SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Auditions for the Seton Hall University choir and orchestra are open to the public through Friday, Jan. 25. Anyone who is interested in exhibiting his or her musical talents can audition for the ensembles.
The choirs and orchestra are both led by Jason Tramm, assistant professor and director of choral activities for the College of Communication and the Arts. Tramm is also the artistic director and principal conductor for the MidAtlantic Opera, where he conducted the first two of the three-part “A Prayer for Peace” concert trilogy with the Seton Hall University Choir at Carnegie Hall in 2015 and at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in 2017.
In October, the university choir performed “Et In Terra Pax: A Concert for Hope,” with the MidAtlantic Symphony Chamber Orchestra at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City, produced by the Mid-Manhattan Performing Arts Foundation as part of the Great Music At St. Bart’s series. The choral program also performed its annual winter concert at South Orange Performing Arts Center in December.
“To give back to young people, inspire them and watch them go on to achieve the highest they can is very rewarding,” Tramm said. “It’s very exciting to watch young people become excited by the music they’re playing.”
Tramm will teach a series of master classes, intense clinics and workshops for five days at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in February. He will work with the university’s award-winning undergraduate choral program, teach a series of master classes with different choirs, and lecture on conducting and vocal performance to graduate students. In addition, Tramm will mentor the university’s operatic singers and master’s students in conducting to work with the undergraduate choirs.
Now in his seventh year at Seton Hall, Tramm said he came here because it was the “perfect fit for me to do my dream job of teaching full-time, performing and working with the wonderful ensembles and community.”
The choral program will perform in several events this spring. This February, the Chamber Choir will be featured with the Opera New Hampshire at Rossini’s “Barber of Seville” in Manchester, N.H. The Seton Hall Choral Program and the University Orchestra will perform their spring concerts at SOPAC on Tuesday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are limited, but free to the public and should be reserved by contacting the SOPAC Box Office at 973-313-2787.
Those who are interested in auditioning for one of the university’s choral programs should contact Tramm at [email protected]. More information about the Seton Hall University Choral Program can be found at www.shu.edu/choral-program.