Cantari Donne
Cantari Donne is a new ensemble, comprised of women who are selected through the annual choral audition process in the spring and fall of each year. The ensemble sings music for women's voices, appropriate to those women who have more advanced vocal and musical skills.

Ensemble Director: David P. DeVenney

Number of Members: 36

Audition Requirements: students must audition through choral audition process.

Number of concerts: 3 concerts a year

Samples of Past Repertoire: In 2003-2004 , the repertory included works by Seymore Barab, Francis Poulenc, Vincent Persichetti, Karl Korte and other important 20th -century composers.

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Chamber Choir & Collegium Musicum
These talented lordes and laydes are interested in music from the Medieval through the Early Baroque periods. While their specializations include voice, flute, clarinet, saxophone, piano, trumpet, and trombone, their musical appetites are flavored with instruments such as recorder, crumhorn, sacbut, cornetto, shawm, rackett, gamba, and assorted percussion. These unique sounds, along with the visual impact of all performers playing, singing, and dancing in period costume, contribute to a vibrant perspective of this music from the not too distant past. In May 1992, they were awarded first prize in a national contest sponsored by the Cultural Affairs Office of the Spanish Embassy in Washington, D.C. honoring music from the time of Columbus.

Important appearances include the WCU Bi-Annual Madrigal Feasts, Renaissance Faires, Italian madrigal play "FESTINO", "Music at the Court of King Henry the VIII", "A Musical Bestiary", and "Long Live Faire ORIANA". These ensembles have also been featured in performances at Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, Greystone Hall, Reading Museum, Chester County Day Previews, plus numerous local public schools.

Ensemble Director: Dr. David Sprenkle

Number of Members, Chamber Choir: 16-18

Number of Members, Collegium Musicum: 12-16

Audition Requirements, Chamber Choir: regular choral audition & follow-up call-back audition

Audition Requirements, Collegium Musicum: permission of instructor & ability to read music

Number of Concerts: 4-7 per year

Samples of Past Repertoire:
• Lirum bililirum Mantovano
• Lasciate mi moririe Monteverdi
• Ah, dolente partita Monteverdi
• La piaga Monteverdi
• All at once well met, faire layde Weelkes
• O Stay Sweet Love Farmer
• Hark, all ye lovely saints above Weelkes
• Beatus vir Monteverdi
• L’amor donna ch’io Anonymous 16th c
• Caro ortolano Mainerio
• La Lavendara
• La Parma
• La rocha el fuso Anonymous 16th c
• La cara cosa
• Pavan: El bison Mainerio
• Pastime with Good Company Henry the VIII
• English Country Dancing: Sellenger’s Round, The Indian Queen, Black Nag, Christchurch Bells, Upon a Summer’s Day, Gathering Peascods, Rufty Tufty

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Chamber Orchestra
This ensemble allows string players to focus exclusively on string problems. In rehearsals we deal with issues such as how to make stylistic changes in bowing vibrato, bow speed and pressure. We provide music on occasion for University functions, the holiday program and the annual Bach Program, in addition to our own complete program each semester.

Ensemble Director: Sylvia Ahramjian

Number of Members: 20

Audition Requirements: Play a solo for the conductor

Number of Concerts: 2 per ?

Samples of Past Repertoire:
• Dvorak Serenade for Strings
• Bach Brandenburg Concerto #4
• Mozart Serenade Nocturnno
• Vaugh Williams Fantasia on Greensleeves
• Elgar Serenade for Strings
• Vivaldi Four Seasons
• Bach Double Concerto
• Hummel Trumpet Concerto
• Corelli Concerto Grosso Op. 6#6
• Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings
• Vivaldi Concerto for two flutes
• William Boyce Concerto Grosso
• Haydn Cello Concerto in C

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Concert Band
The concert band is a campus wide organization meeting during the spring semester. It is open to any University student and provides an outlet for musical expression. Students practice twice a week and perform one concert at the end of the semester. In addition, the students are encouraged to rehearse as a section one hour a week. The ensemble performs modern, multicultural, and standard band literature. This ensemble is the only concert band open to any student regardless of ability level and averages students.

Ensemble Director: Dr. John Villella

Number of Members: 100

Audition Requirements: No audition is required for participation. Auditions are held for seating purposes only. Students are asked to play major scales and perform a prepared selection demonstrating ability in both lyrical and bravura playing styles. Sight-reading will be included as part of the audition for seating.

