It also dissuades those who know deep down they can't really sing. He can also claim it's an "auditioned choir".

On the parish level, I never really needed auditions. Since rehearsals were run pretty efficiently and I had certain standards, the good singers remained after their first rehearsal, the others "self selected" themselves out.

For cathedral choirs, I think it is a MUST. The cathedral should set the standards, not just have a parish mentality.

I could never audition for anything musical. I practically couldn't bring myself to apply for college or for jobs, because anytime I have to ask to get in something, I'm sure they will tell me no. I did try out for plays and musicals at school, because that was pretty much obligatory, but it was always pretty horrible and I never got a part outside the chorus. (Which was lucky, as it happened, because later we found out that the drama teacher's husband apparently hit on most of the girls who got parts. Yuuuuuck.) I've never tried out for anything since high school, and never intend to. If you had to audition in order to die, I would be the last person left on Earth before Jesus turned off the lights.

Every choir I've ever been in except the junior high one, other people have told me to join. But I spent years avoiding joining our parish's choir, because my junior high choir teacher was not good, and my college parish's music ministry wasn't a good experience either.

Man, I wish I hadn't thought about any of those things. Bad, bad memories. I

Always audition - being in a choir is an honour, it is no one's right.

I don't audition. Most of the choir members were there before I was. If I auditioned, they would probably leave. I have decided I will work with what God provides. So far, that has worked well.

Large programs that audition often offer PWCS session for people who cannot sing to come and work with the director. Works for small programs, too.

But, I've found they do look at plumbing and electrical repair the same way, with about the same results for the material welfare of the parish as its liturgical infrastructure. It seems to be a modern American notion that good things just happen, without any special effort beyond intention.

Having an auditioned choir demands the support of your pastor and your parish community, and I don't imagine it succeeding without either. Broken people (and among us, who isn't?) need to recognize that their feelings and previous experiences, no matter how painful, are unique to them and should be brought to the Lord in prayer and as an act of sacrifice, not as an imposition to a community gathered for worship. I believe that, while intended for monastic settings at meal time, words from the rule of Benedict apply (albeit in a poor paraphrase): song is offered for the benefit of the listener. It's important for any parish musician to recognize the setting wherein they minister, and lead accordingly.

The "y'all come sing" choir I inherited five year ago has turned into a far more intentional ministry, with each prospective chorister having an informal hearing to assess if they can 1) match pitch 2) sing in harmony, in tune 3) find their way around a choral score 4) match vowels 5) make enough sound that they're really hurting anything by being there. One soprano auditioned for me that met the first three criteria and not the fourth (which would have drastically impacted the fifth), and I recommended that she would be a great fit for our Contemporary Ensemble, most of whom are active in the local musical theatre community. Singing in a traditional, classically trained choir would have killed her spirits. Even (if not especially) our children's choir at our school is auditioned, omitting the second criterion. All the school children gather for prayer twice a week and have an opportunity to raise their voices freely singing hymns and acclamations, while our Capella is a focussed group that works on choral offerings.

My parish (Saint Peter's in Columbia, South Carolina) attracts a more extroverted sort of communicant, so our congregational singing is generally robust and fulfills the needs of people who need to let it all hang out and who sing with much more heart than head, which, at times, is not only necessary but cathartic. It's a unique situation and one that I'm not likely to leave any time soon. This is my first posting on the CMAA forum, and was not the reason I originally joined, but one I felt important enough to throw in my two cents.