In our unique cooperative chamber choir, there is no single artistic director or administrative personnel. We all share in the planning, implementing, and music-making to carry out our concert season.

We’re always interested in recruiting singers who also have conducting experience and/or interest in organizational leadership roles.

Beyond singing, everyone chooses the level of participation that is right for them: everything from researching repertoire to designing graphics, from setting up post-concert receptions to editing audio, from tracking receipts to facilitating meetings.

Ensemble members are expected to:

• Attend weekly rehearsals every Monday from 7–9pm from early September through early May (with some exceptions for holidays and a long winter break). Rehearsals are held at the Children’s Community School in West Philadelphia. Singers are expected to be absent no more than twice per concert cycle.

• Perform in 2 concerts, typically in November/December and April/May, as well as other community events as scheduled. See this season’s concert dates below.

• Participate in ensemble meetings, including a pre-season read-through, 2 post-concert potlucks (food + feedback), and the Annual Meeting, as well as voting on any ensemble decision-making.

• Support the ensemble through gifts of time and knowledge, such as serving on the board, conducting, planning programs and selecting repertoire, coordinating concert logistics, planning receptions, raising funds, leading marketing efforts, and/or anything else needed to keep things humming.

Please be sure the following dates work for your schedule.

• Concerts:

  • Saturday, November 14, 2026, 5–9pm (7pm concert)

  • Saturday, May 8, 2027, 2–6pm (4pm concert)

• Regular Rehearsals: Mondays, 7–9pm

  • Fall Cycle: late August/early September through November 9

  • Spring Cycle: late January through May 3

• Dress Rehearsals:

  • Fall Cycle: Thursday, November 12, 7–9pm

  • Spring Cycle: Thursday, May 6, 7–9pm

• We will post an application form when we are actively recruiting singers.

• We will then review applications on a rolling basis and reach out to schedule auditions.

• Auditions will be scheduled for 20 minutes, and will include: 1) scales to get a sense of your range; 2) prepared selection from an SATB piece, with ensemble members singing with you (see repertoire below); 3) a sight-reading exercise; 4) and a brief conversation about your interests in the ensemble.

• We will notify all applicants shortly after the final audition date.

Come prepared to sing your voicepart in The Coolin, by Samuel Barber. We will sing measures 1–19. (The measures aren’t marked, but it goes through the bottom of p. 58.)

Download a PDF of the score.

We will also have you sing scales and sight-read your part in another SATB piece.

We welcome anyone with choral singing and/or conducting experience of any genre, style, or background. While much of our repertoire leans toward classical and/or new music, with dabblings in diverse folk and/or popular styles, we love to stretch ourselves musically. We encourage applications from anyone who thinks this sounds exciting.

The Chestnut Street Singers is a volunteer choir: all singers participate without compensation, and there is no fee to participate.

Accepted singers facing financial barriers to participation may confidentially request support from our Wayfunding budget, which provides a modest amount of direct financial aid to singers on a case-by-case basis. Wayfunding support is not guaranteed and available funding may fluctuate by season.

Contact us at auditions@chestnutstreetsingers.org