New Glee Club Seeks Young Singers

Auditions will be held over three evenings – Sept. 20, 21 and 22 – in the Kenan Music Building at UNC. The new glee club program is looking for singers from across the Triangle and from all kinds of musical backgrounds. That includes those who participate in honors and chamber chorus but also talented kids who simply love to sing in any style.Young singers who may be in bands or are songwriters, rappers, slam poets or musicians are welcome. No formal training is required.

Community Glee Club will partner young singers with UNC voice faculty members for small group vocal instruction and master classes to help develop each student’s voice to its potential. The music explored will include “mash-ups,” pop, alternative, musical theater, a cappella and jazz. The two Glee Clubs (one for high school and one for middle school) will be co-directed by Sean Grier – chorus teacher at Durham School of the Arts (our own local Mr. Schuester) and Nicole House, a member of UNC’s voice faculty. Glee Club will meet on Saturday afternoons from 2 to 4 in the Kenan Music Building.

Community Glee Club will end the first semester with a performance at Memorial Hall on Dec. 10 at 1pm and has just been invited to perform that evening at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, along with Saxapahaw’s own newly established Show Choir.

These young singers will also work on arrangements of new songs commissioned from UNC music graduate, Eric Hirsh, member of local band The Beast and winner of the 2010 ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composers Award. Cellist and vocalist Shana Tucker, collaborated with Hirsh on creating arrangements for R.E.M’s “Everybody Hurts” and Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” for Community Chorus Project’s Summer Glee program. As we wrote about earlier, there have been more than 20,000 views on YouTube of the summer youth chorus performing these songs. These numbers were certainly increased by R.E.M. liking what these young Chapel Hill based singers did with the song, so much so that they posted this version to their website and Facebook page.

The fall tuition for both middle and high school students is $375. Need-based scholarships are available. For more program information and to register to audition, click here.