Students in grades 3-12 as of Fall 2015 are invited to audition for the award-winning Voices of Central Arkansas (VOCA) Choir on Thursday, May 14 and May 21, from 3:30 – 5:30pm, according to Dr. Sheri Cook-Cunningham, director of VOCA. VOCA is the umbrella organization for several vocal ensembles: Choristers, Concert Choir, and Youth Choir. The intent of the choir is to promote musical literacy and performance by providing a challenging, high-quality choral experience for its members. Rehearsals are held at UCA each Tuesday of the school year, excluding holidays, from 6-7:30 pm for the Choristers and Concert Choir and from 7-8:30 pm for the Youth Choir.
Students receive instruction in vocal technique and learn a varied repertoire of music in this program, which is part of the UCA Community School of Music (CSM). Choristers and the Concert Choir are both treble-voiced choirs – Choristers for grades 3-5 and Concert Choir for grades 5-8. Both ensembles help develop the voices of young singers, and they are exposed to a wide variety of choral literature. The Youth Choir is an inter-generational mixed voice choir for vocalists in grades 8 – 12 and college. These singers will learn advanced choral literature encompassing a wide variety of styles and genres
According to Jann Bryant, director of the CSM, VOCA (previously known as Central Arkansas Children’s Choir) has won many awards in its 20-year history, most recently at the Summit Music Festival at Silver Dollar City. Both the Choristers, directed by Carrie Martens, and the combined Concert Choir/Youth Choir received Superior Ratings at the festival. Each year VOCA performs at a nationally recognized music festival including Carnegie Hall in NYC, Chicago and Dallas. Additionally they have sung with the Conway Symphony Orchestra, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Russian Ballet, and in the UCA production of the Marriage of Figaro.
A short audition is required for membership. To audition this month for the 2015-16 season, students or their parents should contact Dr. Cook-Cunningham at scookcunningham@uca.edu or call 816-718-9200. No previous experience is required. Students auditioning for Choristers or Concert Choir will be asked to match pitch, demonstrate their vocal range, and perform a familiar tune, such as “Row, Row, Row your Boat” during the 5-10 minute audition. Students auditioning for Youth Choir will also be asked to perform a short prepared piece of approximately 2 minutes in length. Additional information is available at vocasings.com.
