Springfield Symphony Chorus

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Springfield Symphony Orchestra Announces Symphony Chorus Auditions

Auditions for the 2026-2027 season to take place on Tuesday, September 8th, from 6:30pm-9pm at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 34 Jarvis Avenue, Holyoke MA, where the Chorus rehearses.

The Springfield Symphony Chorus will hold auditions for new members at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 34 Jarvis Avenue, Holyoke, MA (where it has its weekly Tuesday evening rehearsals) on Tuesday, September 8th, from 6:30pm-9pm. Interested singers should email their name, phone number and email address to Chorus President, Claire Folini, at sschoruspresident@gmail.com, and she will schedule the audition with you. As part of the audition, singers will be given the Chorus concert and rehearsal schedule and asked if it will work for them. Auditionees should bring a short solo piece, with piano accompaniment, to perform, preferably in one of the following languages: Latin, Spanish, Italian, German, French or Hebrew. English solo pieces are permitted, but pieces in the suggested foreign languages are preferred. Auditionees are also asked to bring a legible piano part for Ms. Stoia, who will provide accompaniment. These auditions are painless, but singers should be prepared to vocalize and sight read.

The Chorus performs with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra each concert season. This season the SSC will perform in a holiday concert with the SSO in Symphony Hall on Saturday, December 12th, in a classical concert with the SSO in Symphony Hall on Saturday, April 17th, in a May 15th recital at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Holyoke MA, and in other concerts with piano accompaniment that will occur during the concert season in various Western Massachusetts venues.

The Springfield Symphony Chorus is an unpaid semi-professional group of singers from throughout the greater Connecticut River Valley. The Chorus performs at Springfield Symphony Hall with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and also performs in concerts on its own with an accompanist, chamber orchestra, and/or other artists. Auditions for the Springfield Symphony Chorus are typically held in September and January.

About the Chorus

The Springfield Symphony Chorus is an unpaid semi-professional group of singers from throughout the greater CT River Valley. The Chorus is associated with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra which performs at Springfield Symphony Hall. The Orchestra and Chorus collaborate on works throughout each season. The Chorus also performs in concerts on its own with an accompanist, chamber orchestra, and/or other artists.
Auditions for the Springfield Symphony Chorus are typically held in September and January.

If you love singing and being part of exciting live performances, possess a basic knowledge of music notation and would like to work with others who share your passion, consider auditioning for the Springfield Symphony Chorus! It’s a great way to meet new people and keep music in your life!

Nikki Stoia
Springfield Symphony Chorus Director

Coach/accompanist, piano soloist, singer, and conductor Nikki Stoia is known for her musical versatility, with repertoire that encompasses traditional and contemporary classical and popular music. Her concert work as a collaborative pianist has taken her to many U.S. cities, including Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Honolulu, and she has appeared abroad in concerts in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. She has appeared in performances at various U.S. and Canadian venues as a member of the Bob Becker Ensemble and has performed as collaborative pianist in concerts at International Tuba and Euphonium, International Trumpet Guild, and Percussive Arts Society conferences. Ms. Stoia retired as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education for the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, as well as Senior Lecturer II and Music Chief Undergraduate Advisor/Honors Program Director in the Department of Music and Dance at UMass Amherst in December 2020. She was a four-time Distinguished Teacher Award nominee and an Outstanding Academic Advisor Award winner at the University. She remains active as a collaborative pianist in performances in the Music Department and beyond. Having served as accompanist for the Springfield Symphony Chorus for nineteen years, Ms. Stoia is now in her twenty-first year as Music Director/Conductor of this ensemble. In addition to preparing the SSC for performances with the SSO and for its own recitals in the greater Springfield area and beyond, as SSC Director she and the Chorus have collaborated with Avery Sharpe, Kevin Sharpe, and the Extended Family Choir in performances at Symphony Hall and in other Western Massachusetts locations. Ms. Stoia is the Founder/Director of the Western Massachusetts Singers for Survivors, a chorus of cancer survivors and caregivers, which performs in the Western Massachusetts area to bring attention to cancer survival and support fundraising activities for cancer care. She holds a Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano from UMass Amherst, acknowledged as a Phi Kappa Phi graduate, and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Smith College, where she majored in Music and German.

History of the Springfield Symphony Chorus

The Springfield Symphony Chorus was founded in the 1944-1945 concert season to join the one-year-old Springfield Symphony Orchestra in its performance of Brahms’ “Schicksalslied” on April 22, 1945. The Chorus has performed continuously since then with the Orchestra as well as in its own concerts. The Chorus was originally under the directorship of Alexander Leslie, the founder of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.

Today, under the baton of Chorus Director Nikki Stoia, the SSC continues its collaboration with the SSO and also presents choral recitals in the greater Springfield area, and other locations.