Number of Concerts: One concert in the spring semester

Samples of Past Repertoire:
• Second Suite in F Gustav Holst
• Peterloo Overture Arnold/Paynter
• To the Summit Robert Smith
• Come, Sweet Death J.S. Bach/arr. Reed
• Ponte Romano Jan Van der Roost
• Toward a Northern Star Gary Gilroy
• Rhosymedre Vaughn Williams
• When Time Will Be No More James Curnow
• Washington Grays Claudio S.Grafulla/ arr. Schissel

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Concert Choir
The West Chester University Concert Choir is a highly select, forty-five member ensemble chosen by competitive audition from among the 500 music majors enrolled in the School of Music. They strive to perform, in a historically sensitive manner, music of all styles and epochs from the past five centuries. The choir tours annually, and recent excursions have sent them to California, Florida, the Desert Southwest and Europe (London, Paris and Amsterdam) as well as concertizing in New York and Philadelphia. In the summer of 2004 they will tour Italy.

Ensemble Director: David P. DeVenney

Number of Members: 45

Audition Requirements: students must audition through choral audition process; non-music majors may audition , but it is very difficult for them to be accepted into the group.

Number of concerts: approximately 6 concerts a year, although often these are repeated on tour off-campus

Samples of Past Repertoire: Recent performance highlights include Bach's B Minor Mass with the Philadelphia Classical Orchestra; the Verdi Requiem and Vaughan William's A Sea Symphony with the Reading Choral Society and Orchestra; staged performances of contemporary choral dramas by Jacob Avshalomov and Hugo Distler; and new works commissioned from David Conte, Jennifer Higdon, Robert Maggio, and other noted composers.

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Criterions Jazz Ensemble
The Criterions Jazz Ensemble performs a variety of big band traditional and contemporary jazz literature. Besides concerts at West Chester University, the ensemble often plays at nearby high schools and participates in jazz festivals in the tri-state area. The organization is open to students of all curricula, and admission is through an audition held during the first week of the fall semester.

Double Reed Ensemble

Flute Ensemble
The WCU Flute Ensemble is a large group that is open to all flute majors with no audition, while the Night Winds Flute Ensemble is a smaller, precision ensemble that accepts members by audition only. Both groups rehearse weekly and perform several times a semester, including at the annual Flutefest. The Night Winds often perform off campus throughout the greater Philadelphia area. The two groups program works from the standard flute choir repertoire as well as pieces by contemporary composers. Students have the opportunity to play the piccolo, alto, and bass flute and gain experience working on tone quality, technique, ensemble blending, and intonation.

Golden Rams Marching Band
The West Chester University Marching Band is an organization comprised of 235 students. Recognized as one of the premiere marching bands in the country, the “Golden Rams” marching band has developed a tradition of combining quality music with contemporary drill to reflect the latest innovations in band performance.

This organization represents the University at local parades, band competitions, and football games. The band has also brought national recognition through its performances at Eagles’, Jets’, Giants’, Redskins’, and Steelers’ football games; World Series games; performances in the Macy’s and Boscov’s Thanksgiving Day Parades; and the Philadelphia “We the People Parade”.

The University receives many benefits from this organization. As well as a powerful recruiting and instructional tool, the band provides an educational setting for developing instructional skills essential to a music education curriculum. Students receive teaching experiences as instructors. Positive communication skills are encouraged and reinforced.

Program goals include:
• Encourage students from all curricula to join the organization in order to sustain and/or increase the quality of the band and color guard.
• Quality performances.
• Increase the organization’s visibility and recruiting power through off-campus performances.
• Student involvement to develop leadership skills.
• Increase educational offerings.
• Develop pre-teacher training programs for student instructors.
• Reinforcement of positive communication skills and excellent performance skills.

Ensemble Director: Dr. John Villella

Number of Members: 235

Audition Requirements: Membership is open to all interested students.
• Wind Musicians: Audition for parts during the pre-school band camp.
• Percussion: Percussion mini-camps are held on two different Sundays, one in June and one in July to introduce the techniques program and audition for sections. All percussion members are sent an audition packet prior to these mini-camps.
• Color Guard: The color guard holds two introductory mini-camps in July. The purpose of these one day workshops is to acquaint you with our program allow you an opportunity to see first hand what it takes to participate in our program. After these mini-camps you will know if you really want to be at part of the Golden Rams Marching Band.

