New members hit high note
Liz Essley
Issue date: 9/24/09 Section: Arts
Chamber choir auditions returned in full swing this year, with 65 students vying for 28 spots.
Last year students could only audition for a handful of spots, said Associate Professor of Music and choir director James Holleman, because the choir needed to prepare quickly for their performance in Colorado at the College's National Leadership Seminar.
But last week, every slot was up for grabs. Eighteen returning members made the cut, as well as 10 new additions, including three freshmen. Nine of the 28 members are music majors. All returning members who auditioned passed again, which Holleman said is usual.
Senior Emily Thiessen, a returning member who joined the choir her freshman year, compared auditions to tryouts for starting positions on a varsity sports team.
"I was so nervous... I heard [the chamber choir] and thought, 'This group is amazing, and there's no way I'm getting in, but I'll still try,'" she said, adding that she "screamed a little" when she found out she made it on her first try.
"I had to beat out some upperclassmen, which is no small thing," she said.
She was more confident that she would make the cut this year, she said, having passed auditions before.
Sophomore Sam Georgi, a soprano, is one of the new faces in the group. She auditioned last year, but didn't make it.
"I worked really hard to improve my skills for this year's tryouts," she said.
Georgi, who has been studying voice since seventh grade, also took theory classes at Hillsdale and piano lessons over the summer to prepare for chamber choir auditions.
Sophomore Sarah Nelson, another new addition to the choir, also unsuccessfully auditioned her freshman year. She studied sight-reading and rhythm in preparation for her audition this year. She used a website that displays music measures and sounds the beat while the user claps along.
Holleman said students who didn't make chamber choir shouldn't give up because many students end up passing auditions later in their college careers.
Last year students could only audition for a handful of spots, said Associate Professor of Music and choir director James Holleman, because the choir needed to prepare quickly for their performance in Colorado at the College's National Leadership Seminar.
But last week, every slot was up for grabs. Eighteen returning members made the cut, as well as 10 new additions, including three freshmen. Nine of the 28 members are music majors. All returning members who auditioned passed again, which Holleman said is usual.
Senior Emily Thiessen, a returning member who joined the choir her freshman year, compared auditions to tryouts for starting positions on a varsity sports team.
"I was so nervous... I heard [the chamber choir] and thought, 'This group is amazing, and there's no way I'm getting in, but I'll still try,'" she said, adding that she "screamed a little" when she found out she made it on her first try.
"I had to beat out some upperclassmen, which is no small thing," she said.
She was more confident that she would make the cut this year, she said, having passed auditions before.
Sophomore Sam Georgi, a soprano, is one of the new faces in the group. She auditioned last year, but didn't make it.
"I worked really hard to improve my skills for this year's tryouts," she said.
Georgi, who has been studying voice since seventh grade, also took theory classes at Hillsdale and piano lessons over the summer to prepare for chamber choir auditions.
Sophomore Sarah Nelson, another new addition to the choir, also unsuccessfully auditioned her freshman year. She studied sight-reading and rhythm in preparation for her audition this year. She used a website that displays music measures and sounds the beat while the user claps along.
Holleman said students who didn't make chamber choir shouldn't give up because many students end up passing auditions later in their college careers.
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