Ensembles

Students who participated in high school band programs enjoy participating in the University Band, which provides an opportunity for musical performance, as well as making new friends. Students come from a wide variety of academic programs, as well as a number of music majors, and many play throughout their time at VCU.

No audition is required to participate. The University Band meets for 50-minute rehearsals three times per week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 3:00 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. and typically performs once each semester. Contact Duane Coston for more information.

The Symphonic Wind Ensemble has earned a reputation for performance excellence. Under the leadership of Terry Austin, they have been invited to perform at the American Bandmasters Association Convention, the MENC Southern Division Conference and the College Band Directors National Association Southern Division Conference, as well as numerous appearances at the Virginia Music Educators State Conference. The ensemble has performed at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. The VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble, with clinician Ed Lisk, was also the featured ensemble in the instructional video “The Creative Director: Alternative Rehearsal Techniques,” published by Meredith Music.

Former VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble members can be found teaching across the country, from elementary school to the university level, and performing in U.S. military bands in Washington, D.C. and around the world.

Membership in the VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble is determined by auditions that are open to all qualified students. These auditions take place the first week of each semester and are heard by the conductors and the appropriate applied music faculty.

The VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble meets for 80-minute rehearsals three times per week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 12:00 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. and typically performs twice each semester. Remember to keep your schedule as open as possible to accommodate the ensemble you are assigned to play in. Students may not request to be in a specific ensemble.

Auditions

Are you a current VCU Student and an instrumentalist wishing to play in the VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble? Please visit the Ensembles Auditions page or please contact Duane Coston, by email costonpd@vcu.edu with the subject “Audition Information Request.”

Want to participate in the SWE Concerto Competition? Fill out this form and send it to Duane Coston at costonpd@vcu.edu with the subject “Concerto Competition Application.”

The Symphony performs a wide variety of repertoire, with a focus on full-scale orchestral works such as Tchaïkovsky’s Fifth Symphony and Dvořák’s “New World Symphony.” It regularly programs pieces by living composers, such as “Umoja” by Valerie Coleman and “Paradise Valley” by Jeff Scott. The orchestra offers two concerts per semester. Each spring, the orchestra is back in the pit for its collaboration with VCU Opera.

Recent performances include presentations at the Virginia Music Educators Association conference and the Virginia Music Teacher’s Association conference; a collaborative performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Something Wonderful” with VCUarts Theatre; providing orchestral accompaniment for VCU Opera’s award-winning full-staged productions of “Hansel and Gretel,” “The Old Maid and the Thief,” “The Gondoliers,” and “The Marriage of Figaro.”

Meeting days & times

The VCU Symphony meets MWF from 1:30pm to 2:50pm. Rehearsals and performances take place in the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall of the Singleton Center.

Audition

Please visit the Ensembles Auditions page for details.

For more information, contact the director: Daniel Myssyk.

Jazz ensembles and orchestras have received recognition and top honors for their performances and recordings. Ranging from small jazz combos to big band, the jazz ensembles incorporate a variety of styles and works.

Auditions

Are you a current VCU student interested in auditioning for one of the jazz ensembles? Please visit the Ensembles Auditions page for details.

Jazz Orchestra I

The VCU Jazz Orchestra I is a big band whose auditioned membership draws most heavily from Jazz and other Music majors though can include non-Music majors as well.

In 2006 the VCU Jazz Orchestra I became the first university/college jazz band from Virginia ever to perform at The Midwest Clinic, the largest international band and orchestra conference, adding to previous appearances at The Smithsonian, IAJE, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and many other venues, also meriting repeated Superior ratings at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival over the years. The ensemble is well-represented on the VCU Jazz Program’s recordings include “The Tattooed Bride” (1982), “Things to Come” (1983), “Mood Indigo” (1992), and “The World on a String” (1997), “It Could Happen to You” (2002), “A Joyful Noise” (2008), and “Front Burner” (2012).

The ensemble regularly performs with guests artists, in recent years including Wycliffe Gordon, Bob Mintzer, Dave Douglas, alumnus Steve Wilson, John Abercrombie, Ingrid Jensen, Bob McChesney, Boris Kozlov, John Riley, Dick Oatts, Claire Daly, alumnus Alvester Garnett, and Allen Farnham.

The ensemble rehearses Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:40-5:30 p.m., plus a TBA sectional one hour a week.

