Men's Choir seeks new members
Photo by Tyler Puckett
The Men’s Choir, a new School of Music ensemble, is holding auditions this Monday through Wednesday.
The Men’s Choir was started by Assistant Professor of Choral Music Dr. Josh Cheney last spring and drew attention for its characteristics that set it apart from the other choirs on campus. Besides being an all male choir, the group does not travel and minister like a majority of the other choirs do.
“We rehearse once a week on Thursday evenings and there's only one performance a semester,” Cheney said. “It provides the opportunity... for guys to get together and have a young men's choir experience, but it doesn't have the stringent touring schedule of Lee Singers, Ladies of Lee or Voices of Lee.”
Lee University is known worldwide for its choirs and ensembles; their excellence is something that this university is proud of, and the Men’s Choir is no exception.
“The goal for it is to be a great place for people to not only build musical community, but also to strive for musical excellence in the setting,” Cheney said. “It was the only kind of choral group that exists that Lee didn't have to offer, and so the goal is for it to be as excellent as the rest of the things that we do around here.”
Cheney described the auditions as more of a hearing rather than a true audition.
“[For] any people who would like to participate in Men’s Choir, all you need to do is sign up,” Cheney said. “These three days of hearings are more so just to get to know me and for me to have an opportunity to hear their voice.”
Recruitment Coordinator for the School of Music Nickolas Tomasello encourages any male that would like to participate to sign up for auditions. He emphasized the “no cap” in this choir, and welcomes everyone who is interested.
“All men who enjoy singing should audition,” Tomasello said. The time commitment is extremely low (one rehearsal per week), the music will challenge the participants, and Dr. Cheney is a blast to work with.”
The Men’s Choir’s first concert is scheduled to be in November and is centered around the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. Auditions will be held in Dr. Cheney’s office (Humanities 211E), August 19 through August 21 from 5:30 to 7:30 in the evening. For more information about auditions or any questions about Men’s Choir, please contact Dr. Josh Cheney.
