Got Music?
By Sarah Hasselquist
Posted Nov. 7, 2006
Even though classes can be tough, and rehearsing, practicing, and attending lessons take up a lot of time, some students would rather participate in ensembles than leave music out of their schedules.
UMD Pep Band President and French horn player Jacob Gauer is a biochemistry major and decided this fall semester to also major in music.
“Before this year, I was in band mainly as a stress reliever from the intensity of my other classes,� Gauer said.
Assistant Director of Bands at UMD Daniel Eaton said that many students in the UMD Pep Band and Concert Band are non-music students who play for the fun of it.
“It’s a completely different school of thought in band as opposed to math class or physics,� said Eaton.
“They just want to continue to be involved, yet they want to be an engineer, or they want to be a biology or a chemistry major,� he added.
Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at UMD Stanley Wold said that music, particularly singing, can also make a person healthier.
“I think that the act of singing releases into the blood stream a chemical that actually helps the healthiness of an individual. Just the act of singing,� Wold said.
The vocal groups that UMD offers for students to audition for and participate in include:
• Concert Chorale
• University Singers
• Chamber Singers
• Vocal Jazz: Chill Factor
• Vocal Jazz: Lake Effect
• Opera Studio
• Opera Studio: Graduate Level
University Singers is made up of about 55 students, of which between 16 and 19 students sing together as the Chamber Singers Ensemble. The University Singers group rehearses more often than Concert Chorale and perform off-campus on tours while Concert Chorale does not. Concert Chorale is a larger and less selective group with students ranging from freshman to seniors.
Similarly, Lake Effect is a more selective vocal group than Chill Factor. Add to that the option of Opera Studio, which studies musical theatre as well, and there is something for everyone in the vocal music scene.
“You can join something here and sing vocal jazz and - clear on the other end - you can be involved in opera,� Wold said. “Of course, we don’t cover the complete waterfront, but we’re getting close,� he added with a laugh.
As in vocal music, instrumental music has two larger groups. Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Concert Band are classical music groups, but Symphonic is more selective than Concert. This means it requires a better audition, more rehearsal time, and a commitment to touring, whereas Concert Band does not require that much commitment.
Similarly, Jazz I and Jazz Combo I are both more selective than Jazz II and Jazz Combos II-IV, respectively.
Chamber Orchestra is composed of string instruments only, and Symphony Orchestra is composed of the full orchestral score.
Additionally, there are many smaller ensembles students can be a part of:
• Percussion Ensemble
• Trumpet Ensemble
• Tuba Ensemble
• Classical Guitar
• Guitar Ensembles I &II
• String Quartet
• Brass Quintet
• Woodwind Quartet
• Piano Trio
All of the groups listed above require commitment o the band except for one: Pep Band.
Eaton said that when he first started at UMD seven years ago, the Pep Band only had 24 members. At its first rehearsal this fall, 140 people showed up.
“The Pep Band is almost 1% of the student population,� said Eaton. “We’re going to take over the world, man.�
The best time to get into music groups is at the beginning of fall semester, but there are chances to get involved at the beginning of spring semester, too. For the more selective groups, incoming musicians might get a spot if one opened up, but the other groups should be able to accommodate those who audition well.
The exception is, again, the Pep Band.
“You can come in any time,� said Eaton. “It’s never too late for someone to join the pep band.�
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ON THE WEB: http://www.d.umn.edu/music/faculty/area.html#ensembles – Listing the UMD music faculty by area