Jazz Orchestra II

The VCU Jazz Orchestra II is a big band whose auditioned membership frequently includes students from across the Music Department and beyond. The band has performed outreach concerts throughout the greater Richmond area and has appeared with a number of acclaimed jazz musicians, including VCU alumni.

Consistent with VCU Jazz’s mission statement, the ensemble performs a body of work that spans from past jazz masters to current student compositions and arrangements, covering a wide range of styles that will prepare students for their future careers. The JO II occasionally features guest artists, most recently percussionist John Santos, vocalist Rei Alvarez, and VCU Jazz Drum Set Prof. Tony Martucci.

The ensemble rehearses Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:40-6:30 p.m., plus a TBA sectional one hour a week.

The Mary Morton Parsons Jazz Masters are a group of jazz musicians who are adjunct faculty in the Jazz Studies program at VCU. As the Jazz Masters they provide jazz instruction and appreciation for elementary, middle and high school students throughout Richmond and beyond.

The mission of the Jazz Masters is to acquaint children with jazz. They present solo and group sessions as requested by schools: workshops, concerts, master classes and one-on-one instruction. These activities are funded by a permanent endowment that was donated by patrons of jazz through a challenge grant from the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation.

If you are interested in bringing the VCU Jazz Masters to your community, contact J.C. Kuhl.

The VCU Guitar Ensemble has been a part of the Richmond music scene since 1982. Consisting of 15 to 20 music majors, this unique ensemble’s repertoire ranges from Bach to the Beatles, from Renaissance to contemporary music. In addition, this group frequently premieres new compositions by VCU student composers, as well as commissioned works by established arrangers and composers. The ensemble has been featured on several National Public Radio stations and on local television arts segments.

The VCU Community Guitar Ensemble is open to classical guitarists in the Richmond community, including alumni and high school students. Established in 1986 by John Patykula, this ensemble has performed as part of the Richmond International Music Festival and Richmond’s Big Gig summer festival. It is the resident ensemble for VCU’s Guitar and Other Strings Series. The VCU Community Guitar Ensemble has been featured on local television and on WCVE-FM’s “An Hour with the Guitar.”

This Fall (2024) all choral ensembles will combine forces with our VCU Symphony to perform Mozart’s Requiem.

VCU’s vocal ensembles have gained recognition for their dynamic performances, creative programming, and high level of excellence. Performances take place on the VCU campus, throughout the Richmond region, and beyond.

Are you a current VCU Student wishing to audition for a vocal ensemble? Please visit the Ensembles Auditions page for details.

Please contact Dr. Chris Hansen, Director of Choral Activities, with any questions: hansenc3@vcu.edu.

Explore more information about our vocal groups below.

The VCU Commonwealth Singers (APPM 358) is a select choir of mixed voices chosen from throughout the university and known for its sensitive and dynamic performances of masterworks and a diverse spectrum of standard and non-traditional choral repertoire.

Commonwealth Singers meets Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12:00-1:15 pm.

Previous performance highlights:

• November 2022: Compass Points: New Directions; Fall Choral Concert
• February 2020: Gender Identity in Choral Music Symposium Concert
• September 2019: Performances of Carmina Burana with the Richmond Ballet, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and Richmond Symphony Chorus.
• November 2018: Performance with the Richmond Symphony and soprano Arianna Zukerma
• October 2018: World premiere performance of Anders Mikalson and Caroline Shaw’s Score for the Big Bang.
• April 2018: Performance of the world premiere of Open Minds, Closer Thoughts by VCU faculty member Antonio Garcia. With text from Writing Our Way Out, Memoirs from Jail, by David Coogan and several co-authors, the students explored themes of social justice in this unique project.
• February 2018: Participation in a celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and Chorus as well as collegiate choral ensembles from around the Commonwealth. Students performed Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and Undine Smith Moore’s Scenes from Life of a Martyr. Several students had solo or small ensemble features as well, and some met Senator Tim Kaine afterwards.
• November 2017: Performances with the Richmond Ballet and Richmond Symphony as the featured chorus in Vivaldi’s Gloria, set to ballet by Dennis Spaight. Additionally, four members of the VCU Commonwealth Singers performed solos.
• February 2017: Performance in Carnegie Hall as part of Distinguished Concerts International New York. Conducted by VCU’s Director of Choral Activities, Erin Freeman, Commonwealth Singers joined a professional orchestra and choruses from Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Wales for a performance of Poulenc’s Gloria
• September 2015: Commonwealth Singers joined the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and Chorus to perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the opening ceremony of the World Cycling Championships – for a crowd of 10,000!
• May 2013: Commonwealth Singers toured internationally to Montreal, Canada for a performance with the acclaimed professional chamber orchestra Ensemble Appassionata at the Salle Pierre Mercure performance hall. Tour performances included: Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, Princeton High School in New Jersey, Rhinebeck Reformed Church and Taconic Hills High School in New York state.
• March 2013: Commonwealth Singers premiered A U.S. Civil War Musical Retrospective by Allen Wittig for choir, orchestra and narrator, as a part of the “VCU Year of Freedom,” remembering 150 years of Civil War And Emancipation History.
• February 2012: VCU Commonwealth Singers were selected to perform at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Southern Division Conference in Winston Salem, N.C.
• Summer 2008: As hosts for “A Mid-Atlantic Choral Tribute to the Olympics,” the group performed in Beijing with the Beijing Film Philharmonic Orchestra in the Forbidden City Concert Hall, in the Oriental Art Center in Shanghai, and in an exchange concert at Fudan University, one of VCU’s 16 partner institutions around the world.

