Santa Rosa Junior College has a rich tradition in choral music that currently includes our Symphonic Chorus and Chamber Singers. Additional courses are available in vocal technique and diction. Applied Voice (private instruction) is available for students intending to major in music.
SYMPHONIC CHORUS (Listed as Concert Choir) (MUSCP 21A–D)
Darita Seth, Director
Audition Not Required. Symphonic Chorus meets Mondays from 7-9:30pm. Though all students and community members are welcome, singers should be familiar with the choral experience and should be able to match pitch and learn and perform vocal parts in an SATB ensemble. Some students who are accepted are not strong music readers, but the first weeks of class are spent on music reading exercises, allowing students to learn and/or polish this skill.
All Symphonic Chorus members are expected to adhere to the performance schedule which includes but is not limited to:
- SRJC "Home" concerts in Burbank Auditorium in October, December, March, and May.
- Major works at the Green Music Center with the Santa Rosa Symphony.
CHAMBER SINGERS (MUSCP 23A–D)
Darita Seth, Director
Audition required. Chamber Singers meet Mondays and Wednesdays from from 12pm – 1:30 p.m. This is a select (more advanced) ensemble of experienced choral singers, many of whom are voice majors. Members of Chamber Singers are expected to co-enroll in Concert Choir, with some exceptions at the discretion of the director. Non-majors are welcome, but the time commitment to both Concert Choir and Chamber Singers is standard for this ensemble.
Students who wish to audition for this ensemble must be capable music readers and should enroll only upon instructor approval. Those interested in enrolling in Chamber Singers should attend the Concert Choir class at 12:00 on the first day of classes.
All members of the Chamber Singers are expected to adhere to the performance schedule which includes but is not limited to:
- Fall and Spring retreats
- SRJC "Home" concerts in Burbank Auditorium in October, December, March, and May.
- Choral Invitationals
- MACCC Conference
- Major works at the Green Music Center with the Santa Rosa Symphony.
- Tours
Each November, members of the Chamber Singers participate in the Music Association of California Community Colleges (MACCC) conference choir performing under the direction of outstanding guest choral conductors, such as Iris Levine (CalPoly Pomona), Ragnar Bohlin (SF Symphony Chorus), Jo-Michael Scheibe (USC), Jeffrey Benson (San Jose State), and Jonathan Talberg (CSU Long Beach), and working with Guest Artists in Residence that have included choral composers Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen, and Jake Runestad.
For the Santa Rosa Symphonic Chorus/Choir and Chamber Singers, contact Darita Seth [dseth@santarosa.edu |707.527.4665]
Chamber Singers Audition Information
You will sign up for a slot at our first class meeting. All auditionees should receive this information with enough time to do some preparation. Students will NOT receive an add-on code without an audition.
All of this is done in front of the director (Darita Seth) and accompanist (Nancy Hayashibara).
Solo Selection
Please bring in a short solo of any style to sing. If you have sheet music for this, fantastic! If not, we will hear you a cappella. If your selection is longer than 90 seconds, please consider an audition cut. Please try to choose a song that you think will showcase your voice in the range you would like to sing in choir.
Vocalization
During this portion, we will listen to your range and hear the highest notes you sing beautifully and the lowest notes you sing beautifully. Oftentimes, we are asked to sing a different voice part than what we study with our applied teachers. Please don’t view this as being demoted. Most of the time, this placement is done on a need basis.
Musicianship
The following scales are common in most early & advanced high school honor choir auditions. This portion might seem daunting, but you will leave this class proficient at all of these.
- Ascending and descending major scale on any syllable (solfege is perfectly acceptable!)
- Major Triad
- Minor Triad
- Ascending and descending chromatic scale on any syllable
Preparation Assessment
This is usually the part of the audition where we ask you to sightread. In my years of researching more equitable audition processes, I have gathered that giving singers a piece to learn and bring to audition yields better results. Additionally, I believe a singer could be a terrible sight-reader (or not be able to read music at all!) but can prepare a piece of music if given an opportunity to learn something on their own. Every type of learner is celebrated in this rehearsal space. If you want to plunk out the notes on a piano with a friend, that I welcome. If you want to look up the parts on YouTube (all of the parts can be found if you search for it), that is also welcome.
(Score distributed at audition time)