The Michigan State University Choral Union will hold interviews/auditions for its upcoming season on Wednesday, Sept. 5 and 12, at 6 p.m. Auditionees should meet outside of Room 147 of the MSU Communication Arts and Sciences Building, which is at the southeast corner of Red Cedar and Wilson on the MSU campus. The first rehearsal will also be Wednesday, Sept. 5, so those auditioning should be prepared to stay for rehearsal that evening and on Sept. 12. Auditionees should be prepared to vocalize and sing the first verse of The Star Spangled Banner. Previous choral singing experience is desirable, but not required. No appointment is necessary but auditionees are asked to arrive at 6 p.m. for a general information session. Private individual auditions will follow immediately.
This fall, the ensemble will perform a concert of British holiday works: The “Christmas” portion of Handel’s beloved Messiah and Ralph Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Old Carols and Gustav Holst’s Christmas Day with Professor David Rayl and the MSU Symphony Orchestra. The spring semester will feature Haydn’s “Lord Nelson” Mass with members of the MSU Symphony Orchestra.
David Rayl, director of choral programs at MSU, conducts the Choral Union. “It offers enriching opportunities to sing an array of historic and powerful choral works with a first-class orchestra on the stage of Wharton Center,” says Rayl. “Members of the Choral Union come with a wide variety of musical experiences and abilities. Their common love of choral-orchestral singing brings a unifying element among members, which creates lasting memories made on the stage.”
The ensemble rehearses on Wednesday evenings, 7-9 p.m. Members pay a $53.50 per semester registration fee ($41.25 for high school or college students) and pay for their own musical scores (approximately $20 per semester).
For additional information, please contact musgrad@msu.edu or at (517) 353-9122.
