Music Ensembles 2009-2010

UNIVERSITY CHORUS, Tianxu Zhou, Director

The University Chorus is open to all who enjoy singing and would like to improve their sight-reading and performance skills. The choir performs works from classical and contemporary repertoire. The performance opportunities include an end of the semester concert on campus and one in the surrounding community.

WIND ENSEMBLE, Tobias Monte, Director

The Wind Ensemble is open to the entire community, and although there is no entrance audition required, some previous ensemble experience should be considered a prerequisite to joining the group. Repertoire to be studied includes both traditional and contemporary works for symphonic/concert band, as well as chamber works for woodwinds and brass.

LARGE JAZZ ENSEMBLE, Rick Britto, Director

The Large Jazz Ensemble is open by audition to brass and woodwind players, guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, percussionists, drummers, and vocalists. The repertoire focuses on a wide range of jazz styles written by jazz giants of the twentieth century. The ensemble rehearses weekly, presenting several performances each year.

PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE, Jamie Eckert, Director

The UMD Percussion Ensemble plays a wide variety of music with a contemporary approach and is known for incorporating many world percussion instruments into their repertoire. The group performs and hosts a large concert every spring.

KEKELI AFRICAN DRUM & DANCE ENSEMBLE, royal hartigan, Director; Kwabena Boateng, Master Artist

The Kekeli Ensemble explores and shares the traditional music and dance of African peoples through workshops, classes, and concerts throughout the northeastern United States. This ensemble celebrates the fact that African music and culture are the foundation for much of the world's musical expression, including such diverse African Diaspora styles as the blues, gospel, jazz, ragtime, funk, and hip hop. Members of this ensemble participate in field trips to villages in Ghana, West Africa.

JAVANESE GAMELAN, I. M. Harjito, Director; royal hartigan, assistant

The gamelan orchestra of Java, Indonesia, is an ancient expression of Asian peoples dating to the 3rd century B.C. Epic legends such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata are the foundation of its musical narrative. The ensemble includes a multi-voiced texture of tuned gongs, drums, xylophones, flutes, strings, and song that can accompany dance, theater, or other rituals. The ensemble performs the music of this timeless tradition, bringing a unique sound and style to the University and the surrounding community.

SMALL VOCAL & INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLES

The small vocal and instrumental ensembles of the department are groups that are open by audition (held at the beginning of each semester) and focus on more specialized instruction and repertoire. The list includes:

• CHAMBER CHOIR, Tianxu Zhou, Director
  Open to vocal students interested in studying and performing a capella and accompanied choral literature from traditional, contemporary, and diverse cultural sources. Performs as a mixed vocal ensemble both on campus, and at various regional cultural and educational venues in the community.


• JAZZ VOCAL ENSEMBLE, John Harrison, Director
  Open to vocal students interested in learning the small jazz vocal ensemble literature.


• WORLD JAZZ VISION ENSEMBLE, Chris Poudrier, Director
  Open to students interested in performing an eclectic mix of compositions and arrangements ranging from Afro-Cuban and Brazilian to European ethnic.


• BEBOP/POST-BOP ENSEMBLES, Andy McWain, Director
  Open to students interested in performing the melodic/harmonic language of the modern improvised music associated with the bebop/post-bop tradition.


• SMALL JAZZ STANDARDS ENSEMBLE, John Harrison, Director
  Open to instrumental and vocal students interested in learning the standard jazz small instrumental literature.


• EL CARIBE STEEL BAND, Jamie Eckert, Director
  Open to students wanting to focus on the steel band music of Latin America and the Caribbean.


• LAPTOP ENSEMBLE, Jing Wang, Director
  Open to students interested in performing interactive avant-garde electronic improvisations using custom-designed instruments integrated with Max/MSP patches.


• OPERA Ensemble, Anton Belov, Director
  Open to vocal students who prepare staged scenes and arias from the standard operatic repertoire, and who are also introduced to fundamentals of acting, stage movement, and audition techniques.


• INSTRUMENTAL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE, Staff, Director
  Open to instrumental students interested in performing chamber music based in the European tradition.