Photo courtesy Linda ParkerBy Linda Parker
Special to The PREVIEW
Auditions for the 2018-2019 Pagosa Springs Girls Choir (PSGC) have been set for May 14 from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Pagosa Springs Middle School band room. The choir is open to girls who will be in the fifth through eighth grades in the 2018-2019 school year.
Audition packets for public school girls will be sent home. Any girls who are home-schooled or are in an online educational program can obtain an audition packet by calling Director Linda Parker at 264-1434 or emailing her at singpagosa@gmail.com. The packet will also be available on the choir’s website, www.singpagosa.org.
The PSGC is an auditioned community choir of girls who love to sing and who would like to further their music education. The choir is a wonderful opportunity for girls to learn about vocal and choral techniques and to perform in a select choral group.
Girls will learn and perform high-quality choral music in a variety of styles, including pop, folk and country (some music will include choreography and props). The girls also have the opportunity to study with a professional vocal coach during rehearsal time where private mini voice lessons are taught. This is a service that is provided by the PSGC as part of the tuition charge.
The PSGC performs regularly throughout the school year, both for community events and organizations, and it presents its own concerts in December and in May.
Additionally, featured soloists and choral groups are invited to be a part of the concerts, giving the girls the opportunity to work and perform with other talented musicians. A highlight for the girls this year was to participate in a master class taught by professional musicians K.T. Sullivan and Natalie Douglas, both of New York City. The girls have also been featured on a Christmas CD with singer Judy James.
In addition to performance, the girls are able to participate in summer educational trips. The girls have traveled to Santa Fe, N.M., to study opera; they spent eight days in the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, area in June of 2015 attending performances of professional music theater; they traveled to Vail, Colo., to attend a performance of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra; and to Salt Lake City, Utah, to hear the Temple organ and the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. To culminate its fifth year of existence, this summer the girls will visit New York City, visiting landmarks and hearing world-class performances.
Rehearsals for the choir will be held on Monday afternoons from 4 to 5 p.m. in the band room at Pagosa Springs Middle School beginning the first Monday after school starts.
There is a nonrefundable audition fee of $10 which will be credited toward the tuition fee of $300 per year if a girl is ultimately selected. Scholarships are available; no student will be excluded because of financial reasons, and a scholarship application is available by calling 264-1434 or emailing singpagosa@gmail.com. Up to a third of the tuition will be discounted based on each girl’s participation in our fundraising. A payment plan for tuition will be available, so it can be paid throughout the year.
“Auditions this year are being held during our regular rehearsal time. Current choir members will be on hand to help, and they will be available to sing with the girls who are auditioning. While the audition is meant to be nonthreatening, most everyone has some nerves when auditioning,” said Parker. “We’re hoping that having a buddy to sing with will help the girls feel at ease in a more relaxed atmosphere.”
If a girl has a conflict on the audition date, please call Parker to set up an alternative day and time.
Girls should prepare the song “America” (“My Country ‘tis of Thee”) to sing by memory without accompaniment. Pitch matching and echo clapping will also be part of the audition, but no preparation is necessary for that part of the audition.
“I hope the young girls in Pagosa will take advantage of this opportunity to learn about singing, to improve their own instrument and to see the possibilities that exist for them through working and performing in the arts,” said Parker. “We have many very talented young girls in Pagosa, and I look forward to beginning this musical journey with them as well as continuing the journey with current PSGC members.”
