Voices in the Laurel hosts music camp and upcoming auditions

From a press release:

Voices in the Laurel hosts music camp and upcoming auditions

Forty-five young people played and sang their way through the week as Voices in the Laurel held its third annual summer music camp. Participants sang in small and large groups under the direction of Voices in the Laurel artistic director, Martha Brown.  When they weren’t singing, each child had his or her choice of class lessons in piano, guitar, percussion or violin along with an a capella group for older kids. The week ended with a demonstration performance from each of the instrument classes and a choral concert, complete with choreography.   “I wish we could do it for more than a week,” moaned a 1st grade participant, sad the camp had come to an end.

Voices in the Laurel is a Haywood County based non-profit choir for young people ranging from 1st grade through 12th grade from Haywood, Buncombe, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties under the direction of Martha Brown.  Voices in the Laurel is an authentic program that focuses on providing young people quality choral education in fun and innovative ways.   Laurel Strings is the string ensemble directed by Sarah Smith.  The ensemble is open to students in grades 3-12 in area counties who are currently taking private lessons in violin, viola, cello or bass or have taken at least 2 years of lessons in the past and successfully audition.

Voices in the Laurel will continue its music making as the 19th choir season begins on August 25th. The choir program consists of singers that are divided into three choral ensembles.  1st and 2nd graders may join without an audition.  Singers in 3rd through 12th grades must pass a musical audition.  Open auditions will be held from 4:30-5:30 p.m. by appointment on August 25th and 26th, 2014 at First Baptist Church in Waynesville – call Suzy for a Voices audition appointment at: 828.734.9163.  Laurel Strings members will audition on the same dates – call Sarah for an appointment at 919-272-1359.

Voices in the Laurel provides choristers the opportunity to participate in performance tours all over the world. Some of the places Voices in the Laurel has performed are: with the Asheville Lyric Opera at the Diana Wortham Theater, Charleston’s “Little Spoleto” Festival, opened for Dolly Parton in her Christmas show at Dollywood, with Ronnie Milsap at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, the National Anthem, at Atlanta Braves games, at a Cincinnati Reds game,  the Pacific Rim Children’s Choir Festival in Hawaii, the National Cathedral in Washington DC, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, Westminster Abbey in London, Chartres Cathedral in France, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Madrid and Barcelona, Spain and this spring at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Next summer, the Choir has been invited to sing at the Kingsway International Festival in Dublin and Belfast, Ireland with Director Rollo Dilworth.