How can I become a member?

The West Suburban Symphony's orchestras and chorus fill membership openings through an audition process. Individuals age 18 and older may audition for membership. Our members all perform as volunteers.

As of October 10, 2007, we have openings for singers, chamber orchestra violins, chamber orchestra principal viola, and chamber orchestra second oboe. If you would like to audition, contact us.

We welcome auditioners who are passionate about their music and committed to continually honing their playing and singing skills. We value musicians who take a team perspective and participate regularly in rehearsals and concerts. We seek singers and players who excel in ensemble performance.

Our audition process begins with solos played or sung for our music director and 1 or more current members. Auditioners play or sing:

• Music we provide in advance: We send auditioners short excerpts from standard orchestral or choral literature. The excerpts are 1-3 minutes in length and are provided up to a month before a scheduled audition date.
• Music we provide for sight-reading during the audition, 1-3 minutes in length and representative, in difficulty, of music that our current members sight-read successfully.
• Music of the auditioner's choice, from solo or ensemble literature, again 1-3 minutes in length.

Following a successful solo audition, prospective members play or sing two concerts with us as guest performers; during that time, the conductor and current members evaluate the performer's ensemble skills. Membership decisions are made at the end of the two-concert ensemble audition period.

How can I get on the sub roster?

All of our performing groups maintain calling lists of guest players and singers who are interested in sitting in for absent members or filling extra positions required by specific works. While we do use paid subs from time to time, nearly all of our subs and extras are volunteers.

If you'd like to be added to our roster, please e-mail us a summary of your playing or singing experience, along with your name, postal address, and primary phone number.

What's the time commitment?

We rehearse and perform primarily in the Hinsdale area. Most concerts are on Sunday afternoons, at 4 p.m. (with 2:00-2:30 calls) with occasional concerts on weekend and weekday evenings.

• Symphony orchestra:
  6-8 concerts annually
  Rehearsals 7:30-10 p.m. on most Tuesdays, Labor Day - mid June, plus several Saturdays per season, 9 a.m. - noon (with most of December off).
• Chamber orchestra:
  3-4 concerts annually
  Rehearsals 7:30-10 p.m. Fridays, 5 times for each concert.
• Symphony singers:
  2-3 concerts annually, all with one of our orchestras
  Rehearsals with piano 7:30-10 p.m. Sundays, plus 1-3 times with an orchestra per concert, on an orchestra rehearsal day. Chorus typically rehearses each program a total of 5-7 times.

What are the concerts like?

Our concerts are energetic and audience-friendly, with extensive audience interaction by our conductor. We stage our concerts in a highly professional and polished manner that gives our audiences a memorable entertainment experience. Standing ovations are common!

Look at our complete season listing to see a representative sampling of our programming. While we primarily perform "serious music," from Baroque through modern composers, we regularly present pops concerts as well. We often perform music from the Romantic Period.

What are rehearsals like?

We offer fast-paced rehearsals that emphasize interpretive style. Our rehearsals are rich in humor, camaraderie and insights into composers' lives and the history of the music we perform.

What are the musicians like?

Our members are drawn together by a passion for making music. Occupationally, our ranks include individuals from varied trades and professions, students, and retirees. A fair number hold musical performance degrees. Some conduct other performing groups. Many of our orchestra members are music teachers by day. Quite a few orchestra members are proficient on more than one instrument, and some of our singers are also instrumentalists.

Many players gig regularly in classical trios and quartets, jazz groups, wedding bands, and rock bands; most of our singers perform regularly with other choruses. From time to time, our ensembles include substitute and retired performers from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the Lyric Opera Chorus and Orchestra.

We feature professional concert soloists, including nationally known artists. They come primarily from the Chicago area and occasionally from other parts of the United States as well as Europe.

Our members are very sociable. They enjoy routine post-rehearsal and post-concert get-togethers for food and drink, parties in members' homes, and organized outings to movies and other groups' concerts.

How are the groups managed?

In the tradition of community orchestras and choruses, we are a self-managed organization of volunteers who come together of a shared passion for live performance.

Our orchestra and chorus members constitute the membership of the West Suburban Symphony Society, the not-for-profit Illinois corporation that operates our performing groups. Our performers also carry out our business functions; we have no paid support staff. The Society is led by an elected board of directors that includes both performers and community members.

We produce most of our own concerts, but from time to time our groups are hired by other organizations to perform concerts in their venues.

The Society complies with all applicable nondiscrimination laws and does not tolerate sexual harassment.