hi there! i'm new to this board, and i'm here to ask for a bit of help.

i've been singing in choirs since i was 14, and i did music at university and sang in various vocal groups there as well. i've never had to audition for any of them, as i either joined groups that didn't require it, or else i was asked to participate in something by someone who already knew my vocal abilities.

however!, i've now got an audition at the end of the month for the belfast philharmonic choir, and i have to sing a prepared piece at the audition, as well as do sight reading, pitch and range tests. my sight reading is very good, my range is pretty spot on for an alto (although i haven't been singing properly for about 3 and a half years, so the extremes are sounding a bit scratchy!), and my pitching's pretty accurate too. so i just need a piece!

never having auditioned, nor ever having sung choral-type solos, i have no idea what to sing! can anyone give me some recommendations?

thanks

How about "O Rest in the Lord" from Mendelssohn’s Elijah? It will give you a chance to show that you can sing through longish phrases with good control of both tone and breathing. It will give you an opportunity to show a good dynamic range too. Good luck with your audition and welcome to the forums.

Thankyou! Weirdly enough, Elijah is one of the two things they're working on at the moment (the other being Belshazzar's Feast), so that might do very well!

Alternatively "Father of Heaven" from Judas Maccabeus or "He was despised" from Messiah.

''In Haven' or 'Where Corals Lie' from Elgars Sea Pictures ??

How about 'He shall feed his flock' from Handel's Messiah. The second half is for soprano, but you could just leave that bit out!

Good luck with your audition!

There's another air from the Messiah for alto, too - I'm afraid I don't remember the name. Lots of semiquaver passages if that's what you happen to be good at!! I think it's number 8.....

Was it 'O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion'? I sung this last week in a concert, and it's one of my favourite pieces I've ever performed!

That's fantastically helpful - thanks so much! Some of the suggestions sound lovely (I'm particularly intrigued by the Elgar, which I don't think I know). I actually have a vocal score for the Messiah, so I suspect I'll go for that as I don't have to hunt down the music or buy it - I don't know why it hadn't occured to me to use it before! Possibly the sheer panic of suddenly realising I'd have to prepare something pushed all useful thought out of my head.

I'll let you know how I get on!

Yes! Thanks, that's the one! I never got to the stage of being able to sing it well, but I do like the piece a lot

This is going to sound very stupid but at my audition where I had to sing, I sang "Son Of A Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfeild. Everyone that was there sung a classical piece and I think I was the only one who done something soul and jazzy, lol. I dont hear back for another four weeks so I cant say if it worked or not so...lol

An interesting choice certainly. I hope that your audition went well and that you are what they are looking for. Do you think that the Belfast philharmonic choir are ready for this?

just a quick update to say that i had the audition of doom last night, and despite it being doom laden i passed and will start rehearsing with the choir in april (their two upcoming concerts are too close for me to learn the stuff).

the choir secretary was supposed to direct me down to my audition, and i was due to audition at 6.50pm, but i'm pretty sure it was about 7.10 by the time i was called and they start rehearsing at 7.15pm! i was really nervous already, so that kinda didn't help as it meant the whole audition was pretty pressed for time. the accompanist rocketed through the messiah exerpt so i mis-hit the very first note and fluffed an entry; and then i was asked which exerpt from 'elijah' i had prepared. i'd only been to one rehearsal of elijah so didn't have a score, and i'd received an email from the secretary yesterday morning mentioning that i'd have to sing an exerpt, but she made it sound like i'd have to sight read a piece of the conductor's choosing so i hadn't prepared anything. i didn't get asked to do any sight reading, but did a range test and i've been put in the second altos (greek island?!).

so yes, all a bit disastrous really, and i felt like i didn't really get to demonstrate my ability (though given how incredibly nervous i was i'm not sure it would have been much better), but i got in, and they offer lessons to their members which is quite cool because i've never had any singing lessons before, i've always just picked up bits of technique through choir rehearsals.

all in all it's good news, so thanks for all your advice and help beforehand!

Congratulations on passing your audition. Enjoy your singing.

Congratulations meerium! Well done. I'm sure you'll love singing lessons!
I went to see Handel's Messiah when the philharmonic choir did it. Twas really good.

Congratulation Meerium - you obviously pulled it off, despite a rather disorganised reception. Bad luck about the Elijah - they could have been clearer couldn't they!

It's excellent that they offer some singing lessons. You may find that with help and practice you won't always be a second alto. Anyway, I'm sure you are in for a great time - (I love my singing, which is just with a small choir ) - and I do hope it all goes well.

Do come back and let us know how you get on, won't you ?