St. Cecilia Chamber Choir performs at previous concert. The choir is currently holding auditions for its December 2024 Lessons and Carols. Bruce Cowan photo

St. Cecilia Chamber Choir is holding auditions for all voice parts as it begins preparing its December “Ceremony of Lessons and Carols” concert. Drawing inspiration from the world-famous King’s College Cambridge Service of Lessons and Carols, the program blends carols both sacred and secular with seasonal readings, accompanied by a professional string quartet and performed in the Bowdoin College Chapel and Damariscotta Baptist Church.

St. Cecilia Chamber Choir is a fully auditioned group of singers that includes talented youth and seasoned performers. The choir performs the very finest challenging choral repertoire spanning the centuries from medieval to modern, under the direction of husband-and-wife team Linda Blanchard and Sean Fleming of Damariscotta. In the English choral tradition, the choir sings with a straight tone, enabling attention to fine-tuning rich harmonies. Much of the repertoire is a cappella, and the group is frequently accompanied by a professional chamber orchestra. The choir presents two to three concerts per year, typically in December and May.

Rehearsals are high-energy and challenging; the choir encourages gifted students to audition.

“We work hard, but we keep the rehearsals upbeat and fun,” Blanchard said in a prepared release. “We provide practice materials to use at home, so singers can come to rehearsal feeling prepared and ready to go.”

Singers wishing to audition should have good vocal control, and sopranos and altos should be able to sing without vibrato. The ability to read music is preferred, but those who cannot read may participate by spending extra time learning the music at home with the aid of provided practice materials.

Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. starting on Sept. 11 at St. Andrew’s Church on Glidden Street in Newcastle. To schedule an audition, call Blanchard at 315-9740 or email audition@ceciliachoir.org. For more information about the choir, visit ceciliachoir.org.