–+–

We’re accepting new girls now to start in January!

Austin Girls’ Choir is in its 35th year of service to Austin area girls, and we’re excited to continue to introduce singers of all levels to the AGC experience!   We’re looking for girls who love music and are ready to work hard to excel.  Please email us at office@girlschoir.com for placement audition dates and times, and put a $25 check to Austin Girls’ Choir in the mail (PO Box 4026, Austin, TX 78765-4026) to reserve your 30-minute appointment.  New choristers will begin rehearsing with the Choir on January 7, when we begin work on madrigals for our Madrigal Dinner Theatre performance in March.

We welcome singers age 8-18, beginner to advanced. Please contact Artistic Director Sara Burden-McClure directly at office@girlschoir.com with any questions. E-mail messages are checked daily; you are also welcome to text our director at (512) 587-5699, and she will respond as quickly as she is able. Individual auditions are scheduled as soon as your $25 check to Austin Girls’ Choir is received at PO Box 4026, Austin, TX 78765. We expect that girls who audition are ready to join, and that their parents or guardians are committed to supporting their participation. We ask each girl to sing a favorite song unaccompanied, and then consider her basic vocal skills and music reading in assigning a level. Quick and painless, private, AND a great way to get to know the director!  Come in and sing, and we’ll figure out where you fit best within the group.

Our choristers receive training in music theory, vocal technique and sightreading, and learn to sing in three- and four-part harmony.  They delight in a wide range of challenging repertoire, and enjoy frequent performance opportunities.  They build long-lasting friendships, learn teamwork and develop personal responsibility, self-discipline and performance poise.  And above all, they have fun as they grow!

We currently rehearse in Austin at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, 2200 Justin Lane. Our Juniors practice Tuesday and Thursday evenings 6:15-8:15 p.m., with arrival and departure times dependent upon level. More advanced girls also practice 1:30-3 p.m. Sunday afternoons with our Mosaic Women’s Ensemble, in another central Austin location.

We sing throughout the year, which is now divided into Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter terms. (Summer energy is focused on June camps and concert tour, and picks up again in mid-August as we work on our September “An Enchanted Evening” shows.)  Girls age 8-14 with little music background audition for our Junior Choir; experienced singers age 13-18 who sightread music well join our Senior Ensemble. Intermediate-level singers age 11 and up often receive Dual Chorister status, which allows them to strengthen theory, sightreading, ear and vocal production skills 6:15-8:15 Tuesday evenings, and learn advanced repertoire Sunday afternoons with the Senior Ensemble.   We ask each singer and her parents to commit to AGC for a full year. Please feel free to share our flyer! 2024 Placement Audition Invitation

Tuition is $1200/year, which averages out to $100 per month for the year; we make various payment plans available, with payment weighted toward the start of each term. Our tuition rates are very competitive — compare with rates for a weekly half-hour instrumental or vocal lesson, elite sports and cheer — and include instruction in basic music theory, vocal technique, ear training and sight-reading skills.  Some financial aid is available via scholarships, and application forms may be requested from the director. We offer school group tuition discounts, and will also extend that courtesy to members of a Scout troop, music studio or church (or temple) music program. At the beginning of each term (Fall/Winter, Spring/Summer) a group of five or more from the same school can receive a 20% break in tuition as long as there are at least five students actively participating in Austin Girls’ Choir rehearsals and performances. For those entering as a group for Spring/Summer 2025, assemble your group by January 20, contact us at office@girlschoir.com, and we’ll set up convenient auditions and orientation.

Uniform and costume expenses for the year are under $135. Regular tuition helps to cover camp and workshop instruction; small additional fees are charged to defray costs of materials, rent and food, and support staff for camp and workshops. Travel expenses for optional trips and tours vary, but are kept as low as possible.  Parents are asked to help sell tickets for three fundraiser events per year that boost operational funds.

Check out our Austin Girls’ Choir Facebook fan page, and be sure to “like” us!

