Capital City Girls Choir Prospective Singer Information
Mission and History: Founded in 1987 as a community outreach of Meredith College by Dr. Fran M. Page, the Capital City Girls Choir is one of the nation’s premier choral music education programs for young people. Weekly training encompasses musicianship, theory, and group vocal instruction and practice. The choirs give concerts at Meredith and throughout the local community; have been invited to sing at prestigious choral festivals regionally, nationally, and internationally; and have performed with renowned composers and conductors.
About our three choirs: Placement is determined by audition, musical ability, space available, and age. Each spring, selected singers may audition to move up to the next level.
Girls Chorus: This training choir is for beginning singers aged approximately 9-12. No travel outside the Raleigh area is required for performances.
Girls Chorale: Singers in the intermediate choir range from fifth or sixth grade through early high school. Participation may require travel out of state every other year.
Cantabile Singers: CCGC’s advanced choir is composed almost exclusively of high-school-aged girls, with a few advanced eighth graders. Participation requires more frequent performances and travel out of state or out of the country every other year.
Auditions: Auditions are by appointment only (760-CCGC or [email protected] to schedule) in late spring or early fall. Limited auditions may be offered in early January. A prepared song in not required when auditioning for the Girls Chorus. Singers ten and above should prepare a song and be able to sing it without accompaniment. Choose something you are comfortable singing that will show the conductors your beautiful voice. No sheet music, accompanist, or recorded accompaniment is required. High-school-age singers should be prepared to sight-read. During your 15-minute audition, you will be asked to sing some scales, repeat rhythms, match pitch, and do other age-appropriate musical exercises. Parents, please wait in the hall outside the audition room. Placement letters are mailed within a week, after which a deposit is due to hold your space. If you do not receive a letter within one week, please call 760-2242.
Expenses to Expect:
Tuition: Non-refundable $200 deposit (due date will be specified in the placement letter), plus two additional payments of $137.50 for Girls Chorus, two additional payments of $212.50 for Girls Chorale, and two additional payments of $225.00 for Cantabile Singers. Tuition adjustment is made for singers joining mid-year. Sibling discounts are given to families with more than one participant in the choir.
Formal Wardrobe: Approximately $50 for Chorus, $125 for Chorale, and $150 for Cantabile.
Additional wardrobe may be required for travel and regularly attended workshops.Travel: Required for members of Girls Chorale and Cantabile Singers, approximately every other year. Families must cover travel expenses. Limited fundraising opportunities may be available (pending sufficient support from parent volunteers to plan and staff fundraisers) to offset costs. To avoid voice fatigue, travel of any great distance is usually by air. Recent trip costs: New Orleans ($1,100); British Columbia ($1,500); Austria ($2,600); Orlando ($1,100).
Rehearsals: Mondays, from late August through May. Girls Chorus rehearses from 4:15-5:30 p.m.; Girls Chorale and Cantabile Singers rehearse from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Occasional extra rehearsals are called for special performances or prior to travel. Singers should be seated and ready to sing with music, water bottle, and a pencil at the start of the rehearsal, so please drop off your singer a good five to ten minutes early, and pick them up promptly so that rehearsal volunteers are not inconvenienced by having to wait with your child.
Performances: All performances are REQUIRED. Most performances are scheduled by the beginning of the year, so please check dates upon receiving the calendar to make sure your singer and your family can maintain this commitment. Expect one or two performance dates to be added as the year progresses.
Attendance Requirements: Singers may be excused from up to four regular rehearsals each year (two for singers
joining mid-year), including illnesses, vacations, and other conflicts. Attendance is required for all performances, festivals, retreats, and travel. Limited--but not repeated--exceptions may be made for school performances meeting a course requirement for a letter grade (but not for extra-curricular school activities).Retreats and Festivals:
Fall Retreat: This two-day event for Girls Chorale and Cantabile helps singers get to know each other, get a jump-start on learning music, and be fitted for wardrobe. Instead of a retreat, Girls Chorus has an open rehearsal with parents in September.
Piedmont Invitational Children’s Choir Festival: A weekend clinic with a well-known guest conductor and other choirs, held in spring for Girls Chorale. *
Advanced Choral Workshop: This is a two-day clinic with a guest conductor and other advanced choirs for Cantabile Singers, held in late winter. *
* Costs for these events are included in your yearly tuition. CCGC participates in these festivals with children’s choirs from Greensboro, Charlotte, Asheboro, and Winston-Salem. Hosting of this festival rotates from one choir to another each year and is held at the hosting choir’s location.
About the FAMILY commitment to CCGC: Parents are expected to support CCGC’s mission and goals and ensure their singer can participate in an organization of very high quality with equally high expectations. PARENTS, before signing up your daughter, make sure you are willing to:
- Attend the parent orientation meeting in early fall (January for parents of singers joining mid-year);
- Ensure singer arrives on time and meets attendance, performance, and travel requirements;
- Pay tuition promptly (billed by Meredith College);
- Purchase singer’s wardrobe;
- Pay singer’s travel expenses, which may vary from year to year (plan ahead!);
- Notify conductor in advance of any anticipated conflict and be willing to go out of your way to make sure singer participates in all required activities;
- Be an active and committed volunteer in the organization.
Questions? Call 760-2242 (CCGC) or email [email protected].