Q: What’s all this, then?

The Other Reindeer are professional holiday carolers in beautiful Dickensian costumes (usually, sometimes other costumes) who not only sing, but also interact with and delight audiences of all ages. We perform a cappella 4-part holiday music in SATB quartets (sometimes trios or octets, but usually quartets). We have been in business since 2009, and typically book 150-200 gigs per season. Most of those bookings are in the Los Angeles Area, but we also book gigs in Denver, New York City, and the San Francisco Bay Area. We have booked about 15 gigs in the NYC area (mostly in Manhattan) for each of the past two years. We are expecting that 2024 will be the last season that we operate a roster in New York, and therefore are not recruiting new singers.

Traits I look for in Christmas Carolers:

• Cheerful, entertaining performers
• Beautiful, loud voices with easily suppressed vibrato
• Experienced ensemble singers (experienced at singing a part by themselves)
• Excellent pitch
• Ability to sing jazz harmony
• Excellent communication skills (responds to most texts & emails within a few hours)
• Ability to read music
• Stylistically versatile (classical, pop, jazz, Broadway)
• Has most weekends and evenings between Thanksgiving and Christmas available

The Other Reindeer perform with a “contemporary a cappella” sound. This means some voices may not be a good fit for us, regardless of musicianship or professional experience.

Rehearsals are generally not paid, performances are ALWAYS paid.

Q: How Much Do You Pay?

Generally, I pay as follows (per singer):

$85-95 for a 30-minute gig

$100-115   for   1-hour gig

$120-140   for   2-hour gig

$145-170   for   3-hour gig

$185-220   for   4-hour gig

Gigs involving travel and/or filming can sometimes pay more.

Some of the price differences may be based on what kind of costuming is involved, how hard it is to get to, whether or not it’s a weekend, if you will need to learn any new music, and many other factors.  

Holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) generally pay more than what I listed above. Also, I will always tell you the pay for a specific gig when I'm offering it to you.

Q: Where Are The Gigs?

Most gigs will be in Manhattan. The gigs I book for you are largely dependent on where you and your fellow carolers want to gig; I will not pursue gigs that I won’t be able to easily staff. If enough carolers have cars and are willing to drive, I may book gigs in Long Island, New Jersey, or Connecticut, but you are not required to accept any gigs if the geography or travel time doesn't make sense for the pay you are offered; just don’t say “YES” on the Gig Sheet and then decline it when I offer it to you. Put “NO” on the Gig Sheet from the outset if the location of the gig does not appeal to you.

All the gigs that are booked or which I expect to book are listed on a large online spreadsheet (It’s a Google Sheet) I call the Gig Sheet, and each singer has a row on which they can indicate their availability and interest for that gig.  The Gig Sheet is usually available for singers to start indicating the gigs they want starting around September 1st each year. 

Q: What Music Will I Be Singing?

The repertoire for New York City carolers is about 70 carols. More than half are traditional carols and/or holiday songs you are probably very familiar with. There are another 30 or so songs in the Los Angeles Book that are not required learning for you, but if it happens that a client requests one of those songs for a gig you’re on, you may be asked to learn one or two of them. Many songs are straight-up vocal jazz and need to be sung with minimal or non-existent vibrato. The music will be shared with you in PDF format and you may either print it out or use a tablet/iPad on gigs.

Even if you are an experienced caroler, there are songs in my book with which you are not familiar and which are not always easily read. To aid you learning the music, I provide vocal reference recordings of the music.

Q: Will I Be Wearing A Costume?

Yes, most gigs will be in period Victorian (also called Dickensian) costumes. I will provide the complete costume if you wish, but this year, if New York carolers can provide the key costume piece (that’s a high-quality top hat for tenors and basses and a long, voluminous skirt for sopranos and altos) you will be paid an additional $10 per gig you perform. There is more costume information on the Costuming page (see the menu above). All costume pieces are subject to my approval.

Q: How Many Rehearsals Are You Going to Have, and When Are They?

The rehearsal schedule will be determined by early August. They will all be in Manhattan, most likely at Opera America or Ripley-Grier. Many rehearsals end up being on Saturday and Sunday afternoons because that seems to be a time many carolers are available to meet, but there are exceptions. Rehearsals will be between September 1st and mid-November.

Most professional singers need to attend two or three rehearsals to be adequately prepared on the music. You are not required to attend a specific number of rehearsals, but I do need to hear you sing in a quartet before the end of rehearsals to demonstrate that you are musically prepared and can hold your own part. You can arrive late or leave rehearsals early if you need to as well.