   

What has AGC been up to lately? . . .

We have just finished our annual “An Enchanted Evening” shows on September 7 & 8 — thank you to all who came and supported us!

Coming soon is a return to our branded annual benefit event, Women Who Cook! We are going with a more party-like approach this year, taking over Water 2 Wine’s location at 3300 W. Anderson Lane on November 16 from 8-10 p.m. for a delightful evening of jazz, wine tasting, sampling of chefs’ specialties (pro tip: great way to pre-order goodies for your own holiday party!) and pre-holiday shopping at our silent auction. Earlybird tickets are $50 with wine tasting, $35 for those not imbibing; prices go up Nov. 15. Proceeds from the event support the choir’s operations and help fund tuition financial aid scholarships.

And we’re preparing to sing our way through the holiday season, which will include caroling for the Heritage House Town Christmas Party in Pflugerville at 3 p.m. on Dec. 1, 3 concerts and 2 parades as featured artists for Dickens on The Strand in Galveston on Dec. 7, caroling for Austin area businesses Dec. 14 (come shop while we sing!) and our own big concert at 4 p.m. on Dec. 21 (location TBA).

We are patiently rebuilding the Junior Choir and expanding the Senior Ensemble, and are eager to grow! During the pandemic, we didn’t miss a beat, but we felt it best to stay small and minimize opportunities to expose largely unvaccinated age groups to risk. We combined our ensembles, sang outdoor performances, did much of our note-learning by Zoom, and rehearsed in person outdoors, masked, well distanced and ventilated.  In September 2022, we carefully resumed our regular academic year rehearsal schedule, though like many other extracurricular group activities, we found that Covid surges and many students’ challenges in catching up academically from the shutdown kept our numbers lower than we wished. Our size has remained under 20 since the pandemic, although we continue to sing in 4- and 5-part harmony. Teamwork and reliability are very important to all of our choristers, who build close relationships. Our goal this year is to grow the choir to 35 solidly-committed singers.

During the academic year, Junior Choristers rehearse and do skills work 6:15-8:15 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays (young beginners 6:15-7:30); Senior Choristers rehearse Sunday afternoons 1:30-3:00 p.m. For advanced younger singers, Dual Chorister status is granted to selected Junior Choir members age 11 and up; these girls rehearse Tuesday evenings with the Junior Choir and Sunday afternoons with the Senior Ensemble.   

… and our latest venture: Mosaic Women’s Ensemble!

We are also developing Mosaic, a women’s ensemble that includes AGC alumnae. This group and the Senior Ensemble are meeting together Sunday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. to support one another in learning repertoire, with the women staying a half hour longer (3:00-3:30) to work on a separate set of songs. Assuming numbers for both groups grow appropriately during Fall 2024, the goal is to shift to separate rehearsals in Spring 2025. Women interested in joining Mosaic may contact Director Sara Burden-McClure at office@girlschoir.com or text (512) 587-5699.

Below are some highlights from pre-pandemic years!

2019

We had a wonderful collaboration with visitors from Harvard — the Radcliffe Choral Society — joining forces for a fun concert on Jan. 21.  Many, many thanks to Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church and Hospitality Coordinator Leah Jarvis for so generously hosting not only the concert, but also a delicious lasagna dinner for both choirs!

Our 16th annual Madrigal Dinner Theatre — presented March 2 — was a blast, and we were amazed to find how history can so easily repeat!  (Check out the rule of Charles I of England, which contained some surprising parallels to current times.)  Our May 5 Spring Tea was, as always, a lovely event where we shared several new contemporary and classical selections while enjoying specialties from Zhi Tea and local chefs; many thanks to the Seminary of the Southwest for again so graciously hosting both seatings.  And the following weekend, May 11, we had the great honor and privilege of singing for the grand opening of The Contemporary Austin at Laguna Gloria.

Many thanks to Brentwood Social House, Crema Bakery & Café, Dimassi’s, Full English, Gandhi Bazaar, Pascal’s Catering, Russell’s Bakery and Zhi Tea for their tremendous support of our 2019 Spring Tea! The delicious spread our guests enjoyed was truly memorable, and we urge everyone to visit each of these businesses for more gustatory delights!

Our June concert tour was in Texas again this year — Fredericksburg, San Antonio, Victoria, College Station and Galveston — delightful audiences and hosts, awesome museums and activities, and a beach day to finish!

We presented our annual “An Enchanted Evening” performances in September, featuring music of the ’60’s and ’70’s, then switched over to preparation for another busy Christmas season.  We marched in the Chuy’s Parade on Thanksgiving Weekend, and then were off to Galveston for our 27th year as featured artists for Dickens on The Strand on Dec. 7. A busy caroling schedule on Dec. 14 helped us build up the scholarship fund, we sang two Trail of Lights concerts on Dec. 20, and finished up our 30th Christmas season with our own concert at Triumphant Love Lutheran Church on Dec. 21.

2018

We hit the ground running back in January 2018, as the Cornell Women’s Chorus visited Austin January 6 and invited us to sing with them again.  In addition to learning a 4-part setting of “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” for joint performance, we also shared some of our favorites: “Gaudete” arranged by Engelhardt, Randall Thompson’s “Choose Something Like A Star,” and the Beatles’ “When I’m 64.”  It was a blast singing with the Cornell ladies again, and we look forward to their next visit!

Our annual Madrigal Dinner Theatre show February 24 featured spies, a dastardly prince in disguise, betrothals, clever ladies and — of course — lots of madrigals (including the P.D.Q. Bach classic My Bonny Lass, She Smelleth!).

We very much enjoyed the opportunity to sing with the men and boys of the Magdalen College (Oxford) Choir during their Texas tour in early April.  Special thanks to Kevin McClure and Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church for making this possible!

Our 26th annual Spring Tea was on May 6, held again in the Seminary of the Southwest’s beautiful Weeks Campus Center. Our ensembles serenaded guests at both the 3:00 and 4:30 p.m. seatings, and all enjoyed the opportunity to sip Zhi Tea’s finest and nibble on cucumber sandwiches and pastries from several wonderful Austin chefs and establishments.  Heartfelt thanks to all who supported this lovely event and helped us raise funds for tuition financial aid scholarships!

June concert tour was closer to home in 2018 — our “Deep in the Heart of Texas” tour took us around Central and South Texas. We enjoyed giving concerts for great audiences every night, lots of Texas hospitality and love, and awesome experiences from ziplining and canoeing to cave tours and hiking to see amazing petroglyphs.  Chicago next year, and we want to take a big crew!

We enjoyed another fine opportunity to sing for some amazing people when we performed in August for the Central Texas Optimist Clubs’ convention.  Knowing how hard Optimist Club members work to provide great community activities for youth, it was a real honor to be able to thank them in song!  In September, we presented our annual “An Enchanted Evening” shows — choreographed favorites ranging from American Songbook to ’60’s hits to even Journey! — and reprised a few of those selections at our annual November benefit, “Women Who Cook,” which also featured Water2Wine’s libations and our talented headliner, country singer Heather Victorino.

Our 29th Christmas season was packed with performances! It started Thanksgiving weekend with another appearance on a miked float in the big Chuy’s Children Giving To Children Parade — followed immediately by caroling gigs for the Kerbey Lane Christmas Stroll and Papa Noel’s north central location.  For the following weekend, we were off to Galveston for our 26th consecutive year as featured artists at Dickens on The Strand, with 3 concerts and 2 parades — and of course LOTS of shopping!  On Dec. 8, we sang while Austinites shopped, caroling at Capitol Chevrolet, Papa Noel’s south location, and both locations of Breed & Co.; our old friends at Charles Maund Toyota also had us come carol for their big event on Dec. 15.  Our own Christmas concert (also Dec. 15) featured the return of Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, a beloved AGC tradition that alumnae urged us to renew.  And we finished the season with a pair of performances from the Lobby Stage at Austin’s Trail of Lights, in full Victorian costume — you can see portions of it on our Facebook page!

