Polyhymnia Auditions
Do you enjoy the challenge and camaraderie of a cappella singing?
Are you technically proficient and comfortable sight reading?
Are you tired of getting lost in the crowd of a large chorus?
Then you belong in Polyhymnia, a small a cappella chamber chorus where every voice counts!
Polyhymnia rehearses on Tuesday evenings from 7:30-9:45 pm, beginning in mid-September, with 2-3 extra Thursday rehearsals in the weeks prior to the first concert.
The Fall/Winter concerts will be scheduled on Saturday evenings or Sunday afternoons over the weekends of January 30-31 and February 6-7, 2026.
Dues are $110 per semester, which may be waived or reduced upon request for those unable to pay.
Singers must commit to missing no more than three rehearsals and none of the performances. There are no obligations to sell tickets or do fundraising
Auditions for the 2026-27 Fall/Winter season will be held on the following evenings:
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Auditions are held in the choir room, and rehearsals are held in the Fellowship Hall, of Bethesda Presbyterian Church, 7611 Clarendon Road, Bethesda, MD.
There is street parking nearby (please do not use the church’s parking lot). Enter the Church through the side (Wilson Lane) doors. The choir room is on the second floor.
To schedule an audition, please contact:
Steven Beck, Music Director
polyhymniasings@gmail.com
Our Audition Process:
You need not prepare a song; all audition music will be provided. First, you will have a brief (10-15 minute) individual audition with the music director, Steve Beck, who will have you do some simple scales or other exercises to learn about your range and voice quality, and then listen to you read a brief section of choral music. You will get at least two tries at the reading – the interest is not necessarily how well you sight-read the first time, but in how well you learn the music.
After the individual auditions, all auditioners join with Polyhymnia veterans in their rehearsal. After rehearsing together, we will break the group into quartets to sing the piece we’ve just rehearsed. Auditioners get multiple quartet trials with differing veteran singers on the other parts. Every effort is made to help all auditioners put their best foot forward.
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