After a hard day's legislating, State Duma deputies will now have the chance to unwind by exercising their vocal cords in a parliamentary choir.
The head of the Duma's professional union, Olga Grigoryeva, said Tuesday that auditions for the Duma choir would take place in October, welcoming both those with "perfect pitch and those who sing for friends at parties," Interfax reported.
Some 20 staff members of the lower house of parliament have already signed up for auditions, according to Grigoryeva, who added that none of the Duma's celebrities-turned-deputies were among them. Rehearsal times and location have yet to be decided, she said.
Deputies who moonlight as professional performers and who could potentially lend their dulcet tones to the new choir include 77-year-old crooner Josef Kobzon and flamboyant opera singer Maria Maxakova.
The Duma choir will also have the daunting task of competing with the vocal ensembles of other state organizations, including that of the Interior Ministry. The police choir's rendition last November of Daft Punk's smash hit "Get Lucky" endeared them to audiences around Russia and beyond, earning the group a slot in the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics in February.
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