Detroit Opera Youth Chorus

The Detroit Opera Youth Chorus (DOYC) is a world-class training program for young vocalists ages 8 to 17 from metropolitan Detroit, who come from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience but share a passion for singing and music. The chorus rehearses at the Detroit Opera House on Monday evenings from September through May, led by Detroit Opera professionals, who skillfully help build a solid foundation in music. The DOYC performs as a separate ensemble as well as with international opera stars in Detroit Opera mainstage productions.

The 2023–24 DOYC season will include two major performances: a “Winter Fantasy” concert on December 3 at First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak and a fully staged opera on the main stage of the Detroit Opera House. This year’s opera, Odyssey, will be presented on April 20, 2024. Ben Moore and Kelley Rourke’s Odyssey is an action-packed, colorful operatic rendition of Homer’s epic tale of a hero’s journey home. In May 2024, singers from the Principal Chorus also will perform in the Detroit Opera’s professional presentation of Janáček’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen, with several small solo roles to be selected from the DOYC.

Audition

Auditions are open now for singers ages 8-17 for the 2023–24 season. The next DOYC auditions will take place at the Detroit Opera House on Saturday, June 3 at 10am and Monday, June 26 at 5pm. Further audition dates will be added in July and August, and auditions will continue until all positions are filled.

In prior seasons, DOYC featured only treble voices—girls through age 16 and boys with unchanged voices. Beginning this season, the chorus is open to all voice types: sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses, ranging from elementary-school students to high-school seniors. In April 2024, DOYC’s choristers will take center stage in Odyssey, a one-hour opera with many solo roles, all filled by singers from the ensemble. Characters include Bard 1 (baritone), Bard 2/Siren (soprano), Penelope (soprano/mezzo), Odysseus (lyric baritone/tenor) Athena (soprano/mezzo), First Mate (lyric baritone/tenor), Circe (mezzo), and various other small solo roles sung by members of the chorus. Odyssey has been a critical and audience favorite since its world premiere at the Glimmerglass Festival in 2015; there have been subsequent performances by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City and at Minnesota Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Seattle Opera, and Walnut Hill School for the Arts. “Odyssey … with an ebullient, lyrical score by Ben Moore and a witty, tightly-rhymed libretto by Kelley Rourke, is more than just an opera for young audiences … it’s an opera for all ages.” (Opera News)

To register for an audition time, visit the 2023–24 Season Audition Registration page. Contact Chorus Administrator Twannette Nash at TNash@Detroitopera.org for more information about the chorus, including full and partial tuition scholarships based on financial need. This page will be updated as further audition dates are added in July and August.