Instrumental Studies

In Concert The Instrumental Department offers the following degree options:

Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies
Bachelor of Music in Performance
Master of Music in Instrumental (Band or Orchestra) Conducting
Master of Music in Performance
Master of Music in Multiple Woodwind Performance
Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance
Doctor of Musical Arts in Instrumental
(Band or Orchestra) Conducting

The Instrumental Department at UNCG features seven large ensembles including three bands, the University Symphony Orchestra, and two Jazz Ensembles in our Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program. However, it doesn’t end here. UNCG instrumental ensembles regularly appear at national/international music conventions throughout the region and in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

In addition to these opportunities, UNCG students have appeared throughout the United States and in numerous countries including Australia, Canada and Italy. The Gate City Camerata string ensemble and the Contemporary Chamber Players are available for our most advanced students to perform alongside UNCG faculty. Students at UNCG also have ample opportunity to participate in artist/teacher-coached chamber ensembles.

PERFORMANCE GROUP HOTLINKS:

Miles Davis Jazz Program and Jazz Ensembles
Bands
Strings/Orchestra
Other Instrumental Ensembles
Studio Ensembles

Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro's Miles Davis Program in Jazz Studies offers the student a variety of opportunities to perform and study jazz. Two large jazz ensembles and several small jazz combos and supportive courses in jazz theory, jazz improvisation (2), jazz arranging and composition (2), jazz history, and jazz pedagogy provide ample room for growth and lead to the Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies. Recent clinicians include bassist Christian McBride; pianists Mark Levine, Dan Haerle, Harry Pickens, Marcus Roberts and Mulgrew Miller; saxophonists Mike Smith, Joe Henson, Dick Oatts and Kenny Garrett; trumpet players Rob Smith and Byron Stripling, trombonist Ed Neumeister and Fred Wesley, and an Afro Cuban clinic with Jane Bunnett and the Spirits of Havana.

Jazz Ensembles

Jazz Ensemble

Performing traditional and contemporary music for big band, the school's two jazz ensembles each number 18 to 20 players. Improvisational and ensemble skills are developed, and student arrangements and compositions are encouraged. Steve Haines directs the UNCG Jazz Ensemble and Rob Smith directs the Jazz Band. Improvisational and ensemble skills are developed and student arrangements are encouraged. The UNCG Jazz Band performs frequently on and off campus.

The UNCG Jazz Ensemble is the flagship of the Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program. It was founded in 1967 and has been featured in concerts throughout the United States, on radio and television. The ensemble is comprised of jazz studies majors and undergraduate and graduate students who are making jazz a major part of their musical training. The ensemble performs UNCG student arrangements and compositions, as well as published charts. Musicians who have performed with the UNCG Jazz Ensemble include Clark Terry, Marian McPartland, Chris Murrell, Eddie Daniels, Joe Henson, Marvin Stamm, Billy Taylor, Dick Oatts and Ed Neumeister. The ensemble performed at the Count Basie Jazz Festival in Carnegie Hall in 1991, marking the first time a university music ensemble from North Carolina performed in Carnegie Hall. The jazz ensemble's now sold-out compact disc, One Finger Snap, received a recent five -star musical review. Last spring, the UNCG Ensemble recorded its fourth compact disc, Stronger than Dirt. In April 2003, the Jazz Ensemble performed for the American Hospitals Association and at the Kennedy Center.

Jazz Combos

Several small jazz combos perform jazz standards, fusion and original compositions with a heavy emphasis on improvisation. Each group performs on campus and in clubs locally and statewide. Membership is by audition.

Bands

The UNCG Band Department is comprised of three performing ensembles, the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and University Band. All three bands provide the highest quality musical experiences for students at UNCG. The Band Department also hosts the annual Carolina Band Festival and Conductors Conference, as well as the UNCG Summer Music Camp – the largest summer music camp in America. Performing in a band at UNCG provides both challenging musical opportunities and experiences relevant to those planning on teaching careers in music.

