Ensembles

Concert Band

We often feature student conductors and soloists, especially departing seniors. New members are always welcome and may join at any time.

Membership is open to everyone, including students and community members. In fact, almost half of our band is made of up non-students and alumni from the New London area. At the beginning of the fall semester each year, very informal seating auditions take place for incoming freshmen, but new members often join mid-semester as well.

For more information, please contact Gary Buttery, director.

Connecticut College Orchestra

Performing at least two major concerts a season, the orchestra's repertoire encompasses major works from the Baroque through the Twentieth Century. Recent concerts featured works by Mozart, Beethoven, Bartok, Ravel and Faure.

In addition, resident faculty soloists are regularly invited to rehearse and perform with the orchestra, and all orchestral students, music majors and non-majors alike, have the opportunity to study privately with these renowned faculty members every semester, free of charge.

Informal auditions are held at the beginning of each semester for incoming students and community musicians, but can also be arranged later in the semester. For more information, please contact Mark Seto, director.

Jazz Ensemble

The jazz ensemble meets 4-6 p.m. on Monday and Wednesdays throughout the academic year.

Auditions are held at the beginning of the school year. Requirements for ensemble participation include a prepared solo, pre-selected excerpts, sight reading, good music reading skills, some improvisatory skills, a desire to play some good jazz and a commitment to the rehearsal and performance schedule.

The ensemble's repertoire includes full "big band" charts from the earliest era of swing (Count Basie, Mary Lou Williams, Duke Ellington) through the contemporary bands, the likes of the Mingus Big Band, Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band, Paquito d'Rivera, and special arrangements of works by Pat Metheny, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and others for extended ensemble.

For more information, contact Gary Buttery, director.

Chamber Choir

The chamber choir, a mixed chorus of 35-40 students, includes non-majors along with private voice students and voice majors. The chamber choir presents two major concerts annually and also sings for Christmas Vespers and "Make We Joy," the College's version of Revels.

The choir sings a variety of music in different languages and from various historical periods. In a recent semester, we presented a program of love songs (Renaissance works, Brahms Liebeslieder waltzes, Lauridsen's Chansons des Roses and a Cole Porter song), while another featured all twentieth-century works by Vaughan Williams, Stravinsky, Barber, Thompson and Mulholland.

The chamber choir rehearses on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 4:00 to 5:15. Auditions are held at the beginning of each semester. We encourage not only experienced singers, but also students who may have played instruments in the past and want to experience the joy of choral singing.

For more information, please contact Paul Althouse, director.

Percussion and New Music Ensemble

The percussion ensemble is designed for students of varying levels of percussion ability. The group prepares music for a concert at the end of the year. The concert is usually made up of music that is composed, improvised and "world music." There is a chance for beginners to actively participate. Private lessons are encouraged for greater ability as a percussionist. Other instrumentalists are also encouraged to join the class.

The Connecticut College new music ensemble prepares works by modern composers for performance with a varied ensemble. Recent performances have included "Rainsticks" by Arthur Kreiger, "Coming Together" by Frederick Rzewski and "In C" by Terry Riley.

For more information, please contact Peter Jarvis, director.

Chamber Music

Chamber music groups are organized each semester according to student interest and teacher availability. These include string quartets, string trios, woodwind quintets, guitar ensemble and flute ensemble.

Musical Theater

A musical theater ensemble is offered every spring semester leading to the production of a musical by the theater and music departments.