Welcome!

Mostly Motets is a small vocal ensemble that sings sacred music by 15th and 16th century composers such as:  Byrd, Tallis, Palestrina, Victoria, Dufay, Desprez, and Frye, as well as some Gregorian chant and other works from the Middle Ages.  The group rehearses in Berkeley and San Francisco and performs around the Bay Area.

2011-2012 Season and Auditions

For various logistic and personnel reasons, we are planning a different kind of season for 2011-2012. We intend to schedule fewer rehearsals during the year and we may or may not schedule performances. At least initially, we will be holding each rehearsal simply for the joy of singing the music in that rehearsal. For that reason, this year we do not ask singers to make a commitment to attend all rehearsals, or even to become a member for the full season. Instead, initially we will be inviting experienced singers to commit to attend one rehearsal at a time and to prepare the music in advance of any rehearsal they attend.

Rehearsals are usually held on Sunday afternoons from 1:30 to 4:30 in Berkeley or San Francisco. If you are interested in attending one or more such sessions and have not sung with Mostly Motets in the past, you are asked to audition. Auditions are open on all parts. We especially encourage tenors and basses to audition. Singers who have auditioned and are to be invited to future rehearsals, will be given access to Mostly Motets' member web site, which contains sheet music, sample performances, and other rehearsal preparation aides.

We may schedule performances later in the year. If we do, we will ask specific singers if they would like to commit to specific rehearsal and performance dates. As time goes by, perhaps for the 2012-2013 season, we intend to shape a more regular performance schedule again, based in part on the music we have sung in this season's ad hoc singing sessions. For more details or to arrange to audition, please see the Membership section of this web site.