Join The Marian Consort – Auditions now open
The Marian Consort welcomes applications from all voice parts for auditions in March 2026
The Marian Consort engages exceptional freelance artists for its work across performance, recording and creative engagement. We supplement our core group of singers from project to project depending on forces, repertoire or the skillset required. We’re committed to supporting the best emerging talent, and to developing our cohort of artists to better represent the cultural diversity of the UK today.
Are you a singer who loves early music, but also wants to help shape what choral music can be today?
About The Marian Consort
The Marian Consort is a vocal ensemble, led by Artistic Director Rory McCleery. Our priorities are excellence in music-making through creative programming of early music; commissioning leading British composers to create new work; and pushing the boundaries of what our art form is to offer new ways into choral music. We’re heard in concert halls and at festivals across the UK and internationally, on radio and television, and on digital platforms, reaching 1.5 million people each year with music from Dunstable to David Fennessy, Lusitano to Barbara Monk Feldman, and JS Bach to James MacMillan.
Recent and upcoming highlights of TMC’s live performance schedule include appearances at London’s Wigmore Hall, the BBC Proms, the Miller Theatre series at Columbia University in New York and Tokyo’s Bunka Kaikan Recital Hall.
The Marian Consort is a charity governed by a Board of Trustees and our Chair, Ed Hossack. We are a small, agile team led by our Artistic Director and Executive Director Eleanor Ward. We encourage communication and dialogue between all areas of the organisation, and we hold regular town hall meetings for our artists to engage with staff and trustees.
The audition process
Auditions will be conducted by the Artistic Director and up to three members of The Marian Consort. The process will last around 15 minutes and will consist of:
singing a solo piece of no more than five minutes. This should be a baroque aria/song/solo movement (ideally in a language other than English), and we will provide an accompanist (NB the accompanying instrument will be at A415, down a semitone from concert pitch).
performing two short extracts in ensemble with members of TMC of a) Renaissance polyphony b) a recent commission. Music will be sent to you in advance.
a short conversation for us to find out more about your experience, and for you to ask us any questions.
How to apply
We welcome applications from singers representing all voice parts. We expect applicants will have an undergraduate degree, preferably in music, or are able to show equivalent training and experience in ensemble singing. You, like us, will be passionate about choral music, and dedicated to developing the art form and practice through a broad range of repertoire and approaches. Applicants should have the right to work in the UK.
We are especially interested in seeing applications from singers who come from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the world of professional classical music.
Applications should send a brief summary of experience to jobs@marianconsort.co.uk, along with a PDF of your chosen solo piece. The summary can be submitted in writing (no more than one page), or as a video or audio file (no more than 3 minutes). If you have any disability that prevents you from following the application process as described, please contact us to discuss suitable alternatives. Please also indicate if you have any time constraints on Monday 2 March.
Deadline for applications: Wednesday 25 Feb, 5pm
Auditions: Monday 2 March, afternoon and evening (St Michael & All Angels, Walthamstow, Northcote Rd, London E17 6PQ)
If you have any questions about the process, please email our Executive Director, Eleanor Ward (eleanor@marianconsort.co.uk).
We look forward to hearing from you.