additional times available on Sept. 17
Location: Old South Church (645 Boylston St. Boston, MA 02116)
Contact us to let us know you’re interested at: auditions@voicesrising.org so that we can discuss our COVID protocols for auditions (and for the fall 2024 season). Please plan to be available from 6:30-10:00pm for the audition with our Artistic Director and audition committee, even though you will be given a specific time slot by our Auditions Coordinator.
What to expect in your audition
To join Voices Rising, you do not need to have prior singing experience in a choral setting, but it is valuable. Our members are not professional vocalists and are not required to sight-read music, but knowing the rudiments of reading music can make it easier in the early part of a season. Throughout the season, we provide our singers with helpful tools, including rehearsal .mp3s, to ensure that members feel prepared to sing all music from memory.
In the singing part of the audition, you will sing for the Artistic Director and with a select group of Voices Rising members to determine your vocal range and timbre, ability to stay in pitch, and pitch memory. The audition also includes written exercises. These questions are used only to ascertain the your theoretical knowledge of music rudiments and notational symbols, etc. You do not need to read music or come with a prepared piece to sing.
What to expect after your audition
The week following your audition, the Artistic Director will reach out to you directly with one of three possible outcomes:
- Pass – applicant is invited to be a singing member of Voices Rising
- Provisional Pass – applicant is invited to be a singing member of Voices Rising and will be reassessed following the mid-season retreat to determine progress and ensure ability to keep up with the group.
- Defer – applicant is not given singing member status, but is given feedback on the audition with the opportunity to try again in future seasons, and the invitation to stay part of the community through other non-singing and/or volunteer activities.
What to expect as a member
Rehearsals
Voices Rising rehearses every Tuesday night, from 7:00-9:30 PM from September through June. As of Fall 2024, we rehearse at Old South Church, which is located at 645 Boylston St. Boston, MA and is a short walk from the Copley Square MBTA train stations. The building is handicap accessible with a ramp, an elevator, and an accessible bathroom.
Membership Dues
Voices Rising is a non-profit organization that relies on its supporters’ generosity to thrive. Each month, the chorus must pay for our rehearsal space, our Accompanist, and our Artistic Director. These costs are covered by contributing membership dues and selling tickets to our concerts. All singers are required to make arrangements with our Treasurer to pay dues to remain in good standing, and we recognize that our members come from a wide range of economic realities.
Regardless of the ability to pay dues, all members are supported and welcomed at Voices Rising. Income should never preclude anyone from being a member of the chorus.
Concerts
Voices Rising performs two concerts seasons in January and in June, typically with two performances of each concert per season. Members are expected to participate in regular Tuesday-night rehearsals and dress rehearsals leading up to the concert performances, as well as participate in the concerts themselves. More information can be found about our upcoming performances on our Tickets page.