Number of Concerts: The band performs for all home games, one or two away games, and four to five exhibitions each season. These exhibition appearances include the Cavalcade of Bands, Tournament of Bands, and USSBA marching band championships. In addition the band supports the community by participating in the Halloween and Holiday parades.

Rehearsals: The band rehearses every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 3:15 to 5:15 PM. A pre-school band camp is held the Tuesday - Saturday, before school begins. One credit is available for participation.

Samples of Past Repertoire: Each season the student leadership selects a theme or themes for the season. Past themes were: New York City Rhythms, Moulin Rouge, The Roman Empire, and Flight.

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Guitar Ensemble
The purpose of this organization is to perform music for one, two, three, four or more classical guitars from the Renaissance to the present day. This experience develops musicianship in a way that solo playing alone does not. Activities include an ensemble concert at the end of each semester in addition to other performances on and off campus.

Mastersingers
Mastersingers is a new mixed ensemble of approximately 50 voices, selected by competitive audition. This group may include Freshmen and Sophomore students. The group will prepare and perform select choral repertoire of diverse styles and cultures. The goal is to develop and polish vocal and musical skills required for performing contemporary choral art music in an expressive manner. Mastersingers will combine with Concert Choir biyearly to perform larger works with orchestra.

Ensemble Director: Jane Wyss

Number of Members: 50

Audition Requirements: open to all students, but must audition through choral audition process

Number of Concerts: 2 per semester.

Samples of past repertoire:
• Debussy Dieu! Qu’il la fait bon regarder!
• Whitacre Five Hebrew Love Songs
• Hogan My God Is So High
• Bach Cantata No. 4
• Britten Rejoice in the Lamb
• Quintana Hodie Christus Natus Est

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Men's Chorus
Men's Chorus is comprised of music majors and students from other academic disciplines, who sing a variety of literature for men's voices. In addition they combine twice yearly with the Women's Chorus to perform larger choral works. In the past those have included the Faure Requiem, Handel's Coronation Anthems, Honegger's King David and in 2003-2004, Haydn's Creation.

Ensemble Director: David P. DeVenney

Number of Members: 75

Audition Requirements: students may audition through choral audition process, or may enroll for the course without auditioning.

Number of concerts per year and/or semester: 3 concerts a year

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New Music Ensemble
The New Music Ensemble is a collection of student and faculty performers coordinated by the Music Theory and Composition department. Concerts feature a wide variety of acoustic and electronic chamber works (many of them world-premieres) by student and faculty composers as well as guest composers.

Ensemble Directors: Dr. Robert Maggio, Dr. Larry Nelson and Dr. Mark Rimple

Number of Members: Open to all undergraduate, graduate and faculty performers

Audition Requirements: interested performers should contact the ensemble directors.

Number of Concerts: 2-3 per year

Samples of Recent Repertoire: works by faculty members Robert Maggio, Larry Nelson, Mark Rimple, and Greg Wilder and students Genevieve Black, Chris Bryan, and Matthew Heim.

Percussion Ensemble
The Percussion Ensemble plays an important role in the education of its members by enhancing their skills and technical abilities in percussion performance. Members gain skills in ensemble playing, musicianship and musical knowledge. The Percussion Ensemble plays an important role in the promotion of West Chester University. Performances on campus and extensive touring off campus allow the group to convey the ideals and standards of the School of Music and to perform 40-45 concerts a year at elementary, middle and senior high schools. The ensemble performs various styles of music from classical, show tunes and pop/rock repertoire.

Statesmen Jazz Ensemble
Historically the number two jazz ensemble to the Criterions jazz ensemble, Statesmen Jazz Ensemble gives students a chance to perform in a large jazz ensemble, learn jazz repertoire and playing techniques.

Ensemble Director: Matt Gallagher

Number of Members: 19

Audition Requirements: Perform the melody of 3 pre-selected pieces in the jazz style. Improvisation on blues chord changes. Sight reading jazz repertoire.

Number of Concerts: One concert per semester and possible concerts off campus.

Samples of Past Repertoire: The band has played the repertoire of the Count Basie Orchestra, Stan Kenton Orchestra, Buddy Rich Band, Woody Herman Orchestra, Duke Ellington Orchestra, and many others.

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Symphonic Band
Membership into the Symphonic Band is open to any West Chester University student. An audition is required in October for participation in the Spring semester. The band rehearses two hours a week, meeting once a week in the fall term and twice a week in the spring term. Students are asked to conduct a sectional for one hour each week. Music selections are chosen from the standard band literature, transcriptions, and light concert repertoire.

