Kitka is Looking for New Singers:
Kitka is seeking new singers with strong, beautiful voices and
engaging stage presence. We are looking for women who are adept
at singing in both open/chest voice and head voice styles. We
are particularly seeking strong vocalists capable of singing in
a strident, high-ranged “Balkan style” quality. Familiarity
with Eastern European singing and language is preferred but not
necessary. Accurate intonation, rhythmic capability, previous
performance experience and strong ensemble singing skills are
essential.
Singing with Kitka is a musical adventure. We constantly strive
for higher and higher standards of artistry and excellence. We
perform exciting local concerts and tour throughout North America
and travel to Eastern Europe. We teach vocal workshops, host regular
master artist residencies to hone our vocal technique and language
skills, and collaborate frequently with artists working in different
musical traditions and performance media. We are currently venturing
into vocal theatre and pushing our own personal and organizational
creative boundaries. We record CDs and, occasionally, movie soundtracks.
We have an amazing amount of fun singing together and audiences
are moved to tears by our performances.
Interested? To be considered for an audition,
please send us the following:
* Current resume or bio and letter of interest
* CD, Cassette, or MP3 File containing: One Balkan or other song
in open/chest voice (if you don’t know what this means,
ask us!)
* One song in “pure” head voice (light or no vibrato)
* Scales or other musical selection demonstrating your vocal range
Please label your recording with your name, email address and
phone number. If you would like your materials returned, please
include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
MAIL YOUR LETTER, BIO, AND RECORDING TO:
KITKA AUDITIONS
1201 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Oakland, CA 94612
OR E-MAIL LETTER, BIO, AND MP3 FILES TO: info@kitka.org with KITKA
AUDITION as the Subject
Audition materials are screened by Kitka's Music Director. Singers
who pass the initial phase will be invited for a live audition.
For more information about Kitka auditions and membership, call
510.444.0323, visit www.kitka.org/press/auditions.html, or email
us at info@kitka.org
About KITKA
Kitka is a professional vocal ensemble dedicated to producing
concerts, recordings, and educational programs that develop new
audiences for music rooted in Eastern European women’s vocal
traditions. Kitka also strives to expand the boundaries of this
music as an expressive art form. Kitka’s mission is accomplished
through an Oakland-based home series of concerts and vocal workshops;
regional, national, and international touring programs; community
service activities; in-school programs; broadcasts; recording
and publication projects; master artist residencies; commissioning
programs; and adventuresome collaborations.
Composed of women from diverse cultural and musical backgrounds
who share a passion for the stunning dissonances, assymetric rhythms,
intricate ornamentation, lush harmonies and resonant strength
of Balkan and Slavic women's vocal music, KITKA's repertoire ranges
from strident chants sung in the open-throated village style to
complex, contemporary choral works inspired by ancient extended
vocal techniques. KITKA's voices have been featured on several
major motion picture soundtracks, including Braveheart and Jacob's
Ladder. The group has also been featured in various theatrical
projects including Thomas Binkley's 1990 production of Carmina
Burana and the American Conservatory Theater's production of Hecuba
starring Olympia Dukakis. In 2005, KITKA premiered its first new
vocal theatre piece, The Rusalka Cycle and revised and remounted
it again in January 2008. This season, KITKA celebrates its the
release of Sanctuary: A Cathedral Concert, the ensemble's eighth
recording on their own Diaphonica label.
For more information, visit KITKA's homepage at http://www.kitka.org.
