AUDITIONS
WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN OUR CHOIR?
What We're Looking For
Musikanten Montana does not hold formal auditions at a set time of the year. Rather, new singers are welcomed in as rehearsals begin on a new concert program. (Singers pay dues on a pro-rated schedule if they start singing later in the season.)
You don't have to be a crackerjack sight-reader to join Musikanten Montana. It helps us learn music faster of course, but we don't sight-read concerts, so practicing at home and coming prepared is just as good. It's nice if you have had good voice training, breathe well, and sing good vowels, but we train you if you're not perfect in those departments.
What we ARE looking for in members is a voice which will match the other voices in the group. We work for a transparent sound where each part has a clear unison and matched vowels, with no voices predominating. We don't exactly sing "without vibrato" but as each voice listens to the group and tries to sing into the sound next to him/her, vibrato and other distinctive individual vocal traits disappear. This is the most important characteristic we look for in singers — the ability (and desire!) to blend.
We sing almost always in the original language the composer used; Latin, German, English, and French most commonly (and probably in that order). You don't have to be comfortable speaking or reading those languages, but you need a good ear to reproduce the sounds accurately when singing.
We sing mostly a cappella, or with minimal accompaniment. Perfect pitch is usually more of a handicap than an asset, but you must be able to sing accurate whole and half steps and hear the correct pitches without the support of an instrument.
Auditions - What to Expect
You won't be asked to prepare a solo to sing for audition. We are, for the most part, not soloists. You will be asked to sing with someone else, possibly the Maestra, to see if you can match your voice to the sound of the group.
You will sing some of the warm-ups which the group does every rehearsal. This tells us how quickly you catch on to something unfamiliar, as well as your range and the color/weight of your voice.
Specifically, we are listening for:
-
Ability to sing runs (Bach happens)
-
Accuracy of pitch
-
Good vowel placement
-
No wobble
You will be asked to sing some intervals, including probably a whole-tone scale. (We don't play a random sequence of notes on the piano for you to sing back.) Lastly, You'll be asked to sing a cappella (with the music in front of you) My Country tis of Thee. It's a good piece to hear how you sing half steps, descending lines and English words.
If this sounds good to you, call the Maestra at 406-431-7462 or email musikantenmt@aol.com.