Performer Info
Hello! Below is all the information about Chamber Pops participation that you need to know! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at contact@chamberpops.com. We encourage you to read all the information, but there is also a checklist at the bottom of the page as a summary!
What is Chamber Pops?
Chamber Pops is a music festival hosted at the Rialto Theater. This season’s concert will be held on February 16th, 2025. Chamber Pops is an event for middle and high school students to perform in chamber ensembles playing pop music. Everyone is welcome, and we’d like to have as many performers as possible! We can accommodate string groups, band groups, a cappella groups, etc.
Your group can play any music you desire, so long as it is not classical (i.e. Bach), or jazz. We are also not allowing soloists to perform. If you need help putting a group together, please reach out to contact@chamberpops.com, and we will be happy to assist you.
Pre-Concert Participation
We want to have as many performers as possible! To allow us to better communicate with all possible performers, we’d appreciate it if anyone interested could fill out this interest form as soon as possible. If you have any questions or any reservations about participating, please let us know. We are happy to help!
Once you fill out the interest form, start getting a group together! If you already have a group, that’s great! If you need help finding a group, please let us know. Groups are not limited to any specific instrumentation, but should not have more than 10 people. If you would like to request an exception to that rule, please let us know. We will consider your request and do our best to accommodate you.
With regards to music, every group can play up to three songs, for up to a total of 15 minutes of music at most. Please ensure that these pieces are not classical or jazz music. In the event that we have too many groups for the concert, we may have to limit how many pieces each group can play. We want to make sure that every group that wants to participate is able to, but we also need to keep the concert a reasonable length. If this becomes an issue, we will reach out to your group and help you decide which pieces to perform. Resources to help with music selection are available on our Music Resources page. If you need additional help choosing music, or with finding suitable arrangements, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Once you and your group have decided on the songs you would like to perform, please complete the registration form. This form won’t close until January 16, 2025, so don’t feel rushed to submit it. The form is just designed to give us more information about what you’re playing, so that we can plan accordingly. In addition, we will need an audio recording of the songs you will be performing when you register so that we know how long the concert will be and can more effectively schedule the day of the concert.
On January 18th, we will send out program information, including the list of songs to be played. If we have a lot of participation, which we really hope we do, then there may not be time for everyone to play everything they want to. However, we will do our best to ensure that every group gets to play as much as possible.
Once you have your confirmed pieces, just keep rehearsing! There’s nothing else we will need from you until concert day!
Sweet Caroline
The finale piece of the concert will be an arrangement of Sweet Caroline that we all play together. It’s very easy, and your parts will be emailed to you on January 18th. It will be a crowd favorite, and a nice way to end the night. To that end, please don’t select Sweet Caroline as one of your pieces. We will rehearse it day of at 5:30 before the concert. Please take a look at your part before then though, as we will not have time for you to learn your music in the 90 minutes before the concert.
Concert Day
On concert day, we will have a dress rehearsal for every group at the Rialto Theater in the afternoon. Your assigned time slot for the rehearsal will be sent out January 18, along with your selected pieces. We anticipate rehearsals starting at around 3:00, but that may change depending on the level of participation.
You are welcome to stay at the Rialto after your rehearsal, arrive early and watch other groups rehearse, and pretty much do whatever floats your boat, so long as you’re there for your rehearsal and the concert. The call time for the concert will be 5:30, so if you choose to leave after your rehearsal, please make sure you’re back by then. This means ready to rehearse Sweet Caroline at 5:30. Not walking in the door at 5:30. You need to have your instrument out ready to play. You may change before this and we highly recommend doing so, however there will be time afterwards for you to change. Additionally, if you choose to stay through from the rehearsal to the concert, pizza will be served around 5:00.
Warm-up space at the Rialto is limited, so be prepared for that. There will be an option to warm-up outside if your group would like. You will also be able to warm-up in the house and backstage before the house opens. With regards to concert attire, you are welcome to wear whatever you feel represents your group (within reason of course). There will be gendered communal changing rooms offered. You are expected to be changed by 6:30.
Checklist
Now that you’ve made it through all the information, here is a checklist to sum up what we need from you in order to ensure the Chamber Pops concert will run smoothly for everyone!
- Complete the interest form
- Get a group together and choose music
- Up to 3 pieces
- Not classical or jazz
- No more than 15 minutes total
- Submit the registration form by January 16, 2025
- Attend the dress rehearsal and concert on February 16, 2025
Again, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to contact@chamberpops.com, and we will be happy to help.