ABSTRACT
The audition for middle school part-singing should determine the tessitura of each singer, which includes those pitches that sound easiest and richest by each singer. The warm-up period of the rehearsal is an important one, not only to get the students mentally and musically focused, but also to assist in the development of the voice. Even the youngest choristers can be taught to sing beautiful uniform vowels which make the difference between a fine choir and a mediocre one. Irvin Cooper and Karl Kuersteiner developed a large group audition that can place approximately eight singers at a time, which is very efficient when the middle school teacher does not have the luxury of individual audition time. Regarding sectional seating, it is beneficial to seat the singers with changing voices near other sections so that they may choose to sing higher or lower parts as their vocal ranges develop.
