Auditions
Roaring 20 hosts auditions for freshmen and sophomores twice a year — in the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. Although auditioning can seem like a daunting and stressful experience, we strive to make the process as smooth and stress-free as possible.
Audition Details
Your R20 audition should be quite painless and only take about 15 minutes.
All you need to prepare in advance is your SOLO (see Step 5)!
In your audition, you can expect the following:
Step 1:
INTRODUCTIONS
We begin the audition by introducing you to the group and getting to know a little bit about you – your hometown, your residential college, etc.
Step 2:
SCALES
We will guide you through a few scales to warm you up and test your range (we recommend warming up a bit on your own before the audition).
Step 3:
SWELLS
We will give you a pitch, then you will start singing as soft as you possibly can on that note, gradually crescendo to your loudest possible volume, and decrescendo back to where you started. We’re interested in hearing dynamic contrast and an ability to sing both loudly and softly across your range.
Step 4:
PITCH MATCHING
Our music director will play a few sets of 3 or 4 notes on the piano and have you sing them back to the group. Try to sing them as accurately as you can – if you need to hear the notes played multiple times, that’s completely fine.
Step 5:
THE SOLO
(what you need to prepare in advance)
This is your time to shine! You can perform any solo from any genre of music. We recommend a 30-45 second excerpt from a song that you’re comfortable with and that demonstrates your vocal strengths. Just to give you some ideas, solos used by current members include: “Almost is Never Enough” by Ariana Grande, “There Will Never Be Another You” by Chet Baker, “Rise Up” by Andra Day, “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran, & “Hard Place” by H.E.R.
Step 6:
BLENDING EXERCISE
Lastly, we will surround you with members of your voice part, and we will sing through a short phrase in 4-part harmony. You will have a copy of the music. After hearing it a couple of times, you will join in on your part to give us an idea of how your voice fits in with the rest of the group.
Then you’re done! A member of Roaring 20 will swing by your room later that night if we decide to give you a callback.
* Roaring 20 does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender expression, sexual orientation, or disability. All freshmen and sophomores are welcome and encouraged to audition.
Audition Location
Auditions take place in the Roaring 20 room at 071 Bloomberg Hall. The room is in the basement, all the way down at the end of the hall.
Pro Tip: Click HERE and follow directions on Google Maps!
