Becoming a Lion

Chor Leoni is a Canadian men’s choir of the highest professional standards. Our mission is to explore, expand, and enrich the male choral repertoire, introduce audiences to the power and beauty of this music, and stimulate the development of male choral singing throughout the world.

Chor Leoni holds auditions twice a season, in September and January.

Uppermost in our decision to accept new singers are the needs of the choir (i.e. which sections need new members) and the vocal quality and choral experience of the person auditioning. To arrange an audition please email diane [at] chorleoni.org.

The singer ideally suited to Chor Leoni will possess:

  • a voice of good quality, and adaptable to ensemble work
  • choral experience
  • the ability to sight read well
  • an ear for tuning and intonation
  • an ability to handle different languages
  • an openness to try to sing all types of male choir music from Renaissance to C&W
  • and a personality suited to withstand the barbs of bright and extroverted singers

Audition Procedure

1. Potential members are required to audit a Chor Leoni rehearsal prior to their actual audition.
2. The actual audition consists of:
• a test of language pronunciation.
• a test of choral knowledge.
• vocalizing with the conductor to determine range, pitch and tonal control.
• a short solo of your choosing – anything from “O Canada” to Rigoletto (but if it’s tough we ask you to bring your own accompanist)
• sight reading – not the hardest you’ll ever see but at the same time, not easy.

Although the final decision of your entrance to the choir rests ultimately with the musical director, there will be at least two other members of the choir in attendance at your audition.

The Artistic Director will invite the applicant, upon successfully completing an audition, to sing with the Choir for a probationary period of up to four months. Upon an applicant competing a probationary period, the Artistic Director will recommend to the Board of Directors that he be accepted as a member of the choir.

Rehearsals and Time Commitment

We rehearse every Wednesday from mid-September to June. Rehearsals are held at Ryerson United Church, 2195 W. 45th Ave, Vancouver.

Chor Leoni's season is bracketed by two concerts which are 'fixtures' in our choral year: Remembrance Day and Summer Solstice Serenade, the former always performed on November 11 and the latter usually performed on/near June 21 in the Bard on the Beach tent in Vanier Park. Within those parameters we do a Christmas concert as well as a Spring "Classical" event.

Singers are expected to be at every rehearsal for a given production.

The ideal is to have the same singers for an entire season but when this is not always possible, we prefer that a person skip an entire concert rather than miss rehearsals. With this in mind, we expect singers to plan ahead and make firm commitments to each concert of the season as soon as possible.

Singers who miss more than two rehearsals for a given concert will not be allowed to perform the show. The designated dress rehearsal is also mandatory and anyone missing it will not be allowed to perform the show.

In addition to our own concerts, Chor Leoni is often asked to perform for civic functions, joint performances with other choirs, or concerts with the VSO or Vancouver Opera. While not all of these require the entire choir, it is always preferable to have enough singers so that Chor Leoni is well represented and the choir's distinctive sound is not compromised.

Touring

Chor Leoni has travelled to Salt Spring Island, Alberta, the Sunshine Coast, Newfoundland and the Maritime provinces, the Okanagan, Seattle, Minnesota, Quebec and Ontario (2007), California and the Czech republic (2008) - and more invitations to tour arrive regularly. Chor Leoni tours are experiences not to be missed!

Recording

Chor Leoni maintains an active recording schedule. Often the sessions take place on regular rehearsal nights, but recording projects can also include extra sessions that usually fall on the weekend. In the past four years we have released a CD each year, and every two years we have recording sessions for the CBC/Radio-Canada National Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs.

Financial Commitment

Chor Leoni is an amateur choir. That means no singers are paid for their participation. There is an annual membership fee for each singer of $100 which helps defray music costs. Singers who do not participate in a full season are requested to pay the full amount and may ask for a prorated rebate. Financial assistance can be requested.

Music and Apparel

Each singer is expected to provide his own performance attire.

Chor Leoni usually performs in either:
               (i) black tuxedo, tuxedo shirt, black bow-tie and dress shoes (with or without a custom-made vest), or
              (ii) formal evening wear (white tie and tails, with white vest and dress shoes.)

The choir can usually assist new singers in finding formal evening dress at a reasonable cost.