Simply, no. Crescendo is open to singers from all over the Greater St. Louis area. We have had members from 54 schools and 37 zip codes including 3 counties and the State of Illinois.
The low-pressure audition process is simple and fun! For the younger kids, one of our artistic staff members will ask you to sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”, “Happy Birthday”, or “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”, match pitches and do some rhythm exercises. For our Concert Choir, please prepare one of the following songs: “Amazing Grace”, “Happy Birthday”, or “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”. Go to our Registration page to sign up!
You will receive an email within a few days after your audition that will inform you if you have been accepted as a member.
All choirs rehearse weekly on Wednesdays at Kirkwood Baptist Church. Carolers rehearse from 5:30-6:30PM, Cantando is from 5:30-6:45PM and Concert Choir is from 6-7:30PM. We practice from September to May.
Once you are accepted into Crescendo, you will receive a link to complete our online registration. You will create a login to our Parent Portal where you will take care of tuition payments by credit card or e-check. There is a 10% discount for member families that have multiple children in Crescendo. We also have a scholarship fund available to aid with tuition assistance (see below). Our goal is to make sure that every child who has a talent and love for singing has a place with us regardless of ability to pay the full tuition price.
Tuition covers about 2/3 of the total operating cost of Crescendo. The tuition helps pay for staff, venue rental, purchasing music, hiring instrumentalists, marketing, and administrative costs such as paper, copying, postage. The costs not covered by tuition are covered through fundraising efforts, donations, and grants.
Many hours of high caliber vocal and choral instruction including ear training, reading music, blending in a group, breathing, tone quality, posture, enunciation, music interpretation, singing in harmony and performance skills. You will also have the opportunity to perform with well-known guest conductors, soloists and instrumentalists and to perform in venues such as the Old Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, Fox Theater, and the Touhill Performing Arts Center. You will receive training in music theory, music literature and foreign languages. In addition, you may be able to tour with Crescendo; while our short-term plans will continue to be limited to regional travel, we have had numerous successful tours to Europe, Asia, and within the United States. Interested members may audition for regional and national honor choirs.
Crescendo offers partial scholarships to qualifying members to help out when the tuition cost may be a challenge for families. Please email Info@CrescendoYouthChoirs.org for the scholarship application or for more information. We have a small scholarship committee that meets to confidentially review applications and award funds.
Families purchase their Crescendo uniforms. Uniform polos for Cantando run about $15 and formal uniforms for Concert Choir run $45-$60 plus alterations. Carolers wear a free Crescendo t-shirt in performance. Refer to the Family Handbook for additional uniform requirements. All audience members purchase tickets for our two annual public concerts. Touring expenses for Concert Choir are the responsibility of the family.
Each choir performs 2-3 concerts open to the public and potential outreach concerts (at nursing homes, hospitals, churches, etc.). The Concert Choir (6th-12th grade singers) has a performance schedule with additional commitments.
Parents are responsible for getting their child to every rehearsal and performance on time, in proper uniform when required and to help their child take care of their voice. We have an Administrative Board that is instrumental in helping the organization excel! Crescendo depends on parent and community volunteers to assist in many ways: fundraising events, help with concerts, help with Greentree parade and festival in the fall, carpooling, etc. There are many opportunities to support Crescendo. We couldn’t do it without you!
Parents/Guardians and singers in Crescendo have various responsibilities. They are all covered in our Family Handbook. To see our calendar of events online, visit our website homepage or go to our Google Calendar.