*Auditions Now Open*
NOTUS / New Zealand Touring Ensemble, Summer 2020
NOTUS has received an invitation to perform at the 12th World Symposium on Choral Music in Auckland, New Zealand, July 11 through July 18, 2020. NOTUS will give two performances at the Symposium, which will include a diverse array of music by American composers, including multiple IU student and alumni compositions. Thirty (30) students will be chosen to travel for this international tour.
Our two performances in New Zealand will consist of one 25-minute chamber music concert with scores, and one 45-minute memorized, staged performance in the Auckland Town Hall. The 45-minute program will be a collaboration with IU faculty staging director Michael Shell. In addition to the New Zealand performances, we will perform a pre-tour concert of our music in Bloomington and also record our tour repertoire for commercial release.
Sign-up:
Auditions are now open. They will take place September 8-11, 2019 in JS 333 (East Studio Building). Audition sign-ups will be handled through Canvas. To sign up for an audition:
IF YOU ARE REGISTERED FOR MUS-X70, logon to Canvas and select FA19 UNIVERSITY CHORAL ENSEMBLES: 3353 from the Courses menu. Once you are at the “Course Summary” page, click on “Calendar” and go to September. Then, choose one of the “NOTUS NZ Symposium Auditions” options and click the “Reserve” to claim your audition slot.
IF YOU ARE NOT REGISTERED FOR MUS-X 70 use the following link https://iu.instructure.com/enroll/NTFBF8 to access the audition sign up page. Once you are at this link, you will sign in with your Indiana University username and passphrase. Then, first click on “enroll in course” and then on “go to the course.” Once you are at the “Course Summary” page, click on “Calendar” and go to September. Then, choose one of the “NOTUS NZ Symposium Auditions” options and click the “Reserve” to claim your audition slot.
The audition itself:
Excellent intonation, sterling musicianship, and flexibility/clarity of vocal tone are of paramount importance.
- Please arrive 10 minutes early to your audition time, so that you can fill out an audition form.
- Please bring a short solo piece of your choosing (approx. 2 minutes) that shows off both the color and flexibility of your voice. A pianist will be provided, so please bring sheet music for the pianist to read.
- You will also be asked to sight-read excerpts of music as part of a vocal quartet (with three other singers singing other voice parts) during your audition.
Details:
- All rehearsals, performances, and recording sessions for the touring ensemble will take place between June 15 and July 19, 2020. All selected students must be fully available during this timeframe.
- Up to thirty (30) students will be selected to participate.
- The majority of student travel costs will be covered by both the World Symposium and support from the IU New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities Extraordinary Opportunity program. We anticipate that those selected to travel will have to contribute no more than $700 toward the cost of their participation (in addition to some meals while abroad and optional excursion activities). All selected students will also be provided with information about how to apply for IU supplemental travel funding support.
Eligibility:
- A student’s major and degree program are irrelevant: all enrolled students from any degree program may audition.
- Any student enrolled in coursework at any timeduring the 2019-20 Academic Year is eligible to audition. Specifically:
-- Those students who will graduate in Dec 2019 or May 2020 are eligible.
-- Those doctoral students who have completed coursework but are still enrolled in dissertation credits are eligible.
- All selected students must hold a valid passport through January 19, 2021.
Other Considerations:
- Those selected for the tour are not required to be members of NOTUS during the Fall or Spring terms.
- Similarly, if a student is selected to be in NOTUS in Fall 2019 or Spring 2020, this is not a guarantee that they will be selected for the touring choir.
- All students will be notified of the audition results by September 13, 2019and accepted students will have to return a commitment form by September 23.
- The Summer 2020 NOTUS Touring ensemble will be coordinated outside of the curricular structure, so students may not elect course credit for participation.
If you have any questions about the New Zealand Tour, please be in touch with Prof. DiOrio at ddiorio@indiana.edu.
Please note: These are not the same auditions for placement in Fall X70 Choral Ensembles. If you still need to sing a Fall choral placement audition, please be in touch with David Villanueva at dvillanu@indiana.edu.