Ensemble Director: Dr. John Villella

Number of Members: 70 to 80

Audition Requirements: No audition requirement in the fall term. Auditions for membership and seating take place mid- October for the Spring semester. Musicians are expected to play major scales and two contrasting solos or sections from a concerto. Grades are given based on participation, attendance, punctuality, and a midterm. The midterm grade includes excerpts from the current repertoire.

Number of Concerts: One concert in the Fall semester. Two concerts in the Spring semester, of which one is the annual pops concert.

Samples of Past Repertoire:
• American Elegy, Tichelli
• Heros, Lost and Fallen, Gillingham
• Abram’s Pursuit, Holsinger
• America, The Beautiful Ward/ Arr., Dragon
• Music for a Festival, Philip Sparke
• October, Eric Whitacre
• The Star of Dreams, Robert Smith
• Of Sailors and Whales, W. Francis McBeth
• Visions of Flight, Robert Sheldon
• Vesuvius, Tichelli

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Symphony Orchestra
As the flagship ensemble of the School of Music, the Symphony Orchestra presents five concerts each year and performs at University functions. Important concerts are presented out of campus, in such venues as The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. The ensemble, composed of 70 musicians, performs symphonic music from the 18th century to the present, including some of the pinnacles of the orchestral repertoire. Membership is open to any student from the University and exceptional musicians from the community by audition. Rehearsals take place twice weekly. Currently, the orchestra is preparing for an upcoming European tour.

Romanian born conductor Ovidiu Marinescu combines an efficient technique with great musical inspiration. He has conducted professional groups in Romania, Switzerland and the US, and has accumulated years of experience with student groups.

Ensemble Director: Ovidiu Marinescu

Number of Members: 70

Audition Requirements: Auditions for membership and seating take place early September for the fall semester, and late November for the spring semester. Musicians are expected to play a scale and two contrasting solos. Wind players are required to perform the scale with a variety of articulations. Grades are given based on participation, attendance, punctuality, and a midterm. The midterm auditions include excerpts from the current repertoire.

Number of Concerts: 5 concerts a year

Samples of Past Repertoire:
• Tchaikovsky – Symphony no. 5
• Respighi – The Pines of Rome
• Stravinsky – The Firebird Suite
• Enesco – Romanian Rhapsody no. 1
• Dvorak – Symphony no. 9, “From the New World”
• Brahms – Symphony no. 4
• Dukas – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
• Beethoven – Choral Fantasy
• Beethoven – Symphony no. 5
• Borodin – Polovtsian Dances

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Tuba Ensemble

Wind Ensemble
The WCU Wind Ensemble is composed of 45 of the finest wind and percussion players at WCU. As a premier ensemble, the group represents WCU at conventions and performs in high schools throughout the region. Many news works have been commissioned by the Ensemble in recent years. Member is open to all students and is by audition.

Ensemble Director: Kenneth Laudermilch

Number of Members: 45

Audition Requirements: audition for conductor; audition consists of a piece(s) demonstrating both lyrical and technical abilities

Number of Concerts: one concert / semester; occasional runouts during spring semester

Samples of Past Repertoire:
• Molly On The Shore And Shepherd’s Hey, Grainger
• Visions, Giovannini
• Jericho, Gould
• And The Mountains Are Rising, Schwantner
• Fanfare For Freedon, Gould
• Emblems, Copland
• Overture, Creston
• Symphonic Movement, Nelhybel
• Alleluia, Reed
• Fireworks, Youtz
• American Salute, Gould
• Second Symphony, Barnes
• Postlude In F, Ives
• La Procession Du Rocio, Turina

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Women’s Chorus
Women’s Chorus provides a specialized choral training to women music majors, and to provide a choral experience for all female students who enjoy singing. The choir sings a wide range of styles of music written for treble voices. In addition, they combine with the Men’s Chorus each semester to perform larger works for mixed Chorus.

Ensemble Director: Jane Wyss

Number of Members:100
Audition Requirements: students may enroll for the course without an audition.

Number of Concerts: 2 or 3 per semester.

Samples of past repertoire:
• Britten: Ceremony of Carols
• Mattias: O aula nobilis
• Lyondev: Erghen Diado
• Pinkham Christmas Cantata
• Faure Requem
• Handel Coronation Anthems
• Honegger King David
• Haydn Creation

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