Wind Ensemble

Conducted by Dr. John R. Locke, the Wind Ensemble is a band of 60 highly qualified graduate and undergraduate students that performs a varied repertoire of original and transcribed literature for winds. Members of the Wind Ensemble also perform concerts of chamber winds repertoire each semester. The Wind Ensemble has performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and Lincoln Center in New York City, as well as at national and regional conventions of the College Band Directors National Association and the American Bandmasters Association. The Wind Ensemble is very active in the commissioning and performing of new works, and it most recently performed a concert for the Society of Composers, Inc. National Convention. The UNCG Wind Ensemble has also recorded 13 commercially available compact discs.

Symphonic Band

Conducted by Dr. Kevin M. Geraldi, the Symphonic Band is a select ensemble of approximately 75 music majors, chosen by audition. The Symphonic Band provides a challenging musical environment for skilled performers by performing repertoire that ranges from works for chamber winds, to standards of the band literature, to brand-new works for the medium.

University Band

The University Band is a 90-member ensemble comprised of music majors on primary and secondary instruments as well as UNCG students not majoring in music. Non-music students are placed in University Band without audition. The band provides an educational experience and serves as a musical outlet for students who wish to remain musically active in a less intense setting.

Strings/Orchestra

The UNCG Orchestral program offers students the opportunity to perform repertoire for all types of string ensemble ranging from chamber orchestra to the largest works for full orchestra. Dr. Kevin Geraldi serves as director of orchestral activities and conductor of the University Symphony Orchestra.

Symphony Orchestra

The Symphony Orchestra at UNCG is a select ensemble of outstanding string, wind and percussion performers and is available to all students by audition. In addition to the performances of standard orchestral literature, the Symphony Orchestra combines with the School of Music Opera Program and the UNCG Theatre Department to produce a fully staged opera production each spring semester. String performers who are not majoring in music are especially encouraged to participate. Kevin Geraldi is the conductor.

Gate City Camerata

The Gate City Camerata provides the unique opportunity for UNCG graduate and undergraduate string majors to collaborate with the School of Music string faculty. Membership in this professional-level faculty/student string ensemble is by audition. The Gate City Camerata is composed of approximately 17 players and performs without a conductor. The ensemble performs regularly on and off campus. Scott Rawls serves as artistic director for the ensemble.

Other Instrumental Ensembles

Chamber Ensembles

In addition to our large ensembles, students regularly participate in smaller, faculty-coached instrumental chamber groups. Students explore repertoire for standard ensembles, such as brass and woodwind quintet and string quartet and also assorted combinations, as required by their chosen repertoire.

Contemporary Chamber Players

The UNCG Contemporary Century Chamber Players specializes in contemporary literature for both instrumental and vocal chamber forces. Advanced students and faculty often perform side-by-side in concerts that cover a broad gamut of styles and traditionally feature at least one work by a North Carolina composer. The Players, who have appeared in such venues as Raleigh's North Carolina Museum of Art, have received several grants and have welcomed such distinguished composers as Thea Musgrave, Emma Lou Diemer, George Rochberg, Robert Ward and Michael Colgrass to campus. During the 1990s, the players performed by invitation at the world conference of the International Society for Music Education.

Studio Ensembles

Brass Ensemble

Horn Ensemble

The University Horn Ensemble appears annually at the respected Southeastern Horn Workshop and has performed by invitation at the International Horn Workshop. The group’s popularity is evidenced by frequent requests to perform locally at special events and festivals.

Percussion Ensemble

The University Percussion Ensemble specializes in 20th-century, often commissioned, repertoire including ragtime. It performs on the most extensive collection of college/university-owned percussion equipment in the state and has released its first compact disc recording, Sketches.

Trombone Ensemble

The University Trombone Ensemble tours regularly and has twice performed by invitation at the prestigious Eastern Trombone Workshop.

Trumpet Ensemble

TubaBand

The University TubaBand, comprised of tubas and euphoniums, has recently performed by invitation at T.U.B.A. conferences in Australia and Italy, and annually participates in Octubafest and TubaChristmas.