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Voices of Central Ƶ Choir Auditions

Students in grades 3-12 as of Fall 2015 are invited to audition for the award-winning Voices of Central Ƶ (VOCA) Choir on Thursday, May 14 and May 21, from 3:30 – 5:30pm, according to Dr. Sheri Cook-Cunningham, director of VOCA.  VOCA is the umbrella organization for several vocal ensembles: Choristers, Concert Choir, and Youth Choir.  The intent of the choir is to promote musical literacy and performance by providing a challenging, high-quality choral experience for its members.  Rehearsals are held at UCA each Tuesday of the school year, excluding holidays, from 6-7:30 pm for the Choristers and Concert Choir and from 7-8:30 pm for the Youth Choir.

Students receive instruction in vocal technique and learn a varied repertoire of music in this program, which is part of the UCA Community School of Music (CSM).  Choristers and the Concert Choir are both treble-voiced choirs – Choristers for grades 3-5 and Concert Choir for grades 5-8. Both ensembles help develop the voices of young singers, and they are exposed to a wide variety of choral literature.  The Youth Choir is an inter-generational mixed voice choir for vocalists in grades 8 – 12 and college.  These singers will learn advanced choral literature encompassing a wide variety of styles and genres

According to Jann Bryant, director of the CSM, VOCA (previously known as Central Ƶ Children’s Choir) has won many awards in its 20-year history, most recently at the Summit Music Festival at Silver Dollar City.  Both the Choristers, directed by Carrie Martens, and the combined Concert Choir/Youth Choir received Superior Ratings at the festival.   Each year VOCA performs at a nationally recognized music festival including Carnegie Hall in NYC, Chicago and Dallas. Additionally they have sung with the Conway Symphony Orchestra, the Ƶ Symphony Orchestra, the Russian Ballet, and in the UCA production of the Marriage of Figaro.

A short audition is required for membership.   To audition this month for the 2015-16 season, students or their parents should contact Dr. Cook-Cunningham at  scookcunningham@uca.edu or call 816-718-9200.  No previous experience is required.  Students auditioning for Choristers or Concert Choir will be asked to match pitch, demonstrate their vocal range, and perform a familiar tune, such as “Row, Row, Row your Boat” during the 5-10 minute audition.  Students auditioning for Youth Choir will also be asked to perform a short prepared piece of approximately 2 minutes in length.  Additional information is available at vocasings.com.