Cantate

It's been over a year since I've performed with any sort of musical ensemble, and while singing in the shower is fun, it's not quite as rewarding as performing on stage. So, on a whim, I started researching choral groups in Chicago and emailed Cantate, a mixed voice chamber choir with repertoire that looked challenging but not too serious. Two months later, they invited me to come for an audition, and my palms began to sweat. Have I mentioned that the bulk of my vocal training comes from only one semester of Cornell chorale?

The director, Ben Rivera, greeted me at the door, and after shushing the dogs, we got right to business. He handed me a page with text in German, Latin, Spanish, French, and Italian. "Read the text, and if you don't know, make something up," he instructed. Hmm, I took a deep breath and began butchering the paragraphs in front of me. The German was by far the worst, though my Italian wasn't terrific either. Having studied French in college, that paragraph was the cleanest. After I stumbled my way to the end of the page, Ben corrected some of my more egregious errors. "The g's are silent in Italian. At the end of line 2, can you say figlio? In German, there are two ways to pronounce ch. I want you to widen your mouth and say ich with plenty of air moving over your tongue." Luckily, I was able to reproduce the sounds he was making; thank god for being a native speaker of a tonal language. I laughed nervously and commented, "Gee, German and Italian, the two languages I've never sung in."

Next up, sight singing and rhythms. I misread an interval in the sight singing, but was able to correct myself on the second pass. The rhythms were fairly straightforward, though I lost count in the swing section and started that line over. I silently thanked all the people who have requested pieces on chimes which force me to sightread.

Finally, we went through a series of vocal exercises designed to test range. "What part do you sing? Alto 1 or alto 2?" I hesitated. "Well, I've been singing alto 2, though that was partially because we didn't have enough of them." Then, he began putting me through my paces with an array of interval exercises. "Hmm, I want you to sing this with a warm tone. Now I want you to sing the same thing as dark as possible." Wait, what? I was at a total loss for what to do, and attempted the phrase with more forceful punch the second time around. Was that what he meant by dark?

"Ok, that's enough for now. I've been through hundreds of auditions, so I like to give feedback at all my auditions because oftentimes you don't get any. So let's go through your audition, section by section. The pronounciation was a bit rough, but you were able to pick up and repeat what I wanted you to say, so that's really what I'm looking for. Plus, your repertoire is fairly thin, so I'm not surprised you were thrown by the text. Your pitch accuracy is great; you're always in tune. The rhythms were also perfect. Now, after hearing your range, I really don't think you're an alto, and I have a hard time even imagining you as an alto 2. Altos do have more difficult harmonic parts, so maybe you were put there because you're good with pitches. However, your upper range is so much cleaner that it's a disservice to put you in the alto section. One problem though, is that from about A to E your voice is extremely bright and sticks out. Above and below that you're fine. Unfortunately, the bulk of soprano 2 notes are in this range. You seemed unfamiliar with the terms 'warm' and 'dark,' but this is what I meant, and it will help you blend with the group." He demonstrated how to round your lips for a darker sound. It was by far the most informative audition I've ever had.

In the end, it appears that my failings (primarily due to a lack of vocal experience) were overshadowed by solid musical fundamentals and my potential for improvement. If you are in Chicago, look forward to me haranguing you to come to one of my concerts in the future.