Member Responsibilities

• Attendance at rehearsals, performances, fall retreat
• Memorize music for performances
• Return music to GRWC library as requested during the season and upon leaving chorus
• Responsible use of roster

Performances

We generally schedule 4-8 performances per year. A detailed schedule of all confirmed dates for the upcoming season will be discussed at the time of your audition. Any additional performance requests will be brought to the membership to determine feasibility.

Rehearsals

• Singers are expected to attend weekly rehearsals, which are held on Wednesdays from 6:45-9:00 p.m. at Fountain Street Church.
• Singers are expected to attend scheduled sectionals. There will be approximately one sectional every six weeks, as needed, throughout the season.

Financial Obligations

• While there are no annual dues, all singing members pay annually to attend the Fall retreat. The current cost is $60, however, that may increase without notice.
• Other costs that members may incur are associated with, but not limited to, social events and the purchase of promotional items. However, these activities are often optional.

Concert Attire

• Concert attire was chosen by a committee of singers and may change periodically. We wear all black from head to toe. A small amount of inconspicuous jewelry may be worn as desired by members.
• If parts of our concert attire are purchased by GRWC, they remain the property of GRWC. It’s also possible that singers may be required to purchase some of their performance attire. Individual members retain and care for all concert attire.

You are welcome to sit in on a rehearsal. Please e-mail grwcinfo@grwc.org if you would like to attend a rehearsal.

Yes, if you are a woman who:

• Loves to sing and is willing to learn a variety of musical styles, including music from all over the world.
• Can either sight-read or match pitch and learn by ear
• Can commit to our rehearsal/ performance schedule for a minimum of one year; and
• Can carry out GRWC’s mission statement

The audition consists of two parts: the musical audition and the interview. The entire process should take approximately 45 minutes. Please plan to arrive 10 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment to check in with singer volunteers. Then, you will meet individually with our Artistic Director, Lori Tennenhouse.

During the musical audition, the Artistic Director will ask you to:

• Sing scales and warm-ups (to determine tone quality and range)
• Repeat simple melodic patterns (to ascertain tonal memory/pitch recognition)
• Sight-read an excerpt (to determine your level of reading skill), although, sight-reading ability is not required
• You should come prepared to sing a song you feel best demonstrates your vocal talent. This piece can be any style you are comfortable with.  You may bring sheet music, sing from memory, sing acappella or bring an instrument recording to sing with.

During the interview, you will meet with at least one board member who will fill you in on information you need to decide if the GRWC is right for you, such as:

• Our mission
• Our vision
• Our culture
• Member responsibilities
• Our schedule

This will be an opportune time for you to ask any questions you may have about our organization.

No. The audition is private and is non-competitive. It is designed to evaluate your voice, not whether you can out-sing anyone. There are many skill levels represented in each chorus. However, you will need basic musical ability to be a singing member. At a minimum, you will need to be able to match a pitch that is played on the piano as well as be able to repeat a basic rhythmic pattern. You may be asked to sing with other singers to see how your voice blends.

The GRWC strives to represent diversity within our membership and we encourage all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, sexual preferences, and musical styles to audition. The choir tries to maintain membership at 80 – 100 singers with balanced voice parts. On your audition day, we will know better which sections we are filling.