Jacksonville Symphony Chorus

Open auditions for the 2026/27 Season have passed.

To request a future audition date, email Chorus Manager Ellen Clayton at eclayton@jaxsymphony.org and include the following information:

1. 1. Full name
   2. Phone number
   3. Voice part you typically sing
   4. A brief description of your previous choral experience

Each audition is scheduled for 15 minutes and consists of five parts:

1. Vocalization
   Vocal exercises will be used to assess range, vocal quality and flexibility.
2. Prepared Solo
   Prepare a solo selection of no more than two to three minutes. Appropriate selections include a hymn, art song, folk song arrangement, aria, oratorio selection or classically rooted musical theatre song.

The selection must include piano accompaniment. A cappella selections are not permitted. An excerpt from a longer work is acceptable. Memorization is not required, and a pianist will be provided.

3. Prepared Choral Excerpt
   Prepare measures 1–25 of “And He Shall Purify” from Handel’s Messiah.

Members of the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus are expected to learn their notes outside of rehearsal. This excerpt helps demonstrate your ability to prepare music independently and in advance.

4. Intonation Exercises
   You will sing the whole-tone and chromatic scale.
5. Tonal Memory
   A short musical pattern will be played on the piano. You will sing the pattern back on “La.”

Yes. Please bring two copies of your solo selection in the key in which you intend to perform it. The pianist will not transpose the music.

If you plan to sing from memory, only one copy is necessary.

We welcome singers age 18 and older who have previous choral experience. Jacksonville Symphony Chorus members include skilled community singers as well as professional singers, voice teachers and music educators.

Singers who regularly participate in church choirs, college or university ensembles and community choruses are encouraged to audition. Tenors and basses are especially encouraged.

The Jacksonville Symphony Chorus rehearses on Tuesday evenings from 7:00–9:30 pm, September through early June, at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts.

Performance weeks typically include a piano rehearsal and one or two orchestra dress rehearsals.

In addition to weekly rehearsals under the direction of Chorus Director Tony Thornton, members will have the opportunity to work with Jacksonville Symphony Music Director Courtney Lewis, several guest conductors and the musicians of the Jacksonville Symphony.

During the 2026/27 Season, the Symphony Chorus will perform two of the most beloved and frequently performed works in the choral-orchestral repertoire: Handel’s Messiah and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Singers who enjoy operatic repertoire will also perform Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor and choruses from Verdi’s Aida and Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. The sopranos and altos of the Chorus will perform Thomas Adès’ Paradiso.

In the spring, the Symphony Chorus will present a stand-alone concert featuring Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem and Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna. Those who enjoy more popular styles will also have the opportunity to perform in the annual Holiday Pops concerts and Home Alone in Concert.

The 2026/27 Season closes with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs and Beethoven’s epic Ninth Symphony. Don’t miss the opportunity to perform with us. Sign up for your audition today.

Explore the entire 2026/27 Season.

Yes. Additional auditions may be offered, but they are based entirely on the needs of the ensemble.

To request consideration for a future audition date, email Chorus Manager Ellen Clayton at eclayton@jaxsymphony.org and include the following information:

• Full name
• Phone number
• Voice part you typically sing
• A brief description of your previous choral experience