Music

Choirs

The College Choir is the oldest of Allegheny’s choral ensembles and the root of our modern choral and vocal program.  This group of 35-45 singers tackles challenging choral music that includes recent compositions and historic works spanning five centuries. Recording

Soprano-Alto Chorale is a stand-alone singing group for Allegheny students – there are no co-requisites. Recording

Tenor-Bass Chorus is a smaller group of tenor and bass voices – usually 12-18 singers.  Members must also participate concurrently in either College & Community Chorus OR College Choir. Recording

The most select of the College’s choral ensembles, Chamber Choir welcomes serious singers who possess agile voices and moderate to advanced music-reading skill.  Concurrent membership in College Choir is required.

Instrumental Ensembles

The Jazz Ensemble is a performing ensemble including saxophones, trumpets, trombones, tubas, piano, percussion, guitar, bass, and a vocalist. Interested students will be granted membership into the ensemble according to instrumentation needs and audition results. Recording

Civic Orchestra  is a symphonic orchestra of approximately 50-60 students, faculty, staff, and community members. Membership is open by audition and the symphony is active all year. Recording

Symphonic Band is a symphonic band of approximately 100 musicians. Membership is open by audition to all Allegheny students, regardless of academic major, and the group is active all year.

Gamelan is a traditional pitched percussion ensemble from Indonesia, particularly the islands of Java and Bali. This ensemble plays a style of gamelan from Central Java, also known as karawitan. Gamelan ensemble is open to both students and members of the community and no prior experience necessary.

In addition to performing in ensembles, students also have the opportunity to give recitals and perform in a weekly seminar as a part of instrumental or vocal lessons.

Performance Seminar

When students are enrolled in lessons at the 300 or 400 level, they are required to attend a weekly seminar where they play before their peers and receive feedback from instructors. This gives students an opportunity to perform solo repertoire in a low-pressure environment.

Student Recitals

With permission of the applied lesson instructor and area coordinator, students have the option to give a recital as an individual or in partner with another student. Student recitals count as credit,  but are not a requirement of the minor.

Lessons are available at a variety of levels and may be repeated for credit. Individual instruction is available for students at the beginning through intermediate and advanced levels. Expectations of daily practice and improvement are established by each applied instructor.

With one-on-one faculty supervision, students can explore areas not offered in the standard curriculum.  Examples of recent independent studies include:

• Conducting
• Acoustic Analysis of Vocal Tract Resonance
• Piano Literature from Classical and Romantic Periods
• The History of Music Theory

Allegheny welcomes musicians every year to campus. Past visitors have included:

• Alexander String Quartet (pictured)
• U.S. Marine Band, “The President’s Own”
• Boston Brass, brass quintet
• U.S. Navy Band
• Johan de Meij, composer
• Demetrius Spaneas, saxophonist
• Anthony Plog, composer
• Yuval Ron Ensemble

Annually, the department schedules trips to hear visiting artists and performing groups in the nearby cities of Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Erie, and Buffalo.

• Morten J. Luvaas Prize to choral music student
• Ethyl Moore Miller Prize to a junior or senior who shows exceptional progress and ability in musical studies and performance
• Edith Mead Osborne Prize to the individual who shows marked musical ability, talent, or direction in voice, piano, or organ
• The Frederick and Lucille Marantz Memorial Prize, awarded to outstanding piano students
• The Robert and Bronwell Bond Award awarded to an exceptional talented Allegheny student who will benefit from a rich musical experience away from the campus
• Ann H. and Daniel F. Sullivan Award for Outstanding Musicianship

No audition is required to declare a minor in music. However, the successful completion of juried lessons in your principal performing medium (instrument or voice) is necessary in order to fulfill the requirements of the minor course of study.

Yes, all music departments ensembles are open to all Allegheny students by audition, regardless of their major or class standing. in fact, the overwhelming majority of the students enrolled are from other majors.

Any student is eligible to take one-on-one lessons/ Individual instruction for academic credit is offered in:

• Voice
• Piano
• Organ
• Guitar
• All traditional orchestral and band instruments

Instruction on instruments such as banjo, harmonica, and bagpipes is also available.

Yes, the College has an extensive inventory of large instruments available for loan to ensemble members on a case-by-case basis. Storage space for these instruments is provided, and lockers for individually owned smaller instruments are also available to ensemble participants.

Anyone who is registered for a music course (including lessons and ensembles) is granted key card access to the practice facilities.