The Capitol Carolers are looking for singers. They go caroling at a variety of venues from 1 Dec thru 24 Dec in the Maryland, Northern Virginia, DC area.
They pay singers $75 for a one hour gig and each gig usually has two to 4 singers but occasionally more. For longer gigs we pay $50 for the second contiguous hour and $25 for the third, so a three hour gig would pay $150.
There is a 10 min break at the end of each hour for longer gigs but most events are one hour. We don’t guarantee a minimum total payment because it depends on the caroler's availability for gigs, the number of gigs we get and the number of singers in the group, but we try to ensure everyone gets at least $400.
Last year the average pay for the singers was $750 and the median pay $760 We will be auditioning singers in early October in both Maryland and Virginia, and we are looking for all voices. There would be a minimum of 3 rehearsals to attend in October/November and possibly more if needed. We normally try to set dates where most people can attend but not every rehearsal has to be attended. We provide music, most of which is traditional Holiday songs/carols. Normally we ask people to learn one voice (Soprano, Alto, Tenor or Bass) well and be able to get by in another voice to provide some flexibility in assigning people to events, so a total of 80 parts to learn. This may sound daunting but anyone who has sung in a church choir would be familiar with most of the arrangements and we do sing with books so the songs do not have to be memorized. Also we try to keep the same people for multiple years so learning the music is less of an issue after the first year.
We do not provide transportation to gigs and some venues are not close to public transport so anyone interested would need their own transport or would be limited in the gigs in which they can perform. We do encourage ride sharing but that may not be available for all gigs. We also pay additional money for gas for events that require individuals to travel more than 50 miles one way.
If anyone is potentially interested in auditioning and wants more information, please send an email to Bernard Kellett.