Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Next Round of Auditions!

The Young People's Chorus of Erie will hold its next round of auditions May 4-7, 4:30-6:30pm at the following locations:

Monday, May 4 at Penn State Behrend’s Smith Chapel
Tuesday, May 5 at First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, 250 W. 7th Street
Wednesday, May 6 at Penn State Behrend’s Smith Chapel
Thursday, May 7 at the Cathedral of St. Paul Episcopal, 134 W. 7th Street

The audition process is simple. Each prospective chorister will be asked to sing a song of his/her choice (without accompaniment) and some basic musical patterns as played on a keyboard. The primary requirements for joining YPC are the ability to match pitch, a genuine love for singing, and a commitment to hard work!

For more information, or to sign up for an audition time, contact the YPC Erie office (814) 898-6789, e-mail info@ypcerie.org, or visit our website at www.ypcerie.org.

YPC Erie Debuts!






All three of the YPC Erie ensembles debuted this past weekend at the Warner Theater in Erie.

The YPC Erie High School Chorus sang the youth chorus part in the Erie Philharmonic's performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, with the Erie Philharmonic Chorus & Orchestra. The very first public appearance of any YPC Erie ensemble featured our high school students on stage with the orchestra in front of a sold-out crowd in Erie's historic Warner Theater. I was so very proud of our choristers not only for the high quality of their musical performance, but also for the impressive and professional way they carried themselves. The audience's excitement was palpable as they witnessed YPC Erie in action for the very first time!

The YPC Erie Elementary and Middle School Choruses made their debut at the Warner Theater the very next day, as the featured performers in "Students Play the Warner," an opening-act performance series sponsored by the Erie Civic Music Association. Under the direction of conductors Sharon Downey and Michael Dean, the Elementary and Middle School choruses sang an impressive set of 3 well-prepared and memorized pieces each for a huge audience. Actually, since we were the opening act, I had expected there to be very few people in the audience - but we had a huge crowd there just to see YPC Erie more than an hour before the Erie Civic Music concert began! Our younger YPC groups took charge and did an amazing job. YPC Erie is grateful to Erie Civic Music Association for featuring us in this way, and for their gift of financial support in exchange for our performance.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend for YPC Erie! Coming next: YPC Erie travels to NYC for the YPC NYC Honor Chorus Festival!

For more information on auditions & enrollment in YPC Erie, contact our office (814) 898-6789, e-mail ypcerie@psu.edu, or visit our website at www.ypcerie.org.