Thousands turn out for the annual July 4th concert.
Aspiring singers from across the state can compete for a chance to sing in front of an enormous crowd at Iowa’s largest single-day concert event.
Megan Helmers, spokeswoman for the Des Moines Symphony, says they’re looking for someone who can belt out the National Anthem at the patriotic Iowa State Capitol concert on July 1st.
“We have a link on our website right now where people can go online to register,” Helmers says. “We just need a little information from them, contact information and what key they’d like to sing in, and the first 20 who apply are accepted.”
The competitors in the 7th annual “Oh Say, Can You Sing?” contest will audition before a panel of judges on-stage next weekend during the popular Des Moines Arts Festival. The 20 people who registered online will be guaranteed a slot and five walk-up singers will also be allowed to audition.
“Whoever we pick will get to sing the National Anthem at Yankee Doodle Pops in front of a crowd of 100,000 people, backed by the Des Moines Symphony,” Helmers says. “They’ll also get season tickets for our next symphony season as well as a few other perks.”
America’s National Anthem is considered by many vocalists to be a tough song to sing, given its wide required range of highs and lows. “That is absolutely correct,” Helmers says. “I think it’s probably one of the more difficult national anthems in the world to sing correctly, but we’ve been pretty lucky in past years and we’ve had some terrific vocalists who’ve auditioned for us.”
The auditions will be held at noon on June 25th at the arts fest. Learn more at the website: dmsymphony.org.
Here’s video of last year’s winner: