Auditions

Auditions for the 2024-2045 season are completed. We audition once each year; the next auditions will be September 2025. Please email if you'd like to be on the list to be contacted next summer as we get organized for September auditions, or if you have any questions. We do not bring in new singers in January. If you would like to be added to the email list for concert announcements, you can do that in the Contact Us section of the website. Thank you for your interest in Resonance.
---------------------------------------------------
Basic requirements for this chorus are:
  • Ability to match pitch
  • Vocal sound that plays well with others in a choral setting
  • Impeccable commitment to attendance
  • Personal clarity about why this chorus is a good fit for you
  • Warmth and kindness
NOT required:
  • Music-reading ability
  • Prior choral experience
Below is the format of a typical audition.
Plan to spend thirty to forty-five minutes with us.
  1. You’ll fill out some forms, unless you've filled them out in advance, telling us about your musical background and interests, and you'll meet several welcoming and friendly singers.
  2. You'll have a 10-minute private audition with me, Artistic Director Sue Coffee:
  • People are generally a tad nervous and are often pretty rusty vocally at their audition. Rest assured I take both of those things into consideration.
  • We will do some warm-up kinds of things to learn about your range and vocal quality.
  • I will ask you to sing back short phrases played on the piano to demonstrate pitch-matching ability. These are not complex twisty things, but are short and straightforward. 
  • If you do read music (not required), I will ask you to speak some simple rhythms or sing some simple melodic lines.
  • You do NOT need to prepare an individual solo to sing.
  • If you want to prepare for the audition, you might ask someone to help you by playing short phrases on the piano for you to echo or by singing a round with you, or just do a lot of easy singing on your own in the weeks preceding the audition.
  • Our goal is to support you in having a successful and even fun audition.
Schedule basics:
  • Rehearsals are on Tuesday nights at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. The church is on Lookout Road at 71st St.
  • We rehearse 6:30-8:30.
In a typical season:
  • A typical season runs from October through April, with a break during December. This year we will begin on October 1.
  • We will perform a post-election concert on November 16 and a spring concert on April 26-27 and May 3.
  • For years we did a weekend retreat at the YMCA in Estes Park. In our current mode, we do three one-day in-town retreats, 10-4 on Saturdays in October, February, and March.
Important basics about singing in Resonance
  • Singers are expected to show up like crazy. To quantify: aim to miss no more than three rehearsals in the entire year. To offer examples: Be game to plan vacations around rehearsal as much as possible. Be game to come to rehearsal on your birthday. Be game to tell your friends "I'd love to, but I have rehearsal..." Joyful embrace of the opportunity to show up impeccably and to communicate impeccably is, honestly, the most important aspect of singing in Resonance.
  • We're cautious about Covid and other illnesses. We'll share specifics about our policies when you get further along in the audition process.
  • The financial commitment includes annual dues of $300. Financial support is available as needed; simply be clear about what you can afford and let us know. 
  • Resonance is a women’s chorus with with strong roots and presence in the LGBTQ choral community and women’s music community. We welcome individuals identifying as trans or non-binary who can sing in the treble range and who would find this community simpatico and supportive. We are a “message chorus,” expressing liberal and feminist values. We aim to offer soul nourishment, beauty, and the healing energy of musical community.
  • There is a wide range of musical training and skill level in the chorus. There are highly proficient music-readers and people who do not have any training in reading music. We offer rehearsal CDs and we take our time learning the music, and it all works out well. If you are an experienced musician, you might need to be patient. If you are not experienced, you might need to coach yourself in trusting the process.
  • The size of the chorus is capped at around 125. One of our goals is to offer a choral singing experience to as many people as possible, but practicalities require us to set this limit on the size. Auditionees are sometimes wait-listed for the following year. We will also sometimes suggest that a singer get some more experience, either via lessons or other ensembles, and re-audition in a future year.