How to Join

Visit our rehearsals any Tuesday at 7:00pm!

Please call our hotline at 703-242-SING, as sometimes our rehearsal location changes. You can also contact us joinus@viennafalls.org to coordinate your visit.

Because we compete as part of Sweet Adelines International, Vienna-Falls is an auditioned chorus. You will be given information and a copy of our audition song if you express interest in joining us. Take a few weeks to learn the audition song and then you get to sing with the audition quartet! After you pass your audition, you will be voted into the chorus by the membership of the chorus. The audition process takes about 6-8 weeks during which you must attend 4 rehearsals, 3 of which must be consecutive. Once you start singing that barbershop music, you'll be hooked for life. Some of us have been with the chorus since it started back in 1967!

Vienna-Falls Chorus has a three step process for becoming a member. Remember, throughout this process, that we are looking for members, we are not trying to keep you out of the chorus. We use the term Audition for an evaluation process that gives our music team a better understanding of you as a vocalist and a potential member of our chorus. They could very easily be one of the ladies that voice placed you on your first visit. 

Three steps to Membership

1, Visit: Every guest is required to visit at least three times to determine if they enjoy the dynamics of our chorus, to learn the music, and to get their questions answered. On your first night you will receive the sheet music for your audition song and learning tracks. This song is to be memorized.

2. Audition. After memorizing the audition song and between your third and sixth visit you will schedule an audition. Every prospective member is given two identical auditions. The first is a practice audition. You will go into a private area with the audition quartet, and sing through the audition song once with the full quartet. They will answer any questions you might have. Then you will sing through the song again, this time singing your voice on your own, without the quartet member assisting you. If you stumble, she will help you get back on track and step back out. After two run throughs, they will give you feedback. The next week you will repeat the process as your official audition and the team will then make their recommendation for membership.

3. Voting. A day or two after your practice audition, we'll ask you to submit a short one- or two-paragraph bio about you. You may include anything you want the chorus to know about you. If you need to see samples, we can send you a few from other members. On the Tuesday after passing your official audition, the chorus membership will vote you in, and you will submit your start-up fees. (Ask Membership Coordinator for the fees on you first visit.)

Dues and other member expenses

There are several methods for paying your monthly dues and other expenses; and the amount you will pay depending on your membership status. Monthly dues collected include chorus operating expenses and an escrow account for your next year's International and Regional dues. This way International and Regional dues are only paid as a lump sum in the first year you join; subsequent years are collected in your monthly dues.

Other expenses you may incur include shoes, costumes, make-up, travel, lodging, meals, and registration fees for international, regional, and chorus events that you attend. We have chorus retreats several times per year, regional contest each spring in North Carolina, and International contest in the fall at various U.S. locations, if we win or qualify as a wild card at regional competition the previous year. 

Rehearsing for competition

This information is provided so that you understand beforehand the standards we uphold in our organization. Singing competitively takes a certain amount of commitment and dedication to improving our craft. As much fun as we have together, we take what we do pretty seriously once we step on the risers. We work very hard to learn our songs, and you'll hear us working certain ones fairly regularly. When we get on the stage either at Regional or at International conventions to compete, we sing a ballad and an up-tune so those two songs are in our weekly repertoire to ensure we fine tune them and sing them as well as we can. We also have coaching sessions throughout the year so that we are continually improving our vocal and performance skills. So if you have a competitive spirit, love to sing, and you want to increase your vocal confidence, sing with us! We'd love to have you join this amazing group!