“In the past we’ve used local choruses, such as the Syracuse Children’s Chorus and the Rainbow Kids performing choir,” said Douglas Kinney Frost, the opera’s director of music. But the time has come for a permanent chorus dedicated to the operatic main stage performances.
Auditions are open to any singers over age 8 who are less than 5 feet tall. But, Frost warned, singing talent isn’t the only required skill. “The point of {the auditions} is to get the 25 most talented young singers we can possibly find who can not only sing very well but can carry across dramatic feeling too,” he noted.
In contrast to the singing-only Syracuse Children’s Chorus, the opera’s group requires some theater skills. “We want a dramatic sound, not a pretty sound,” explained Frost. “In our upcoming plays, the kids are street urchins, naughty kids bringing about mayhem, so it isn’t meant to be pretty.” The new chorus will not pose a conflict for children who want to sing for both the opera and the Syracuse Children’s Chorus, and Frost maintained that, barring scheduling or other conflicts, the two are not mutually exclusive. “It’s the same as if a kid would have football practice,” he said. “The difference lies in the dramatic element.”
In addition to weekly practices and the main stage performances, the kids that survive the auditions and make it into the chorus will benefit from lessons in vocal technique, musical style, ear training and stagecraft from former Rainbow Kids chorus director Francine Berg. She led the Rainbow chorus through a number of performances that reflected the more than 40 different nationalities that made up the group from H.W. Smith School before it was dissolved a few years ago. Berg was also a music teacher at the school, and has led a number of other choruses in the city throughout her career.
She will focus on teaching general singing with very little, if any, emphasis on operatic techniques. “To train kids operatically is a little premature,” said Frost.
The children’s chorus, like the opera’s adult counterpart, will focus primarily on the main stage operatic performances, although Frost hasn’t ruled out any additional performances for the group. “They may have some outreach performances in the community,” he said. “But they won’t necessarily be performing on their own. The main stage shows will be their goal.”
Auditions are Thursday, Aug. 20, 4 to 8 p.m., at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Syracuse, 109 Waring Road, DeWitt. For more information, call 475-5915.
