By Maegan Hewey Contributing Writing
Clefnotes recently inducted new members into the group. (Photo courtesy of Josh Beckett)
Nordica Auditorium roared with sound on Wednesday, Sept. 12. as students rolled into the auditorium and filled the chairs for the auditions to join Clefnotes. As hopefuls and club members alike watched, one by one the auditioners went on stage, sang 30 seconds of their song choice, followed by a range check and harmonising with three of the other members. Out of the 29 people who auditioned, only five made it in.
McKayla Marois, a Junior and 2nd year Clefnotes member, said, “I am extremely excited; we took in some fantastic talent and I can’t wait to see them learn from us and watch them grow as a group.”
This year the newest members of the Clefnotes are Tess Gioia, Adrienne Chandler, Jen Larson, Sarah Ventimiglia, and Drew Monteith. These five made it through both the auditions and callback.
Ventimiglia, a freshman at UMF, has known that she wanted to audition for Clefnotes for years. “I wanted to join Clefnotes since I toured UMF in the 8th grade,” said Ventimiglia. “I thought their music was beautiful and I could see that they really enjoyed doing what they do.”
Ventimiglia has sung since 3rd grade and has continued her passion since. Ventimiglia was confident up on stage, and showed no fear in her eyes as she auditioned with a piece from “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley.
Auditioning in front of a crowd was new for Ventimiglia.“The audition was not what I had expected. Many people were in the audience, but only a few were auditioning,” said Ventimiglia. “I did not know people were simply allowed to sit and support us.”
After everyone auditioned that night, the hopefuls were told whether or not they got a callback. “I was so unbelievably surprised that I had made it in that I had burst into tears and shouted, ‘I can’t believe I made it!’” Ventimiglia said.
Clefnotes is a club that has been around for more than six years, always allowing anyone to audition. “We hold auditions every fall and spring semester,” said Marois. Holding auditions every year encourages more people to join, or gain the confidence to try out.
Marois was not nervous during the audition process. “I knew that whatever was going to happen, was going to happen. We put in a lot of work and there wasn’t much more we could have done to bring people to auditions,” Marois said. “We worked hard and I am proud of my group.”
To learn more about upcoming Clefnotes events, follow them on Facebook at “UMF Clefnotes.”