Instrumental Ensembles
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Orchestras and Chamber Ensembles
Symphony Orchestra (MUSIC 3621):
Performs a broad repertory of orchestral works from Beethoven to the present.
Interim director: Chris Kim
Meets:
Visit the Orchestra website for more information.
Chamber Orchestra (MUSIC 4621):
Performs chamber orchestra works from the baroque period to the present.
Interim director: Chris Kim
Meets: Tuesday 4:45 – 6:15 and Thursday 4:45 – 6:45 in 301 Barnes Hall in Spring 2021
Visit the Chamber Orchestra website for more information.
Chamber Music Ensembles (MUSIC 4651):
Works from duos to octets, for pianists, string, and wind players.
Coordinator: Juliana Pepinsky, Miri Yampolsky
Times to be arranged
Cornell Baroque Orchestra (MUSIC 4651):
The CBO is one of the Cornell Music Department’s ensembles. This group of 8 to 12 musicians, playing on restored baroque instruments or modern copies, performs orchestral works and chamber music by Bach, Handel, Corelli, Vivaldi, Telemann, Lully, Rameau, Marais, Purcell, Biber, and others. Advised by Prof. Neal Zaslaw, the ensemble is led by Music Department’s graduate students with specialty in performance practice. Using instruments and playing techniques appropriate to the period, we explore ways in which one can creatively and critically engage with music written before ca. 1820. Baroque instruments and bows from Cornell’s instrument collection are freely available for interested students to borrow on a first-come-first-served, semesterly basis.
Advisor: Neal Zaslaw
Visit this page for audition information.
Cornell Consort of Viols (MUSIC 4651):
Ever been curious about the viola da gamba (also known as the viol)? Picture a hybrid between a cello and a guitar! Easy to learn and fun to play, we meet once a week to enjoy playing music from the 16th-18th centuries. Beginning instruction is available by request. No prior experience necessary. Ability to read music notation required. Contact Zoe Weiss (zw36@cornell.edu).
Advisor: Neal Zaslaw
Wind Ensembles
Visit the CU Winds website for more information.
Wind Symphony (MUSIC 3631):
The Wind Symphony unites student musicians in an ensemble dedicated to the study and performance of emerging and traditional wind repertoire.
Director: James Spinazzola
Meets: Monday/Wednesday 6:20 - 7:20 pm
The Performance of Chamber Wind Music: The Classical-Era Wind Octet with Double Bass (MUSIC 3701):
This coached chamber music course emphasizes rehearsal skills, leadership, and collaborative methods; familiarization with the repertory; musical analysis through performance; and developing a historically informed, musically unified, interpretation.
Director: James Spinazzola
Meets: Monday/Wednesday 7:30 - 8:45 pm
Chamber Flute Ensemble (MUSIC 4631):
Small ensembles meet weekly to explore diverse flute repertoire with a variety of instrumentation (piccolo, alto flute, bass flute). There will be a performance opportunity at the end of the semester.
Director: Juliana Pepinsky
Groups and times to be arranged
Jazz Ensembles
Click here for more information on the CU Jazz Ensembles website.
JAZZ ENSEMBLE (MUSIC 4615):
Performs classic and contemporary big band literature.
Director: Paul Merrill
Meets: Tuesday 4:40-6:40 pm in Lincoln B20 and Thursday 4:40-6:40 pm at Bailey Hall in Spring 2021
JAZZ COMBOS (MUSIC 4616):
Director: Paul Merrill
Groups and times to be arranged.
JAZZ REPERTORY ENSEMBLE (MUSIC 3615):
Performs classic big band literature.
Director: Paul Merrill
World Music, Percussion & Improvisation Ensembles
Deixa Sambar (Music 3609):
Deixa Sambar performs several styles of samba, Brazil’s national music. Members need not have prior background in music-making, but a good sense of rhythm is desirable. Members include students as well as Ithaca community members, brasileiros as well as newcomers to Brazilian culture. Rehearsals develop playing skills, with a deep emphasis on cultural understanding of this vital, community-based music.
Director: Steven Pond
Meets: Thursday 7:00 – 9:00 in Lincoln Hall B20, in Spring 2021
Gamelan Ensemble (MUSIC 3610):
There are no formal auditions for the Gamelan Ensemble. Preference is given to those who have prior experience, from having taken MUSIC 1341 Gamelan in Indonesian History and Cultures or otherwise, but newcomers with applicable musical ability are welcome. As gamelan uses a simple number-based form of notation, and is mostly learned by rote, the ability to read staff notation is not required. A good ear and sense of rhythm are helpful. For more information, please contact Christopher Miller or attend the first rehearsal.
Director: Christopher J. Miller
Meets: Monday 7:30 - 9:25 pm in B24 Lincoln Hall
Read more about the gamelan here.
Cornell Hip Hop Collective (MUSIC 3616):
This course is open to experienced rappers, beatmakers, and vocalists interested forging collaborative relationships with other students. The fall semester will center on hip-hop’s relationship to social justice. From the beginning of the semester, we will work together to plan and record a thematic album. As we develop this project, we will construct and analyze playlists that explore how hip-hop historically grew out of racialized struggle and how it is and could be used to comment on and challenge systemic racism today. We will identify and employ hip-hop compositional strategies for creating socially engaged beats and rhymes, including musical sampling and lyrical intertextuality, and will use these tools to create and workshop collaborative tracks in weekly meetings. Spring semester topic: TBD.
Director: Moustapha Fall
Meets: Monday/Wednesday 6:20 - 7:20 pm, Online
Music Improvisation Ensemble (Music 3660):
The Music Improvisation Ensemble provides students with the opportunity to explore the elements of music from an improviser’s perspective. Each session will focus on a different area of improvisation, including noise, graphic scores, conducted improvisation, free music, small and large group improvisation, and interdisciplinary collaboration with dance and film. This ensemble is open to any level of musician.
Director: Annie Lewandowski
Meets: Wednesday 7:30 – 9:25 pm in Lincoln Hall B20
Steel Band (MUSIC 3613):
There are no formal auditions for the Steel Band. Prior experience, while appreciated, is not required, and as we learn mostly by rote, the ability to read notation is not required. A good ear and sense of rhythm are helpful. For more information, please contact Christopher Miller or attend the first rehearsal.
Director: Christopher J. Miller
Meets: Wednesday 3:00 - 4:55 pm in 101 Bailey Hall
Cornell Percussion Ensemble (MUSIC 3634):
Performs in various combinations while exploring the breadth of the expanding percussion repertory.
Director: Mike Sparhuber
Meets: Monday 7:30 – 9:25 pm in Lincoln Hall B20
Pan-African Drum & Dance Ensemble (MUSIC 3612):
Ensemble open to all Cornell students, who may choose to focus on dancing or drumming as we learn repertoire from throughout West Africa
Director: Isac (Nana) Anim, Catherine Appert
Meets: Tuesday 7:00 – 9:00 pm in Lincoln Hall B20 in Spring 2021