Audition to Sing With Us

If you have extraordinary vocal skills and are looking to share your talent with the Portland community while having fun with other musicians like yourself, we are the ensemble for you and we look forward to hearing you audition! We are:

  • Exceptional. We are an audition-only choir delivering professional quality performances of rarely-heard and well-known repertoire.
  • Accessible. We sing choral music the way it was meant to be – inclusive, friendly, to be enjoyed by anyone.
  • Fun. We work hard, laugh a lot and socialize often.
  • Passionate. We share common passions: Passion for music, passion for our fellow singers, and passion for our audiences and community
  • Inclusive. We strive to nurture an environment where singers and audience members alike can share their authentic selves in rehearsals and performances.

We rehearse 3 hours per week on Monday evenings and put on 4 concert series per concert season, plus other occasional performances. We generally have 1-2 extra rehearsals prior to a concert weekend, and a sectional rehearsal may also be called by the section leader (usually 1 per concert cycle). We allow up to two missed rehearsals per concert cycle. If more than two rehearsals are missed, the section leader will gauge the preparedness of the singer and make a decision as to whether or not that singer would be allowed to participate in those particular concerts.

Audition Process

We recognize that choral auditions are inherently stressful, but we do our best to make it a reassuring exercise for experienced singers. Please be prepared for the following:

  • General questions about prior musical training and experience.
  • Vocalizing to find range, quality, interval acuity, and vocal control.
  • Singing a short, a cappella folk song, art song or aria of your choosing that shows your voice in its best light.
  • Blending, intonation and tonal memory exercises.
  • Singing of short, prepared excerpts in a SATB quartet
  • A short sight-reading excerpt in a SATB quartet.
  • Rehearsals and Concerts

Inquire About Potential Section Availability

If you are interesting in auditioning for CAE, please reach out with your name, contact info, and voice part. We will then add your name to our list of people to contact when we will be holding auditions or have a spot open up in a specific section. For our 2023-2024 Season, our sections are full.

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Expectations of the Singer

If you have extraordinary vocal skills and are looking to share your talent with the Portland community while having fun with other musicians like yourself, we are the ensemble for you and we look forward to hearing you audition! We are:

  • It is expected that each singer is committed to the success of the ensemble, the music and to each other. It is expected that each singer will learn the music both inside and outside of rehearsal, will be prepared for the specific music being rehearsed each week, will retain what has been rehearsed, and will always strive to perform at the highest level of excellence.
  • As a partial payment toward the expenses of operating the ensemble and the fall retreat, singers are expected to contribute at least $225 at the beginning of the performance year. Payment plans, delayed payment or other financial arrangements can be made with the CAE Treasurer.
  • As we are a volunteer group, each singer is also encouraged to make an organizational contribution of time with service on one or more of the many committees that keep the ensemble in operation.