Singing in the Summer!

We’re about to begin the seventh season of The Michael O’Neal Summer Singers and our program this year is entitled Bach to Broadway.  Selections by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Verdi, and Parry will comprise the first part of the concert, followed by songs from Man of La Mancha, West Side Story, The Phantom of the Opera, and Les Misérables.  The variety of musical pieces in this concert in some ways reminds me of the great variety of singers we have in Summer Singers.

The Summer Singers (MOSS), unlike the regular season MOS, is a completely non-auditioned chorus, and open to all interested singers.  The wide range of experience found in the individual singers in each summer’s chorus helps make the entire effort very gratifying to me.  I love taking people of various backgrounds and skill levels and helping them become a unified and sensitive musical ensemble.  In just a few days we’ll have over 150 singers joining together in the shared purpose of making music!  I can hardly wait!

Summer and Singing!

We’ve just begun the sixth season of The Michael O’Neal Summer Singers and the first rehearsal was a blast!  One hundred and fifty voices came together to sing Randall Thompson’s The Testament of Freedom, Howard Hanson’s Song of Democracy, and arrangements of America, the Beautiful, God Bless America, and The Battle Hymn of the Republic.  In a program entitled (not surprisingly) Salute to America, this summer’s chorus should perform beautifully in our concert on August 15th. 

The Summer Singers (MOSS), unlike the regular season MOS,  is a completely non-auditioned chorus, and open to all interested singers.  The wide range of experience found exhibited in the individual singers in each summer’s chorus helps make the entire effort so gratifying to me.  I love taking people of various backgrounds and skill levels and assisting them in becoming a unified and sensitive musical ensemble.  That leads me to a question!  I’m interested in hearing the views of my readers on the pros and cons of non-auditioned vs. auditioned choruses.  Share your thoughts.