Jason Tramm To Host Seton Hall Auditions And Teach Master Classes At University Of Hawaii

Auditions for the Seton Hall University Choir and Orchestra are open to the public starting Monday, Jan. 14 to Friday, Jan. 25. Anyone who is interested in exhibiting his or her musical talents can audition for the ensembles.

The choirs and orchestra are both led by Jason Tramm, assistant professor and director of choral activities for the College of Communication and the Arts. Tramm is also the artistic director and principal conductor for the MidAtlantic Opera, where he conducted the first two of the three-part "A Prayer for Peace" concert trilogy with the Seton Hall University Choir at Carnegie Hall in 2015 and at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in 2017.

In October, the University Choir performed "Et In Terra Pax: A Concert for Hope", with the MidAtlantic Symphony Chamber Orchestra at St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City, produced by the Mid-Manhattan Performing Arts Foundation as part of the Great Music At St. Bart's series. The choral program also performed its annual winter concert at SOPAC in December.

Tramm is now in his 13th season as the director of music in residence at the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association in preparation for the Ocean Grove Choir Festival. In 2009, Tramm conducted the opera in the NJN television film, "Verdi Requiem: Live from Ocean Grove," which was nominated for an Emmy Award. He is also the music director of the Morris Choral Society and the Taghkanic Chorale and was recently appointed as the music director and conductor of the Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Ensemble.

In the fall, Tramm taught an orchestral master class to provide inspiration and mentorship to 85 talented high school student musicians at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan. The high school's mission is to "provide each student with professional preparation in conservatory arts education and in college preparatory academic education."

Working with students is a very important part of his career. "To give back to young people, inspire them and watch them go on to achieve the highest they can is very rewarding," Tramm said. "It's very exciting to watch young people become excited by the music they're playing."

Tramm will teach a series of master classes, intense clinics and workshops for five days at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in February. He will work with the university's award-winning undergraduate choral program, teach a series of master classes with different choirs and lecture on conducting and vocal performance to graduate students. In addition, Tramm will mentor the university's operatic singers and master's students in conducting to work with the undergraduate choirs.

Now in his seventh year at Seton Hall, Tramm said he came here because it was the "perfect fit for me to do my dream job of teaching full-time, performing and working with the wonderful ensembles and community."

He added, "What makes Seton Hall so unique is how students, faculty, administration and staff who come from different backgrounds in the community come together to enjoy the time here and perform. We all spend time together like a family."

The choral program will perform in several events this spring. This February, the Chamber Choir will be featured with the Opera New Hampshire at Rossini's "Barber of Seville" in Manchester, New Hampshire. The Seton Hall Choral Program and the University Orchestra will perform their spring concerts at the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) on May 7 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are limited, but free to the public and should be reserved by contacting the SOPAC Box Office at (973) 313-2787.

Those who are interested in auditioning for one of the university's choral programs should contact Tramm at jason.tramm@shu.edu.

More information about the Seton Hall University Choral Program can be found at www.shu.edu/choral-program.

ABOUT SETON HALL UNIVERSITY

One of the country's leading Catholic universities, Seton Hall has been showing the world what great minds can do since 1856. Home to nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students and offering more than 90 rigorous academic programs, Seton Hall's academic excellence has been singled out for distinction by The Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report and Bloomberg Businessweek.

Seton Hall embraces students of all religions and prepares them to be exemplary servant leaders and global citizens. In recent years, the University has achieved extraordinary success. Since 2009, it has seen record-breaking undergraduate enrollment growth and an impressive 110-point increase in the average SAT scores of incoming freshmen. In the past decade, Seton Hall students and alumni have received more than 30 Fulbright Scholarships as well as other prestigious academic honors, including Boren Awards, Pickering Fellowships, Udall Scholarships and a Rhodes Scholarship. The University is also proud to be the third most diverse national Catholic university in the nation.

During the past five years, the University has invested more than $165 million in new campus buildings and renovations. And in 2015, Seton Hall launched a School of Medicine as well as a College of Communication and the Arts. The University's beautiful main campus in suburban South Orange, N.J. is only 14 miles from New York City - offering students a wealth of employment, internship, cultural and entertainment opportunities. Seton Hall's nationally recognized School of Law is located prominently in downtown Newark. The University's Interprofessional Health Sciences (IHS) campus in Clifton and Nutley, N.J. opened in the summer of 2018. The IHS campus houses the University's College of Nursing, School of Health and Medical Sciences and the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University.

For more information, visit www.shu.edu.

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