Open Auditions for our 2015-16 Season

Auditions will be held September 15 and 16 in Novato. Send us an email at northstarvocal@gmail.com to request an audition form and time. There's an option for September 19 if mid-week doesn't work for you. Details follow. First, let us tell you about our exciting season plans!

Oct. 30, Nov. 1, 7 and 8
"Spirited Light: Sacred Music for the New Millenium"

Featuring the lushly beautiful Missa a Cappella by Einojuhani Rautavaara, this program includes Jake Runestad's "Spirited Light," Frank Ferko's Hildegard Tryptich, setting the poetry of Hildegard of Bingen, Roxanna Panufnik's "Prayer," Ola Gjeilo's "The Spheres" (Kyrie text), James MacMillan's O antiphon "O Radiant Dawn," Pavel Lukaszewski's "Psalmus 102," Hugo Distler's "Singet dem Herrn" and Ivo Antognini's "Canticum Novum."

Feb. 19, 21, 27 and 28
"Night Skies"

This program is a choral consideration of various celestial bodies, including a suite of Finnish folk tales by Jaakko Mäntyjärvi. Also on this program is Eriks Esenwald's "Stars," Eric Banks' "Celestial Wystan" and "Onomata planeton," a new work by Sanford Dole, Cecilia McDowell's "The Skies in Their Magnificence," Ola Gjeilo's "Northern Lights," Rene Clausen's "Tonight eternity alone," and "Alchemy" composer Donald Skirvin's "Song of Apollo."

Rehearsal Schedule
Rehearsals for the fall concert are scheduled as follows:

Sept. 29 - Tue - rehearsal: 7:30-10:00pm
Sept. 30 - Wed - rehearsal: 7:30-10:00pm
Oct. 3 - SAT - workshop: 9:30 am - 3:30 pm
Oct. 6 - Tue - rehearsal: 7:30-10:00pm
Oct. 7 - Wed - rehearsal: 7:30-10:00pm
Oct. 13 - Tue - rehearsal: 7:30-10:00pm
Oct. 14 - Wed - rehearsal: 7:30-10:00pm
Oct. 20 - Tue - rehearsal: 7:30-10:00pm
Oct. 21 - Wed - rehearsal: 7:30-10:00pm
Oct. 27 - Tue - rehearsal: 7:30-10:00pm (Sonoma)
Oct. 28 - Wed - rehearsal: 7:30-10:00pm
Oct. 30 - FRI - performance - San Francisco (eve)
Nov. 1 - SUN - performance - Sonoma (matinee)
Nov. 4 - Wed - rehearsal, S.R.venue - 7:30-10:00pm
Nov. 7 - SAT - performance - San Rafael (evening)
Nov. 8 - SUN - performance - Healdsburg (matinee)

Rehearsal Venues

Wed./Sat. rehearsals are at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in south Novato.
Tuesday rehearsals will be at Unitarian Universalist Church of Marin in San Rafael (Terra Linda).

Performance Venues

San Francisco: St. Gregory of Nyssa Church
500 DeHaro Street
San Rafael: First Presbyterian Church
1510 Fifth Avenue
Sonoma: St. Andrew Presbyterian Church
16920 Arnold Drive
Healdsburg: Paul Mahder Gallery
222 Healdsburg Avenue

The winter show rehearsal schedule will be similar, between Jan. 19 - Feb. 17 with two Saturday workshops on Jan. 30 and Feb. 13. Performances Feb. 19, 21, 27, 28.

Audition Details - evenings of Sept. 15 and 16

Now that you know that your calendar is clear - or at least where your conflicts might be manageable, here's how the auditions work:

Send us an email at northstarvocal@gmail.com to request an audition time. We'll send you a form to provide some background, and confirm your time in the schedule, as well as details about the Novato location. Your audition will take about 10 minutes.

We'll have you vocalize a bit to hear your range, have you read through a section of music provided in advance, and hear a short audition piece of your choice - whatever you feel shows your voice well. Could be an art song. Could be your part of the fugue theme from a movement of the Brahms Requiem. Just be sure to bring a copy for the accompanist to use.

We are staffing up in all sections, so please put your hat in the ring!

Decisions will be made and everyone notified one way or the other by September 20. We'll work to get music to you before the opening rehearsal September 26.

Feel free to ask questions about this process by sending us an email to northstarvocal@gmail.com.

Don't fret if you have a regular Tuesday or Wednesday conflict.

We can work around occasional absences if you're willing to do your homework, so if you can skip a 2-3 of your conflicting gig's rehearsals and a couple of ours, we can live with that. Our goal with the condensed-and-intense project format is to bring things together quickly, and minimize the intrusion on your regular routine.

Everybody has skin in the game

We are a self-produced organization operating on a shoe-string at the moment. In order to contract venues, buy scores and do the light administrative stuff like promotion and bookkeeping, we need everybody to pitch in for the cost up front.
Participation with us costs $150 per concert set. Of that, we can give you a receipt for tax purposes for at least half of it.

If you can't sing this time, can you give us financial support?

We're doing our best to keep costs low, but those not so sexy things like insurance and bookkeeping and promotion are a cost of doing business. Can you help us keep the singers' costs to participate low - and maybe someday disappear - by making a financial contribution?

You can donate via PayPal by clicking the Donate button below.


 

Thank you!