Children’s Choir Auditions Set for Saturday, Aug. 12

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WHO:          Townsend School of Music
 
WHAT:        Townsend School of Music will hold auditions for the Mercer University Children’s Choir for the 2006-2007 season.
 
WHEN:        Saturday, Aug. 12, 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
 
WHERE:      Auditions will be held in the Choir Room (Room 110) of the McCorkle Music Building on Mercer’s Macon campus.

 
Audition Requirements:

·        Students must be between the ages of 7-15.

·        Students should come with a parent or guardian at any time during the audition period, complete an audition form, and audition. Singers will be auditioned in the order in which they arrive.

·        Singers will be asked to sing a simple song (a familiar hymn or “Happy Birthday”).

·        Singers will be asked to read a melodic line, clap a rhythmic passage, or echo sing.

·        Singers will vocalize with a piano to find their range.

Additional Information:

Rehearsals will be held 4:15-5:45 pm (5:30 p.m. for the Preparatory Choir) every Thursday in the McCorkle Music Building on Mercer’s Macon campus. The first rehearsal is Thursday, Aug. 17.
Tuition for the Touring Choir is $150 per semester. Tuition for the Preparatory Choir is $125 per semester. Scholarships funds are limited and available on a need basis. Scholarship forms will be available at the audition.
The Touring Choir will conduct a concert tour to Washington, D.C. in June 2007.

Founded in September of 2005, the Mercer University Children’s Choir is a community arts initiative of the Townsend-McAfee Institute Graduate Studies in Church Music of Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music. The Mercer University Children’s Choir involves 65 singers in two auditioned choirs. The Preparatory Choir (ages 7 – 9) is a training choir that performs a limited number of concerts in Middle Georgia and helps young singers develop healthy singing and performance skills. The Touring Choir (ages 9-15) is a performance choir that performs throughout Georgia and conducts an annual out-of-state concert tour. The singers learn to read music, use proper vocal technique, develop creativity, form healthy relationships and give an artistic gift to the community.

The Choir’s first out-of-state concert tour was June 1-4 with performances in St. Augustine, Orlando, and Tampa, Fla. The Touring Choir concluded its season with a concert in Atlanta’s Spivey Hall as part of the Summer Convocation of the Georgia Choral Directors Association on July 8. In 2007, the Touring Choir will conduct a concert tour to Washington, D.C.

Dr. John E. Simons, director of graduate studies, director of the Townsend-McAfee Institute, and associate professor of music at Mercer, serves as artistic director of the Mercer Children’s Choir. For more information, call Mercer University Townsend School of Music at (478) 301-2748.

Established in 2006, Mercer University Townsend School of Music offers undergraduate and graduate professional music studies in a comprehensive university environment. It is nationally recognized for its outstanding faculty, award-winning students, performance ensembles and state-of-the-art facilities.  It is home to the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings Studies and the Townsend-McAfee Institute for Graduate Studies in Church Music.