Audition

Auditions are held on an as-needed basis. If you have significant choral experience, are committed to excellent choral performance, and are interested in auditioning, please contact Nancy Gibbs for more information. contact@cantusnovus.org
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One of our chief artistic goals is balance and blend. Each audition is private and takes about 15 minutes. Download the audition application here (which includes full details and required music) and fill out prior to coming to the audition.

Download Audition application

Audition Requirements

• Perform short prepared solo or excerpt of your choice (aria, art song, folk song) unaccompanied or accompanied. If accompanied, you must provide a clear, bound copy of the accompaniment for the pianist. Pop songs, show tunes, or contemporary religious songs are not acceptable for this audition.
• Be prepared to sing a short excerpt of your part from chosen choral repertoire (music included in audition download application)
    Go Lovely Rose (Whitacre), ms. 1-9
    Sicut Cervus (Palestrina), all
• Vocalize up and down your range
• “Aural memory” (identifying notes within a chord)
• Brief interview with the Artistic Director
• Fill in application prior to audition

Expectations for prospective singers:

• Sufficiently fluent in music reading to be able to learn music independently and not by ear.
• Significant previous experience with choral music (good sight-reading skills are a plus) and be aware of tuning and blend.
• Available for weekly Sunday night rehearsals (6:00-8:00 p.m.) from September through May. Rehearsals are not about learning notes; they are about creating ensemble and making music. Singers are expected to learn their notes and rhythms between rehearsals. Location: Yardley Methodist Church, 300 Yardley-Langhorne Rd., Yardley, PA 19067.
  
• Commit to attend all scheduled dress rehearsals and concert performances, barring emergencies. By prior arrangement with the AD, singers may be excused from one concert preparation due to family or work obligations.
• Pay annual dues of $100, pay the cost of your music (ordered for you by CN) and provide your own concert attire (ordering information available at the beginning of each concert season).
• Help with fundraising in one or more ways each semester, such as selling concert tickets, selling program ads, soliciting donations, working on specific fundraiser events, etc.

What you can expect from Cantus Novus:

• To have the opportunity to be a part of a highly skilled small chorus, where all singers matter.
• To enjoy the community of a friendly, multi-generational community of singers who share a passion for making music together.
• To learn and perform wonderful repertoire in a variety of styles and periods.
• To have the chance to improve your vocal skills under the direction of our Artistic Director, Ed McCall.