Join the New Zealand Youth Choir

Audition registrations have now closed. Please contact choirs@choirsnz.co.nz if you have any queries. Our nationwide auditions are held in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

What you need to know

We invite you as a new member to join us for a three year musical journey from 2023-2025, culminating in a large (usually overseas) tour in the final year.

In some exceptional cases, and only for existing/former choir members, a shorter term may be possible (please make a note about your wish for a shorter term and the reason for that on the audition form).

Age

To audition for our first NZYC membership you must be between 17 and 23 years of age by 1 October 2022.

In some exceptional circumstances we may audition singers under 18 years of age. Please contact louise@choirsnz.co.nz to discuss any eligibility queries.

The audition

We are a friendly bunch of people and look forward to meeting you. The auditions are our chance to get to know you a bit and hear your voice. We are not only looking for good choral singers but also for representatives of New Zealand.

The whole audition will take no longer than 10-12 minutes so give it everything and really show us what you can do.

There are two parts to the audition:

1. Perform a song of your choice (see more below)
2. We will give you some exercises to test your sight singing and to see how well your ear has developed

Audition tips:

• Arrive 10 minutes early
• A warm-up space will be provided
• Dress matters — please wear something you would perform in
• What song to choose for your audition:
  Choose a piece in English that will show your voice to its best advantage - a simple folk song in English is usually best
• Please bring two copies of the piece that you are going to sing — this should be unaccompanied

Cost

There is no fee to take part in the auditions.

The membership fee for the current choir members is $590 (incl GST) per annum.

This fee goes towards the costs associated with running the choir’s domestic courses. The costs include travel and accommodation, venue hires, concert marketing and ticketing, tutor fees and music purchases just to name a few. The membership fees don’t cover the entire costs associated with any one of our courses. The shortfall in costs we source through funding, sponsorship, donations and ticket sales.

Scholarships

You are invited to consider applying for one of the two scholarships available to support paying the membership fees; the Ben Campbell Memorial Scholarship (financial hardship) and Professor Peter Godfrey Scholarship (for singer who is also an organist or conductor).

Please indicate on the audition form if you want to apply for a scholarship.

Audition Locations

Auckland 20 & 21 October
Wellington 22 October
Christchurch 23 October
Dunedin 24 October

Please note that we are not able to assist with travel costs for getting to and from your audition.