We hope that each student will see the auditions as a learning opportunity. It is always difficult to determine the right placement for each individual student and to balance that with the needs of the group and the program as a whole.

A number of factors go into determining the right make-up for the group; vocal quality, physical coordination, and an ability to learn choreography quickly are the main elements; however, we also consider academic history, attitude, social fluency, and balance of vocal parts.

That being said, the group next year is going to be AWESOME! You will have a blast, and together we will all reach new heights of achievement and success while growing as a family!

A part of our work as teachers is teaching students how to handle auditions: how to handle good news with grace, how to handle bad news with dignity, how to ask for feedback in a constructive and professional way, how to make future decisions carefully and as dispassionately as possible, and so on. It is in this spirit that the following procedures are set in place:

Anyone with questions about his/her audition can contact us, via e-mail, beginning 48 hours after the audition results have been posted. We will only respond to e-mail requests; this is so that we can give out detailed information in writing, which serves as a better teaching tool. The 48-hour "cooling-off period" allows for a chance for a student to more carefully consider what it is that they want to know in order to learn from the audition.

Please do not have your parents call me. They did not audition - you did! I will not discuss results of the audition with your parents until YOU have talked to me.

In the case of most auditions, very few people actually achieve the complete result for which they hoped. Some get part of what they want, some fall short. No one can decide for you what you do next if you don't achieve what you hoped; we do hope that, whatever you decide, you do so after having carefully considered what choir has meant to you, and what you might accomplish no matter where you are placed. “Everyone must be able to bloom where they are planted.”

Remember that every single student is going through "audition pains"; over-celebration of good news can be very hurtful to those who don't have as much to celebrate. On the other hand, one can be disappointed with his/her own results and still happy for a peer. Please be as sensitive to others as you want them to be to you.

While we understand your eagerness to act as your child's advocate, and while we will certainly respond to your requests for information, we respectfully ask that you let your child sort this out on his/her own first. After all, soon most of these students will be auditioning as adults, and they need to learn how to gather information and ask the right questions, in the right way.