There will most likely be 3 or 4 New York rehearsals, as well as two or three Scaroling rehearsals, if you are interested in learning a set of even more challenging music and dressing up as a monster to do gigs in late October. 

Q: How Many Gigs Will You Offer Me?  

This depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to: 

• your availability 
• how musically prepared you are
• how quickly you update the Gig Sheet / indicate your availability

If you are ONLY available weekends that is fine, just be sure to let me know.

If you are generally NOT available either weekends or evenings in December it is probably not worth your time to learn the music, as I probably won't have many gigs for you. If you are not available ANY Saturdays in December, I will not be able to work with you. 

Q: What if I’m already singing with another Christmas caroling company?

I do not require or expect you to work with me exclusively! There are both advantages and challenges to working with multiple caroling companies. I would prefer if you decided to work with only TOR, but if you can keep the TOR Gig Sheet updated as to which TOR gigs you are available for, it will head-off most problems. 

If you work with another caroling company in an administrative or directing capacity, or if you have any other obligations that I feel constitute a conflict of interest for you, I may not be comfortable having you on the TOR roster. (Simply being on another caroling company's roster or doing gigs with another caroling company is not considered a conflict of interest. If you are not sure, please talk to me about it.)

Q: What requirements do you have for carolers?

Communication: I expect you to return emails ASAP, and definitely within 24 hours. If you cannot reply to emails in a timely fashion you may be dropped from my roster completely.  I may send texts about gigs, and I expect the same or faster response time for those. There is a private Facebook group for current carolers only, and I do post in there, primarily to let singers know when I have added some gigs to the Gig Sheet and sometimes when I need to fill a last-minute gig ASAP. Being a part of the Facebook group is not required, but you may find it very helpful; costume sales, music tips, jokes, and general caroling frustration and triumphs may also be posted in that group.

Technology: You need to have the ability to send and receive texts from your mobile phone, and you need to have a google account or gmail email address (this does not have to be your primary email address) and a device or computer which can easily access the Google Sheets where you will indicate which gigs you would like.

Adequate Music Preparation: Although you will be holding music, you should not be sight-reading when you perform. You should be familiar enough with your part to be reading the lyrics and just be using the music as a reference. Occasional slip-ups are not a big deal - I don't expect perfection, but I do expect about 95% note and rhythm accuracy. You will be expected to learn most of the music on your own, with the aid of the part recordings. Rehearsals are mostly for me to assess your progress; I don't pound notes at rehearsals. I rarely touch a piano in rehearsals because I expect you to have the music prepared in advance.

Please understand that the music is likely harder than music you may have sung with other caroling companies, and it will take more time to learn than just the time you spend in rehearsal. 

Q: Is there anything else I should know?

You have a couple options regarding the caroling book:

1) You may print and make your own book from a PDF I will provide. Caroling books should be made using a plain black 3-ring binder, with no colors or decorations on the outside. Sheet protectors are not required, and you may print two-sided pages if you want to save paper, although that makes it harder to update in future years.

2) You may read music from a tablet as long as it is in a folder that looks like a caroling book to people observing you sing. You can buy folders specifically made for this, or you can jury-rig a 3-ring binder. 

Regardless of the format, you agree not to use any of the music for any other purpose other than practice, rehearsal, and performances for The Other Reindeer Carolers without my express written permission. You also agree not to share the sheet music with anyone else without my written permission.

If you have other questions, please respond to the email I sent you, and I will be happy to answer them!

--Colleen Keene

The Other Reindeer Carolers does not have in-person auditions. You will need to send audio or video samples of your singing in order to be considered. Please complete the form below to get the process started!

What happens after I complete the form?

Here is a rough timeline of what happens & when:

(These are APPROXIMATE dates - ACTUAL dates & deadlines may vary)

By Jun 15th - You will be contacted with submission instructions

By August 1st - the rehearsal schedule is determined

By August 15th - You send me your recordings and resume

By August 20th - I accept you into the roster (or not)

By August 21st - You complete this year’s “Info-Gather” Form

By August 22nd - You indicate your availability for rehearsals

By August 25th - You sign the contract

By August 25th - You are sent the sheet music and audio files and you start practicing

By August 25th - You are given access to the Gig Sheet and you update it ASAP

Sept 1st - Nov 15th  - You attend three or four rehearsals as needed

By Nov 15th - You are musically and costume-approved to receive gig offers!

By Nov 15th - You send me a completed W9

By Nov 15th - You start getting Gig Offers!

Nov 10 thru Dec 24 - you update the Gig Sheet on a daily basis, and keep getting Gig Offers through the last week of December. 

By December 26th - collapse in exhaustion and relief, $500-1000 richer (actual total enrichment may vary)