Those who have wanted to sing The Hills Are Alive atop the Alps, but don’t have the means to fly to Austria, need not look farther than Sparkling Hill Wellness Resort.
The resort is presenting the universally loved musical The Sound of Music at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre Dec. 7 and 8 as well as for a special presentation at its Swarovski crystal-infused resort above Predator Ridge on New Year’s Eve.
Produced by local soprano and Valley Vocal Arts Studio owner Melina Moore, the presentation will include accompaniment by The Sound of Music Orchestra, conducted by the Okanagan Symphony’s Rosemary Thomson, and is part of a week-long arts and culture festival at Sparkling Hill at the end of November.
“The week will culminate in our production of The Sound of Music, to which (Sparking Hill) guests will be shuttled from the resort,” said Moore. “It is going to be an in-concert production (meaning no sets), with professional orchestra. We have an absolutely top-notch production team, and this will be a first for the Okanagan, myself, Sparkling Hill and Valley Vocal Arts.”
Moore, who is producing the musical, will be accompanied by director Mark Wells, music director Carol Colpitts and choreographer Lisa Schofield in holding open-to-the-public auditions to cast The Sound of Music.
The auditions take place this weekend, Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Valley Vocal Arts Studio, 7155 Dixon Dam Rd., Vernon.
Each audition block will be approximately one hour in length and will include eight to 10 singers.
“Each auditioner will prepare one song, which does not have to be from The Sound of Music, and a monologue of their choosing,” said Moore, adding, “Many monologues can be found online.”
Each auditioner will then be guided through various stage/musical exercises with Wells and Colpitts, and a basic movement/choreography audition with Schofield.
“We will hold callbacks TBA and make all final casting decisions by end-of-day on Sunday, at which time a detailed rehearsal schedule will be provided for all cast members,” said Moore.
Auditioners must email Moore at Melina@melinamoore.com to set up their specified audition time.
