The Marionettes Chorale’s adult and youth choirs sing Freetown’s “Take Me Home”, December 2025. Photo: Peter & Allan Lim Choy
Interested in joining us? Read on!
All choirs have to audition in one form or another, and we prefer to do it in an up front and transparent way. We also know how nerve-wracking this is for many — we’ve been through it ourselves, so don’t worry. Here’s what you can expect
When and where are auditions?
We run brief auditions, lasting just a few minutes, before or after our regular rehearsals (typically at All Saints’ Anglican Church Hall (13 Queen’s Park West, entrance on Marli Street, Port of Spain):
- Saturday mornings, 10:30am–12:30pm for the Youth Chorale
- Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 7:00–9:00pm for the adult choir.
NB: The Youth choirs rehearsals resume the first week of school each term, while adult choir rehearsals typically resume the first week in September and the Tuesday after Carnival, unless the Carnival season is a long one. In the weeks before a production, the usual rehearsals are extended by 30 minutes, and there are additional Sunday rehearsals for both choirs.
What are the auditions like? Should I be nervous?
Not at all! These are straightforward auditions, mostly so we know the range and texture of your voice (to determine whether you’re a soprano, contralto, tenor, or bass) and your musical skillset. Auditions consist of:
- Brief scales/Vocalisations to determine your vocal range
- Brief tonal memory exercises, where we play notes that we ask you to sing back
- (optional) You can also sing A SONG of your choice if that suits your fancy!
- NB: Please arrive 10 minutes early to complete registration.
Do I need to be able to read music, or have previous choral singing experience?
Both of those things are a plus, but not a requirement. We do some basic sightreading training to build music literacy, and warmups and exercises at the start of every rehearsal to help build your vocal technique. Relax — you’ve got this. We look forward to hearing you sing! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
About us
The Marionettes Chorale is comprised of an adult choir (formed in 1963) and the Youth Chorale (launched in 1995, with members post-SEA age through 26, and expanded to include primary school children eight years and up in 2012). We’re a non-profit organisation, and pre-pandemic the choirs averaged 120-odd singers between them, with Youth members coming from over 50 primary, secondary, and tertiary schools nationwide. Members, plus most of the multi-generational artistic and production teams, are entirely volunteer.
