So, you want to get involved in choral arts…
That’s excellent! We’re always looking for new voices to join our choral ensembles. Even if you’ve never sung before, we’d love to see you give it your best and try it out. If you’re already sure you want to sing at Lehigh and are attending this fall semester, great! If you’re a high school student considering Lehigh and wish to know more about our choral ensembles, you’ve come to the right place.
If you’re on your way to Lehigh this fall, you’ll need to prepare for choir auditions, which take place the day you move in to Lehigh (Thursday, August 25th, 2011). You should sign up for an audition slot in advance with our student Recruitment Manager, Hilary Hla (hmh213@lehigh.edu). Communicating with her prior to move-in day will guarantee that we have time to hold your audition. Each audition lasts about 10 minutes, and there are slots available between 8am and 3pm. Speak with your family, and decide what time is best for your audition… then, grab your slot as early as you can! The audition requires nothing except you and your voice. There is no need to bring anything, just come prepared to perform some vocal exercises. Nervous? Don’t be! It is not meant to be a stressful experience. It will just be you, Dr. Sametz (or affectionately, “Doc”), and a piano. We post results that night at 8:00 PM in Zoellner Arts Center, so you’ll know right away which of Lehigh’s ensembles is the best fit for you.
For more detailed information about the auditioning process, click here >>
Life After Auditions
There are two main choral ensembles that comprise Lehigh Choral Arts – Choral Union and the University Choir. University Choir is the auditioned ensemble, while Choral Union is open to anybody with a voice and the desire to sing. After auditions, you may be offered a position in University Choir – however, you can still join Choral Union, or even join both the Choral Union and University Choir.
Each choir is a single-credit course. Choral Union meets once per week (usually on Monday nights), and University Choir meets twice per week (usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays). University Choir performs slightly more music, both in number and in difficulty, than Choral Union, hence why it requires a greater time commitment.
If you’re worried that you might join choir and not be able to remember specific dates of concerts, irregularly-timed practices, or anything else, don’t worry – we supply a choir calendar up in the Choir Members section of the site. We recommend subscribing to this calendar via iCal or Google Calendar, or marking down the important dates in your own calendar, so that you know when everything choir-related will happen throughout the year.
Those who join the University Choir will spend the three days following their audition attending what we call Choir Camp – a short excursion about an hour away from campus where we begin learning music for the fall semester. Choir Camp supplements normal orientation (but not your orientation assignments), and it’s an excellent way to get introduced to Lehigh life! We won’t divulge all the secrets of Choir Camp here, but trust us – it’s far more fun than traditional orientation. If you are worried about missing orientation on campus, please do not hesitate to contact our student Recruitment Manager, Hilary Hla, at hmh213@lehigh.edu, so that we might help address your concerns.
Glee Club and Dolce
For those in University Choir, you’ll also have the option to join one of our gender-specific ensembles! Our all-male ensemble is known as Glee Club, and our all-female ensemble is Dolce. There is no obligation to join as a University Choir member, but you’ll probably want to consider! The repertoire for both ensembles usually follows the theme of the music University Choir is currently learning.
Glee Club has always been a long-standing tradition at Lehigh, so we encourage the male members of University Choir to join and help spread the tradition. Dolce was founded three years ago, and is constantly growing and becoming a tradition in its own right. In addition, both Glee Club and Dolce take trips to perform outside of Lehigh, both with other colleges and on their own. Dolce and Glee Club also perform during the various choral concerts that take place throughout the year.
Is there more?
Why, certainly! We’ve put up more detailed information about Lehigh University’s choral ensembles all around the site. Have a look around and learn about Lehigh Choral Arts. Whether you’re just considering Lehigh or are already on your way here, we hope to see you become a part of our choral family.
