Student music opportunities
Opportunities to perform are open to all students, regardless of major or class rank. Auditions for most performance groups are held during the first week of fall semester. Credit is available for ensemble participation.
Theatre
Typically two performances are staged annually, a drama or comedy production in the fall, and a musical in the spring on May Day/graduation weekend. Participants are chosen by audition.
Ensembles
Additional ensembles may be created based on student interest and talent. Students may sign up either for credit or zero credit. The zero credit option exists for students who are carrying a full load but wish to continue their participation in a music ensemble. When required, auditions are held at the beginning of the academic year.
Camerata Singers
Camerata Singers, a select chamber choir, performs primarily sacred classical music
from various historical periods, spirituals and folk hymns. The ensemble frequently
performs at functions hosted by the university president and serves as ambassadors
for the institution. Camerata Singers rehearses four times a week.
Director: Dr. Bo Young Kang
Concert Band
The Bluffton University Concert Band, open to all wind, brass and percussion players, performs a variety of classical and pops literature in concerts both on-campus and in the community.
Members do not need to audition for the band unless they wish to be considered for
seating placement. Membership consists of music majors and non-majors from a wide
cross-section of campus. Concert Band rehearses twice a week.
Director: Dr. Roy Couch
Jazz Ensemble
Jazz Ensemble performs music in various contemporary popular idioms, including jazz improvisation. The ensemble performs three on-campus concerts each year and regularly presents concerts off campus. Membership is open to all Bluffton students by audition. Each term we explore several musical styles including swing, ballad, Latin, rock and modern jazz compositions. Current and prospective students are invited to sit-in on a rehearsal or attend a concert.
Pep Band
The Beaver Dam Band plays a wide range of songs from stand classics to modern songs with a combination of faculty and student leadership. There is no audition to perform with the pep band and it is open to all majors. Instruments can be provided if needed at no cost to the student. Musicians are paid through a supplemental work agreement, meaning it can be combined with other campus jobs.
A student director, normally a senior, and assistant director, a junior, pick the
songs, direct during games and lead practices.
Advisor: Dr. Roy Couch
Choral Society
Choral Society, a large university/community chorus, performs a major choral/orchestral work each semester. Membership is open to any student or community member without an audition.
Each fall the Choral Society performs G. F. Handel’s Messiah with an orchestra and
professional soloists. In the spring, the choir performs the annual Bach Festival.
Previous Bach Festival works include Mozart’s Requiem, a variety of Bach cantatas,
Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb and Brahms’ Requiem.
Director: Bo Young Kang
University Chorale
University Chorale is a large mixed ensemble focused on diverse repertoire including
global, contemporary and traditional sacred and secular music.
Director: Bo Young Kang