Ensemble Laude welcomes new singers!
How to join
If you enjoy exciting repertoire including early and contemporary music, and wish to share our passion for choral and chamber singing, we’d love to hear from you.
Ensemble Laude welcomes soprano and alto voices of women and non-binary singers of all ages and musical backgrounds. From professional musicians to people who learn music by ear, from music students to mature singers, our voices blend into a harmonious, cohesive whole under the inspired musical leadership of Dr Kathryn Whitney, our Artistic Director. Here’s how it works:
- Our auditions this year are on August 16 & 17 in Victoria. To reserve your place, write to auditions@ensemblelaude.org
- At the audition, you will be asked to sing one piece a cappella (without accompaniment). Our friendly director Kathryn will ask you to sing some scales to hear your voice and work out whether we have a place available for your voice type. You will also meet our General Manager, who will tell you how the choir works and ask about any special interests you may have (volunteering/section leading/other skills or interests you bring to the choir). You will meet some of our Emerging Artists, who will help you to go over the music for our group sing at the end of auditions (this is sent in advance). Finally, you’ll sing a few short segments with a small group of current choir members. Each audition will take about 1.5 hours (we are seeing up to 4 singers at once in a rotation over 1.5 hours.) We are looking forward to meeting you and to spending this time singing with you!
- New singers are normally admitted in September following an audition. We sometimes admit new singers in January, so please be in touch at any time if you’d like to audition.
- Singers must possess good intonation and vocal independence. We will support you in your music reading skills, so please do apply even if you do not read music well.
- Choir members receive vocal and choral instruction in early medieval to 21st-century choral music as part of rehearsals. We also run an optional pre-rehearsal solfa sight-reading session at the beginning of each term to help our singers sing more freely in rehearsals.
- Experienced vocalists can be offered solo and small group opportunities within the concert context.
Rehearsals
Dates: Ensemble Laude rehearses Thursday evenings, from September to mid-May. Regular attendance, barring illness, is required.
Location: Rehearsals are held at St Mary’s Oak Bay, 1701 Elgin Rd, Victoria, BC. View location on Google Maps.
Concerts
The choir performs several concerts on southern Vancouver Island each year. Ensemble Laude has six main performances that all members are required to attend in December/January and April/May in Victoria. We also perform for charities and other events at various times during the year, but these are optional for choir members.
Fees
The annual chorister fees of $400 include membership to the Ensemble Laude Choral Society for the two regular sessions (Winter & Spring). Student and Disability rates are available. Summer session for tours or festivals may be offered in some years at an additional fee.