Vox Concordia (APPM 378) is a select treble ensemble that performs in numerous concerts on- and off-campus each semester, studying and performing a wide range of musical genres for soprano and alto voice. Vox Concordia is open to all students who sing soprano or alto, regardless of gender identity. Students should have previous choral experience and will be required to audition.

Vox Concordia meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00-3:25 pm.

Previous performance highlights:

• November 2022: Compass Points: New Directions; Fall Choral Concert
• February 2020: Gender Identity in Choral Music Symposium Concert
• November 2019: Featured performance at opening night of Lewis Ginter GardenFest of Lights
• February 2019: World premiere performance of Ave Maria by Raphael Fusco.
• April 2018: Participation in Open Minds concert with VCU Commonwealth Singers
• April 2018: Collaborative concert with the RVA Street Singers, a chorus for those affected by homelessness
• March 2018: Featured performance at Richmond Forum, with special guest speaker Samantha Powers
• February 2018: Performance at VCU’s Jazz for Justice event, a benefit concert to support local access to justice efforts and the development of future jazz artists.
• November 2017: Performance with the Richmond Symphony at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
• November 2016: Featured performance at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens
• March 2016: Choral exchange with Longwood University women’s chorus
• November 2015: Collaborative performance of Vivaldi Gloria and Debussy Nocturnes with the VCU Symphony Orchestra
• April 2015: Performance at historic Bruton Parish church in Williamsburg
• December 2014: Collaborative performance of The Planets by Holst with the VCU Symphony Orchestra
• Fall 2011: Performance at Northern Virginia Community College
• Spring 2010: World premiere of Some New Threads for Eleanor & Jude by Doug Richards, with the VCU Symphony Orchestra and faculty jazz trio

Choral Arts Society (APPM 359) is a large mixed-voice ensemble bringing the joy of singing to the VCU community & beyond.

This ensemble prepares and performs a variety of choral literature, including music from multiple world cultures, large traditional choral works, and selections from the rich tradition of classical music and musical theater. In addition to presenting an end-of-semester formal concert, the chorus often performs the National Anthem for VCU sporting events and can be heard in pop-up concerts throughout VCU and the Richmond region.

There is no audition for Choral Arts Society.

Choral Arts Society meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:30-2:50 pm.

If you have any questions about Choral Arts Society, please contact Dr. Chris Hansen, Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education and Director of Choral Activities.

Past performance highlights:

• November, 2022: Compass Points: New Directions; Fall Choral Concert
• December 2, 2019: Performance with the Richmond Symphony at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.
• April 2019: Final concert, featuring greatest hits of the choral repertoire, including the opening of Carmina Burana and selections from Mozart Requiem.
• April 2018: Pop-up concert in the VCU Compass
• December 2017: Participation in the Annual Holiday Gala, raising funds to support The Doorways
• October 2017: Improvisation workshop with Carole Ott from UNC-Greensboro
• October 2017: Performance of the National Anthem at the VCU Men’s Soccer Game
• November 2016: Featured performance with the Richmond Symphony at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
• April 2016: Performance with the VCU Wind Ensemble of the Queen Symphony
• December 2014: Collaboration with VCU Theater on a semi-staged performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide.