Information about Resonance Women’s Chorus and the audition process, 2008

Founded in 2002 with the intention of creating an opportunity for women to sing together, and based on the premise that there can never be too much singing, Resonance Women's Chorus of Boulder is a 100+ voice chorus singing contemporary women's choral music. With an emphasis on songs of social awareness, Resonance is a collective voice of women's strength, wisdom, and beauty. We have high artistic goals. We also intend for the chorus to embrace a wide range of singers in terms of experience and skill levels. We are a "message chorus," in that our repertoire is chosen for its power to communicate with meaning and relevance to our audience, as well as for its artistic value. This means the repertoire is primarily non-classical, but beyond that, it is hard to categorize in terms of style or content. The chorus has a strong relationship with the glbt community and many of the singers are lesbian, which informs the culture and mission of the chorus. The chorus is defined as a women's chorus and is welcoming and celebratory of all women.

Consistent attendance is fundamental to the success of the chorus. Before you audition, please be sure you can commit to attending rehearsals regularly, to being on time, and to communicating well about unavoidable absences. Singers should be prepared to prioritize chorus commitments as a significant part of their lives. Our policy has some flexibility to accommodate personal circumstances, but as a general rule, singers should not be missing more than three
rehearsals over the course of the year (October-April; we take a break in the second half of December).

Financial obligation:
Monthly dues: $20
One-time only music fee (for the year), to be paid at the start of the season: $30
Financial assistance is available as needed.

Rehearsal schedule:
We rehearse at the First United Methodist Church of Boulder, 1421 Spruce St. (near the Boulder Theatre). Rehearsals take place on Thursday nights , from 7:00-9:30. Auditions will take place here as well.

Tuesday rehearsals are added two weeks before concerts. Sectionals are sometimes held on Tuesday nights throughout the season. Sectionals are required but not absolutely mandatory, if unavoidable conflicts occur.

The chorus will have a weekend retreat in Estes Park, usually on the last weekend of January. Each chorus member pays for their cabin, food, etc. Sharing a cabin for one night will cost individuals about $25. The retreat is a mandatory element of the season (barring unavoidable conflicts)--a very important time for both rehearsal and community.

Basic requirements for this chorus are:
-Ability to match pitch
-Vocal sound that blends well in a choral setting
-Strong commitment to attendance

NOT required:
Music-reading ability
Prior choral experience

Size limit:
There is one additional factor in the auditions: as the chorus has grown, we have reached a point where we may need to limit the number of new singers we can bring into the chorus in a season. The size of the chorus is capped at 125, and if we have more people auditioning than available spaces, factors involved will be balance considerations between the sections and skill level. Our goal is to make the chorus experience available to as many women as possible, of all experience levels, but we’ve determined that 125 is the maximum size that we want at this point in time.

The audition consists of:
-a quick warm-up and some round-singing with a group of four.
-a short, private audition for pitch matching, music reading, and section placement.

You do NOT need to prepare an individual solo to sing.

Auditions will be held in mid-September, 2008. If you ask to be included on the list for these auditions, we will contact you in mid-late August to follow up with more information and schedule an audition time.