<p>Hi, I was wondering what opportunities are open to first years. Can first years join the choir? How competative is it? What about glee or a Capella? Thank you!!</p>
<p>First-years can audition for the College Chorus. Glee Club is open to sophomores and above, and anyone can join an a capella group by audition. Go to the arch sing at the beginning of the school year to see what the a capella groups are like and to find out when auditions will be.</p>
<p>How competitive is it? What is the audition process like?</p>
<p>For a capella, yes, it’s pretty competitive. For college chorus, I have no idea.</p>
<p>(I didn’t sing at Smith so I have no actual experience in these areas.)</p>
<p>My daughter is a rising sophomore who successfully auditioned for the College Chorus; I believe there is some competition, but not as much as the Glee Club which she also made for next year.</p>
<p>Here is a link to a recent thread about a cappella groups:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/smith-college/919285-acapella-groups.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/smith-college/919285-acapella-groups.html</a></p>
<p>I know you can audition for multiple a cappella groups and then decide which one you want to join later, but can you audition for both a cappella groups and the chorus and then decide which one you’d like to be in or do you have to choose one or the other from the get-go?</p>
<p>Teenage_cliche, you’ve asked a question I don’t know the definitive answer to! Perhaps someone else will know. My daughter could answer that question but she’s working as camp staff this summer at an expedition camp in New Mexico and the only way to reach her is by snail mail. I’ll ask her in my next letter so you’ll have to be patient. Sorry!</p>
<p>What I do know is this: at the beginning of the year she auditioned for both chorus and a cappella groups. She didn’t make any a cappella groups, so she didn’t have to make a decision between the two singing experiences. She definitely decided it would be too much to do both. The second semester, she unsuccessfully auditioned for a cappella groups again, so she was again in the College Chorus (and LOVED it all year, by the way!). I have the sense that if she’d made an a cappella group, she could have dropped out of chorus, but I’m not absolutely sure. So I will check on that.</p>
<p>I do know that once you make the Glee Club (sophomore year and up), you can sing whenever it works for your schedule. You’re “in” for the rest of your college career; how often you participate is up to you.</p>
<p>CarolynB - Thanks for your answer! It’s always interesting to stump you Smith parents who seem to know pretty much everything 
And your daughter’s summer plans sound really interesting!</p>
<p>I know that I would probably enjoy either singing experience, but I’ve done all choral stuff up to now and want to try something else. But if it doesn’t work out, I’ll be alright with Chorus.
Though I do have to admit, there is a specific a cappella group I’ve been absolutely in love with ever since I found them on YouTube a couple of years ago, and when I got to meet some of its members at Open Campus I had to stop myself from getting overexcited. So cool!</p>
<p>What a great idea for a Quiz Show: Stump the Parents.</p>
<p>As long as we don’t have to play against S&P and Borgin…</p>
<p>TD, yes, I agree; we’d lose hands down to S&P and Borgin.</p>
<p>I’ve never been in either chorus or a capella, but (the old CC disclaimer) I’ve had friends in both. I think it would be pretty hard to do an a capella group and chorus at the same time because each is sort of like playing a sport. You spend a lot of time in rehearsals and traveling around and recording and doing various gigs. Then in your “free time” you’re probably hanging out with your friends from singing, eating together, practicing (doing that annoying/cute a capella group thing where you break out into harmony in weird places like standing in line for parties). And oh yeah, you have to go to class at some point. </p>
<p>So it would be sort of like playing two sports in a single season. Only the season never ends. But you could definitely try out for each and see which you prefer. Frankly, I think a cappella offers the tighter family experience because chorus is a large group, though I know people get tight within their sections. But chorus doesn’t have the stress of fundraising, you get to perform in a lot of amazing places, you’re the official “voice of Smith” if you will and you’re doing more traditional choral music for events like Vespers (the Christmas concert), which some people really prefer.</p>
<p>CarolynB, did your daughter tell you hat the chorus audition process was like? Does anyone else know? Thank you!!</p>
<p>dconfused, I’ll see what I can find out, but please be patient. We’ve gotten used to rapid responses and snail mail is what it is.</p>
<p>Okay, thank you very much!!</p>
<p>It is possible to be in both chorus and an acappella group, but I wouldn’t advise it if you’re looking for a well rounded, successful first semester at Smith. As a member of the Vibes, I can say that we rehearse up to ten hours a week, plus many performances a month. Many of the performances involve traveling, and the group tends to spend a LOT of time together. That being said, the Vibes are my best friends, my go-to support group, and some of the most talented and interesting women I’ve ever met. </p>
<p>Chorus, though not equally as demanding, is also fairly time consuming. The rehearsals are more rigid (in a small acappella group, its easier to work around individual schedules) and the music is definitely a different style. I’ve had friends who began the year singing in both the chorus and an acappella group, but all of them ended up choosing one or the other by the time second semester rolled around. Assuming you get into both groups, the decision is really up to you! (I, of course, love to advocate for acappella!)</p>
<p>@dconfused - I auditioned (unsucessfully) for Chorus. Basically it was a one on one audition with the chorus director. She had me sing scales and tested my range along with the piano, then she gave me a piece of music and played while I sang the song, then she gave me another piece of music and just played the first note/the notes in the key and had me sing the rest of the song a capella to test how well I could read music/sing in key without musical accompaniment. I did fine until the a capella part, which I totally blew.</p>