Students in fourth, fifth and sixth grades are invited to audition for the American Gothic Performing Arts Festival Children’s Chorus this month. The Chorus of nearly 35 voices performs throughout Wapello County during the month of June.
Auditions will be Thursday, March 16, beginning at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 18, beginning at 9 a.m. in room M118 in the Arts and Sciences Building on the Indian Hills Community College Ottumwa campus. Parents can register their children online at www.americangothicfest.org or by emailing.
Following a concentrated period of rehearsal in March, April, May and June, the chorus will present a series of short performances during AGPAF events June 9-23 and will be featured at a Father’s Day Concert June 18.
According to the Festival website, the Festival Children’s Chorus is the only regional children’s chorus in southeast Iowa.
Auditions consist of a 15-minute orientation for choristers and their parents, the website says. Students will participate in a brief group movement exercise and will sing one at a time for Willhoit. Parents are welcome to remain with their children through the auditions if that makes the children more comfortable.
Students will be asked to match pitches, clap in rhythm and sing a song they know, something simple such as “Happy Birthday” or “America the Beautiful.” Children do not need to have had any private vocal training and prepared solos are discouraged, AGPAF says.
The chorus will rehearse Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. and occasionally on Saturday mornings. A fee of $150 will cover the costs of professional training, music, a T-shirt or polo shirt and a performance uniform.