Summer Audition Schedules

Susquehanna Chorale - Adult Audition Schedule:

Summer audition dates for the Susquehanna Chorale (age 18 and older) for 2023 are June 12 and June 19 at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hershey, PA.

Click here to complete your online audition application.

Participation in the Susquehanna Chorale is determined by a live audition with conductor Linda L. Tedford. Interested adults (age 18 and older) are encouraged and invited to schedule an audition appointment.

Susquehanna Chorale - Youth Audition Schedule:

Summer audition dates for 2023 are May 23 and May 30 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm and June 3 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Silver Spring Presbyterian Church, Mechanicsburg.

Click here to complete your online audition application. ALL auditions are by appointment ONLY Your conductor may be willing to schedule a personal audition by request. Click here to download the music teacher/director RECOMMENDATION FORM.

Give the Recommendation Form to the child's music director or music teacher, who should complete it, seal it in an envelope, and return it to the child, who should bring it to the audition.

The Susquehanna Children's Chorale accepts students entering grades 4-8. The Susquehanna Youth Chorale and the Susquehanna Young Women's Chorale accepts students entering grade 9 through college first year).

It's Concert Week!

This Mother's Day weekend the Susquehanna Chorale concludes its regular season concert series on May 12, 13, and 14 with three performances of Songs for the Journey, a musical travelogue exploring the journey of life.

Take a peek at our spring program book for a look at the full concert program, and don't forget to arrive early to hear the 15-minute pre-concert instrumental recital featuring Daniel Dorty (Piano), Vera Solomin (Violin) and Ai-Lin Hsieh (Cello).

Dates/Times/Locations

Performances will be offered at three different venues:

• Friday, May 12, 2023 - 7:30 p.m. - Derry Presbyterian Church, Hershey

• Saturday, May 13, 2023 - 7:30 p.m. - Market Square Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg

• Sunday, May 14, 2023 - 4 p.m. - Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts (Parmer Hall), Messiah University, Mechanicsburg

Ticket Information

Online discount pricing is available for single-ticket purchases until the Friday of concert week. Tickets purchased online after 3:00 p.m. on Friday will be sold at door pricing.

At-the-door pricing for the Spring programs is $35 for adults and $10 for students. Ticketing fees may apply. Order your tickets promptly to ensure the best seating and value!

Buy Tickets

Concert Parking

Free and accessible parking is available at all Susquehanna Chorale concerts.

MAY 12: Derry Presbyterian Church: Spaces available in main lot and small overflow lot across the street. Additional on-street parking available.

MAY 13: Market Square Presbyterian Church (downtown Harrisburg): parking is available in the adjoining Market Square Garage. Market Square Presbyterian Church will validate parking passes at the event by request.

MAY 14: Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts (Parmer Hall) at Messiah University has multiple parking lots adjacent to the auditorium.

For more information about the concert and the Chorale, visit our website.

The Story Behind the Songs

I'll be On My Way - Shawn Kirchner

Composer Shawn Kirchner’s name frequently appears in Susquehanna Chorale concert programs, and with good reason. His stirring composition, I’ll Be on My Way, underscored by a dazzling fiddle accompaniment, will close each of our spring concerts this year, and its text helped inspire the theme for the Chorale’s 2022-2023 season, Experience the Inspiration, the Joy, and the Journey.

Kirchner is a well-known classical pianist and choral conductor, who has served as composer-in-residence with the LA Master Chorale. As a Christian musician, Kirchner’s prolific output ranges from bluegrass and gospel tunes to jazz ballads to concert suites and oratorios. The Chorale performed his Brightest and Best at Christmas; other Kirchner compositions sung by the Chorale in recent years include Angel Band, Sweet Rivers, and Unclouded Day. His signature style is reflected in complex instrumental writing and melodic lines designed to inspire the singers’ artistry and to encourage a deeply emotional and engaging vocal expression.

Bringing Light from Tragedy

I’ll Be on My Way originated with the composer’s dark musings on a fatal bus accident at a notoriously dangerous intersection near his church. Kirchner explains, “Looking down that long street as far as I could see—and feeling the sense of freedom one gets on the open road—my immediate response was ‘Well, I’d be on my way.’ Instantly, the idea for the song sprang into my mind because sometimes they just come like that—fast, easily, all at once.”

Kirchner also noted that the words reverberate with a sense of healing and spiritual freedom. The song lyric “What pain there might have been will now be past” conveys a hopeful message that it really is possible to lay down a burden that no longer needs to be carried and that our final milestone will be filled with joy.

The intersection that inspired Kirchner’s song now has a traffic light, thanks in part to his gift for musical expression. Kirchner says he imagined the tune as Dolly Parton might have rendered it, and he hopes that someday she will record it. In the meantime, make sure to hear Kirchner’s choral version performed by the Susquehanna Chorale as a spectacular finale to our spring program, Songs for the Journey.