The Marian Consort welcomes applications from all voice parts for auditions in June 2023.

The Marian Consort engages exceptional freelance artists for its work across performance, recording and creative engagement. We supplement our core group of singers from project to project depending on forces, repertoire or the skillset required. We’re committed to supporting the best emerging talent, and to developing our cohort of artists to better represent the cultural diversity of the UK today.

About The Marian Consort

The Marian Consort is a vocal ensemble, led by Artistic Director Rory McCleery. Our priorities are excellence in music-making through creative programming of early music; commissioning leading British composers to create new work; and pushing the boundaries of what our art form is to offer new ways into choral music. We’re heard in concert halls and at festivals across the UK, on radio and television, and on digital platforms, reaching 1.5 million people each year with music from Dunstable to David Fennessy, Lusitano to Electra Perivolaris, and JS Bach to James MacMillan.

Recent highlights include a concert at the BBC Proms; performances in the Bascule Chamber inside London’s Tower Bridge; the premiere of a major new commission by David Fennessy at Brighton Festival; a Wigmore Hall recital presented in partnership with BBC Radio 3; and our debut tour of Japan. The Marian Consort is in residence with Music at Oxford across 2023 and 2024.

The Marian Consort is a charity governed by a Board of Trustees led by Chairman Ed Hossack. We are a small, agile team consisting of Artistic Director, General Manager, and Fundraiser. We encourage communication and dialogue between all areas of the organisation, and we hold regular town hall meetings for our artists to engage with staff and trustees.

The audition process

Auditions will be conducted by the Artistic Director, and up to three members of The Marian Consort. The process will last around 15 minutes and will consist of:

1) singing a solo piece of no more than five minutes (we will provide an accompanist)

2) performing two short extracts in ensemble with members of TMC of a) Renaissance polyphony b) a recent commission. Music will be sent to you in advance.

3) a short conversation for us to find out more about your experience, and for you to ask us any questions.

How to apply

We welcome applications from singers representing all voice parts. We expect applicants will have an undergraduate degree, preferably in music, or are able to show equivalent training and experience in ensemble singing. You, like us, will be passionate about choral music, and dedicated to developing the art form and practice through a broad range of repertoire and approaches. Applicants should have the right to work in the UK.

We are especially interested in seeing applications from singers who come from a background that is underrepresented in the world of professional classical music.

Applications should send a brief summary of experience to jobs@marianconsort.co.uk. This can be submitted in writing (no more than one page), or as a video or audio file (no more than 3 minutes). If you have any disability that prevents you from following the application process as described, please contact us to discuss suitable alternatives. Please also indicate if you have any time constraints on Wednesday 14 June.

Deadline for applications: Monday 29 May, 5pm
Auditions: Wednesday 14 June, afternoon and evening (St Michael & All Angels, Walthamstow, Northcote Rd, London E17 6PQ)

If you have any questions about the process, please email our General Manager, James Hardie (james@marianconsort.co.uk).

We look forward to hearing from you.