UW-Parkside Holds Auditions For “Messiah” Singers August 28

SOMERS—University of Wisconsin-Parkside Music Professor Dr. James Kinchen invites area vocalists to audition for the university’s Master Singers choral group and the opportunity to perform “Messiah,” “the greatest story ever told set to the greatest music ever written.” Auditions will be held Monday, Aug. 28, from 6 to 6:45 pm.

Auditions will be held in the choral rehearsal room, Room D164 of the Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities. Singers who satisfy the audition requirements should come prepared to remain for the rehearsal which will commence at 7 pm. The Aug. 28 rehearsal will run until 9 pm, but rehearsals thereafter are generally 7-9:45 pm with a break.

Appointments for the Monday, August 28, auditions are preferred, but walk-ins are also welcome. For more information or to make an appointment, contact Dr. Kinchen at kinchen@uwp.edu by email or call the choral office at 262-595-2111.

Singers who have previously performed “Messiah” with Master Singers will not need to audition, unless it is deemed necessary by the director. For those selected to sing, rehearsals are every Monday evening leading up to performances, Dec. 2 and 3 in Frances Bedford Concert Hall in the “Rita.” 

In addition to vocal ability and choral skills, Master Singers participants must also be ready to work independently, adding that there are many internet, downloadable, and CD resources that can be ordered by mail that will support singers in their note learning.

The auditions and fall rehearsals will prepare members for performances of George Frideric Handel’s masterwork in beautiful, acoustically superb Frances Bedford Hall on campus in December. These triennial UW-Parkside performances of “Messiah,” which first took place in 1993, have become an important fine arts tradition in Southeast Wisconsin. “Messiah,” one of the best-known works in all of Western music, was composed by Handel in 1741.