Wellesley College's highly acclaimed Choral Program allows for students from all disciplines and backgrounds to experience the joy of performing engaging repertoire in a dynamic environment.
- Interested singers should use this google form to give us some information about yourself.
- Interested singers should then sign up for an audition time on this spreadsheet. It is recommended that you warm up before your scheduled time, and plan to arrive at least 10 minutes early.
Choir
The Wellesley College Choir is devoted to the performance of choral music from the Renaissance through the present day. The group consists of about 60 to 70 singers from a wide range of academic disciplines and cultural backgrounds, and is selected by audition at the beginning of each season. Rehearsal times are Mondays 6 to 8 pm and Thursdays from 6 to 7:30 pm.
The choir presents concerts on and off campus including three traditional programs: a fall concert, endowed annually in memory of Betty Edwards Dober '40 since 1964, a Christmas Vespers service, and a spring concert, endowed annually in memory of Marjorie Copland Baum '27 since 1974. Endowed funds help support joint concerts with men’s choral groups and orchestras, such as the Harvard Glee Club, the Cornell Glee Club, and the Rutgers Glee Club to present works for mixed voices. Every year, from South Korea to New York to California to the Baltic States, the Wellesley College Choir brings music to audiences around the world.
Chamber Singers
The Chamber Singers, founded in the fall of 1988, is an ensemble of approximately sixteen to twenty students selected from the College's finest singers. The group specializes in chamber music for treble voices and occasionally collaborates with men’s choruses.
Besides performing on campus, the Chamber Singers have received numerous invitations to perform in local concert series and events. The group has performed with the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Music Viva, the New England Philharmonic and with the Grammy Award winning ensemble, Roomful of Teeth. In 2003, the Singers presented a concert and lecture in conjunction with the Wellesley Davis Museum exhibit The Last Expression: Art and Auschwitz. In 2008, they performed at the National Collegiate Choral Organization conference in Cincinnati as part of a lecture recital on this topic. They are featured in the 2003 motion picture, Mona Lisa Smile.
Choral Scholars Program
The Choral Program offers students the opportunity to be a Choral Scholar. Open to all students, these positions are awarded by application to singers and conductors who have a serious interest in leadership within the choral music field. The recipients will be expected to:
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Participate in one or more of the choral ensembles
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Serve as section leaders and/or assistant conductors
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Meet privately with Dr. Graham and as a group for coaching and research
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Take voice and/or conducting lessons
Any student who is currently in a choral ensemble and has demonstrated an interest in choral music is eligible to apply. Skills including fundamental musicianship, sight-singing, the ability to learn music quickly and independently, the ability to confidently teach others, and an interest in choral methods, literature, and history are taken into consideration in the selection process.
Each Choral Scholar is awarded a varying amount of money over both semesters, therefore requiring each scholar to commit to the full year. For more information, see the FAQ section.
