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NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Music Preparatory Division at Stephen F. Austin State University will offer a children's choir this spring, under the direction of Brandon Nichols, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ graduate student in choral conducting. Monica Hamilton, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ vocal performance graduate student, will assist Nichols.

Girls and boys (with unchanged voices) in grades three through eight are invited to audition from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, in Room 125 of the Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Dr. Students should make an appointment for a specific time slot by calling the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ School of Music at (936) 468-4602 and be prepared to sing a familiar song, such as "My Country 'Tis of Thee." The audition will also include voicing exercises.

Beginning Feb. 11, the choir will meet each Thursday from 3:45 until 4:30 p.m. in Room 125 of the Music Building and perform at community functions or events and at a spring recital. Tuition is $50.

"We are delighted to be continuing this program," said Pat Barnett, director of the Music Preparatory Division. "Last fall, the children's choir performed in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's presentation of Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Hodie" alongside Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's combined choirs, the Nacogdoches and Lufkin High School choirs, and the Orchestra of the Pines."

For more information about the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Children's Choir or any other program offered by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Music Preparatory Division, call Barnett at (936) 468-1291.