Chamber Choir
The Chamber Choir is the premiere choral ensemble at Christopher Newport University. Specializing in a cappella choral works spanning the Renaissance to today, the ensemble is committed to presenting a diverse selection of early and new music reflecting contemporary subjects by connecting to the past.
In addition to campus concerts such as Family Weekend, the Rotunda Concert Series and Holiday Happening, the Chamber Choir enjoys a robust performance schedule with regional and international tours. The ensemble has visited and performed in Austria, Belgium, France, Italy and most recently in England in March 2018.
Benefiting from Hampton Roads’ vibrant artistic community, collaborations have involved the Virginia Symphony Orchestra (VSO), the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra and the Virginia Arts Festival. Current and former members perform with the Virginia Chorale, Virginia Opera, VSO Chorus and in the area’s finest church choirs.
The Chamber Choir, led by Dr. John Irving, includes both music and non-music majors and invites all students with considerable ensemble experience, strong reading abilities and exceptional musicianship skills to audition. Students may register each semester, but no more than eight credits can be counted toward graduation.
Follow us on Facebook @CNUChoirs for updates and performance details.
Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 1-2:30 p.m.
All students who wish to sing in the Chamber Choir, including returning members, must audition. All students, regardless of major, are encouraged to audition.
Prepared Piece
Perform 1-2 minutes of a prepared selection from memory. This can be an art song, aria, folk song or hymn. An accompanist will be provided, but you are welcome to bring your own if you prefer. Keep the difficulty of accompaniment in mind as the staff accompanist will be sight reading.
Sight Reading
You will be given a short musical example to read with one minute to look at the line before singing. Solfège, numbers or a neutral vowel are all acceptable methods. If you would like to prepare before your audition, practice by singing individual voice parts of a hymnal or basic music text without the aid of a piano. Resources are also available online.
Tonal Memory
A series of random pitches will be played on the piano. You will then be asked to sing them back after the first hearing. There will be several different examples.