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Acting in Plays, Singing/audition song for chamber choir audition

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Expert: - 4/16/2009


Question
Hello and thanks for answering my question.

In a couple weeks I am auditioning for my school's top choir, our chamber
choir. I will be a sophomore next year, and I am 15. I am a mezzo-soprano
belter, and I was wondering if you had any ideas for what song I should sing.
This song is supposed to show my solo abilities, according to the director,
and at the call-back they will worry about how my voice blends with others
and how I harmonize and stuff, but now they just want to hear what I can do.
Any ideas? I want to blow them away with something. :)

Thanks so much!

Answer
Hello, Kelsey –

Thank you for the question.

I've known many choir directors.  What they want to hear is your musicianship.  What will blow them away is you singing a song that compliments your abilities as a musician and might help sell-out the house when the school needs the money most.  Simple.

I want you to invest in the anthologies listed below.  Each song is published in the same key as the original score.  To order on-line, click on or paste the URLs into your browser:

Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology - Volume 1 Revised - Mezzo-Soprano/Belter
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?cart=32001285122&lc=recs:det...

Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology - Volume 2 Revised - Mezzo-Soprano/Belter
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?cart=32001285122&lc=recs:det...

Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology - Volume 3 - Mezzo-Soprano/Belter
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?cart=32001285122&type=rec&it...

Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology - Volume 4 - Mezzo-Soprano/Belter
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?cart=32001285122&item=671824...

Some of the blow-them-away great songs include:

Always True To You In My Fashion – KISS ME, KATE
Don't Rain On My Parade – FUNNY GIRL
Johnny One Note – BABES IN ARMS
Heaven Help My Heart – CHESS

Make sure you are practicing your scales a cappella.

Whatever you choose to sing, your presentation must be intact.  In the professional world, a singer can get cut off before 8 measures have just barely passed.

I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco.  When you want to book an appointment, contact me through Craig's List – http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/1140282088.html
I am also the Editor and Publisher of SanFranciscoSentinel.com.  All my articles and interviews about the performing arts provide a link to my personal e-mail.

Take a look at my You Tubes:

Lorena Feijóo - A Look at "Giselle" with Seán Martinfield
SAMSON & DELILAH – Meet Seán Martinfield
CA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES – A Preview Look with Seán Martinfield

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Best regards,
Seán Martinfield

Acting in Plays, Singing

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Sean Martinfield

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I am a professional vocal coach in San Francisco. In addition to answers from a previous web site (Askme.com - where my "tag" was "VocalCoach") I have published over 2000 responses related to vocal training - particularly as it relates to Musical Theatre and Opera. I have 24 years of experience as Personal Trainer to singers and actors in the San Francisco Bay Area. I sang professionally for 20 years and know what it means to live the life of a musician. I can determine your voice category, i.e., Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Alto Belter, etc., and how to broaden and strengthen your range. Need an audition song for a Broadway Musical? I will give you suggestions that are appropriate to your vocal category and to requirements specified in the audition notice. I have also created a vocal methodology, "The Belter`s Method". It will enable those in Musical Theatre to practice more efficiently because it focuses on the demands of professional performers as well as to those auditioning for school and community productions, and as University and Conservatory performing arts majors. If what you want is a better voice and more control over your career moves and choices, contact me. Also, as the Editor of SanFranciscoSentinel.com, it is my privilege to review productions at the San Francisco Opera, Ballet and Symphony, as well as Broadway National Tours booked into San Francisco's Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theatres. I also review works by A.C.T (the American Conservatory Theatre) and Magic Theatre. I cover select films, tributes and retrospects, and various international film festivals – particulary those booked into The City's opulent Castro Theatre – including the LGBT Frameline Festival, International Film Festival, Silent Film Festival, Jewish Film Festival, etc. For private vocal instruction, I can be contacted through SanFranciscoSentinel.com. Look under: Seán Martinfield, Sentinel Editor and Publisher.

Experience

As a vocal coach, I work primarily with singers and actors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. My students range from absolute beginners to working professionals, from pre-schoolers to senior citizens. The vast majority of my clients come to me through recommendation. I know how to identify any singer's vocal category, i.e., soprano, tenor, alto, baritone, etc. I know how to muscle-up every singer's vocal range and to expand it beyond conventional definitions. I have developed a vocal methodology for those who want to know how to belt, THE BELTER'S METHOD. As a singer who spent half of his career doing Bel Canto, I know that classical or Italian methodologies do not work in Standard American music. Bel Canto cannot be "adapted" to meet the needs of contemporary American music, including the demands of the Musical Theatre. There are a number of major components to my work as a vocal coach. The first is to identify the client's vocal category and to strengthen and maximize the vocal range accordingly. Then it's about teaching a reliable vocal workout that will enable the client to gain better control of their musicianship. That includes scale work to expand the vocal range and to improve placement, breath control, and diction. Then we work on material for the audition portfolio, the immediate job or assignment, a recording session, etc. My task to is to better equip singers and actors who are hoping to or relying upon their performance skills and vocal endurance to maintain a career in the Performing Arts. My clients regularly appear in cabarets and musical productions throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Some have worked in New York and gone on National Tours. For more information, Contact me at: Broadwaybelters@yahoo.com

Education/Credentials
San Francisco State University – BA in Theatre Arts; graduate work in Theatre, Philosophy, and Comparative Reiligion. Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley – Graduate work in Ethics

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