2017

During Spring 2017, we sang for the Austin Family Camp Fair (January) and for the North Austin Optimists’ Baseball & Softball Opening Ceremonies (March 25), plus put on our annual Madrigal Dinner, a full musical dinner theatre show, on March 4.  And we enjoyed presenting our 25th annual Spring Tea in the beautiful facilities of the Seminary of the Southwest on April 30 — many thanks to Zhi Tea and all the wonderful chefs who provided a delicious high tea, and to the awesome friends and alumnae who attended!

Almost a year ago, on May 21, we went into the recording studio to lay down some tracks for composer Jon Fortman’s next album, which will come out this summer.  Both Jon and Orb Studio’s engineer Hunter were terrific to work with, and we look forward to future opportunities!

On June 10, 2017, between general camp and tour camp, we enjoyed the opportunity to share a concert with the Lawrence (KS) Children’s Choir and the Treble Choir of St. Louis Catholic Church (Austin).

We had an awesome 2017 concert tour through West Texas and New Mexico June 19 through 26! We sang at Grace Presbyterian in Midland, St. Andrew’s Episcopal in Roswell, the Loretto Chapel and First Presbyterian in Santa Fe, the Cathedral of St. John in Albuquerque, the Episcopal Church of the Holy Mount in Ruidoso, All Saints’ Episcopal in El Paso, St. Andrew’s Episcopal in Las Cruces, and the Alpine Public Library in Alpine.  And along the way, we visited Carlsbad Caverns, the International UFO Museum in Roswell, the New Mexico Museum of Art, cliff dwellings at Bandelier, the Anderson Abruzzo International Balloon Museum, lava flows, petroglyphs, White Sands, and McDonald Observatory.  We were delighted both to renew old friendships and to build many wonderful new relationships! (Special thanks to Carol Wiggins and her fantastic Sweet Adelines chapter in Albuquerque for their terrific support on short notice!)

We enjoyed the opportunity to sing the National Anthem at the Dell Diamond again on Aug. 20, 2017 — a wonderful way to start off the school year.  Our “An Enchanted Evening” shows — choreographed jazz, ’60’s and American Songbook selections — were held at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church Sept. 9 and Episcopal Church of the Resurrection Sept. 10.

Fall 2017 kept us busy, as we prepared for another full holiday season. A large portion of our holiday repertoire is a cappella traditional carol settings, which we sang for Dickens on The Strand (Dec. 2 in Galveston — our 25th consecutive year as featured artists!) and for caroling gigs on Dec. 9. We also have some jazz/swing settings of holiday pop favorites, and sang a special set of these for the Chuy’s Children Giving To Children Parade in November, our own Christmas Concert (Dec. 16) and our Trail of Lights performances.  Especially fun was an exciting new piece that breaks to 6 parts, accompanied by percussion ensemble!

 

From the mom of one of our charter members:  “I would encourage anyone in or near Austin to take their girls and try out for this choir. I can not begin to tell you all of the benefits we all received by my daughter being a member of this choir.  The music you taught my child was a great gift, but what you don’t know is how it and everything else she learned with you affected her life later on through college and parenthood.  I only wish we lived closer, so some day my granddaughter could audition.” — Ruthie Pyle

PHOTO GALLERY

Madrigal Dinner — this annual musical dinner theatre event features a very family-friendly play written specially for our group and some guest actors from the community.  The girls sing, act, AND serve dinner!  The story usually incorporates Elizabethan ladies’ dilemma of duty versus romantic choice in the early 1600’s, with smart girls presenting clever and logical solutions!

Dickens on The Strand – Lanternlight Parade – one of our favorite parts of the festival!

KEYE 2015 taping