Musical Performance

UAlbany Chamber Singers in concert

Lessons

Private instruction in voice and piano is available to music performance majors. Additional private piano instruction is available to non-performance majors by permission of instructor. Music Majors who are admitted to the performance concentration receive lessons at no cost and are awarded three credits for each course completed successfully. Auditions are held at the end of a student's first semester of lessons. Please contact the Department Office at (518) 442-4187 or Prof. Albin Zak at azak@albany.edu.

Other students may study privately on a fee basis but without credit. Please contact the Department Office for more information (518) 442-4187.

Courses are available in choral and instrumental conducting from an elementary to advanced level, directed by Director of Choral Studies, Prof. David Griggs-Janower. Please contact Prof. Griggs-Janower at (518) 442-4167 or janower@albany.edu.

Ensembles

Chamber Ensembles
Each semester, Chamber Ensembles are formed according to the performance media of the students. Students perform in student recitals at the end of each semester. Chamber Music is open to all students regardless of major. No credit is awarded for participation in Chamber Ensembles. Auditions are held at the beginning of each semester. The group rehearses on Wednesday afternoons, from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., in various classrooms on the second floor of the Music Department.

A Mus 182—University Percussion Ensemble
The University Percussion Ensemble is open to all students regardless of major. You may elect Percussion Ensemble as a course and receive one credit per semester, but you may also participate for no credit. Auditions are held at the beginning of each semester. The Ensemble plays a varied repertory and also takes the lead in the Festival of Contemporary Music held each spring. Please contact Prof. Richard Albagli at (518) 442-4174 or ralbagli@albany.edu.

A Mus 183—Pep Band
The Pep Band plays for basketball and football games. Students who elect Pep Band for credit are graded on an S/U basis. Please contact Prof. Kevin Champagne at (518) 442-4192 or kachamp@nycap.rr.com.

A Mus 184—University Jazz Ensemble
The University Jazz Ensemble is open to all students regardless of major. Auditions are held during the first week of each semester. You may elect Jazz Ensemble as a course and receive one credit per semester, but you may also participate for no credit. Students majoring in Music may use Jazz Ensemble to fulfill ensemble requirements beyond the core. Please contact Prof. David Hosley at (518) 442-5471 or dh396735@aol.com.

A Mus 185—University-Community Symphony Orchestra
The University-Community Symphony Orchestra is open to all students regardless of major. You may elect Orchestra as a course and receive one credit per semester, but you may also participate for no credit. Students majoring in Music may use Orchestra as an ensemble to fulfill either core requirements or ensemble requirements beyond the core. Enthusiasts from the community also participate. Auditions are held at the beginning of each semester, but the auditions are generally for purposes of placement within the section. Repertory includes standard and contemporary works. Please contact Prof. Christopher David Neubert at (518) 583-0969 or cneubert@albany.edu.

A Mus 186—University-Community Symphonic Band
The University-Community Symphonic Band is open to all students regardless of major. You may elect Band as a course and receive one credit per semester, but you may also participate for no credit. Students majoring in Music may use Band as an ensemble to fulfill either core requirements or ensemble requirements beyond the core. Enthusiasts from the community also participate. Auditions are held at the beginning of each semester, but the auditions are generally for purposes of placement within the section. Repertory includes works originally for band and transcriptions. Please contact Prof. Kevin Champagne at (518) 442-4192 or kachamp@nycap.rr.com.

A Mus 187—University-Community Chorale
The University-Community Chorale is a large choral group open to all students who can read music. No audition is required. The Chorale performs the large-scale works of the choral repertory and sometimes sings with the University Orchestra, the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra, or the Albany Symphony Orchestra. You may elect Chorale as a course and receive one credit per semester, but you may also participate for no credit. Students majoring in Music may use Chorale to fulfill either core requirements or ensemble requirements beyond the core. Enthusiasts from the community also participate. Please contact Prof. David Griggs-Janower at (518) 442-4167 or janower@albany.edu.

A Mus 218 —Improvisation Ensemble
The Improvisation Ensemble is led by Visiting Professor, Don Byron. Please contact Prof. Byron at (518) 442-3580.

A Mus 287—University Chamber Singers
The University Chamber Singers is a small group open to all students regardless of major. Auditions are held during the first week of each semester. Chamber Singers perform many times during the semester, both on campus and around the Capital District. For this reason, students who elect to take Chamber Singers as a course receive two credits per semester—although you may participate for no credit as well. The music performed ranges from standard repertory to music from many cultures. During the summer, the Chamber Singers have toured to such places as Ireland, Central Europe, and Costa Rica. Students majoring in Music may use each semester of Chamber Singers to fulfill a semester of core requirements or a semester of ensemble requirements beyond the core. Please contact Prof. David Griggs-Janower at (518) 442-4167 or janower@albany.edu.

A Mus 289—Electric Music Ensemble
The Electric Music Ensemble is a performance ensemble consisting of an eclectic mix of acoustic and electronic instruments. Repertoire will span a wide spectrum of musical forms, from art music and live electronic performance, to experimental popular music. Participants will be encouraged to direct their own works. There will be a special focus on realizations of important historical works. Please contact Prof. Robert Gluck at (518) 442-4186 or gluckr@albany.edu. Prerequisite(s): A Mus 325, 426 and/or permission of instructor. S/U graded.

Ensembles in Residence

Albany Pro Musica
The Albany Pro Musica was founded by conductor and musical director, David Griggs-Janower. From humble beginnings in 1981, Albany Pro Musica has become the premier choral group in the Capital Region with 50+ auditioned volunteer singers representing seven counties performing to packed houses around the region and beyond. A mixed chorus dedicated to enriching cultural life in upstate New York, Albany Pro Musica performs a professional quality a cappella and accompanied choral repertoire drawn from diverse traditions and styles.

The Capital Trio
The Capital Trio began as the Cecilia Piano Trio in 1997, named not only for the patron saint of music, but also the cellist’s daughter who was two years old at the time. Founding and current members Duncan Cumming, piano, and Sölen Dikener, cello, were surprised to discover at their first rehearsal that their teachers, Frank Glazer and Paul Tortelier, had performed together in Paris and Boston almost seventy years earlier, and the young performers immediately forged a musical bond of friendship. Violinist Hilary Cumming joined the group in 1999, and they gave concerts and master classes from New England to the Midwest. They were featured as soloists with orchestra in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto and dedicated themselves to commissioning and performing new works in addition to performances of standard trio repertoire. A review from the Kalamazoo Gazette, Michigan, described the trio as “convincing both as strong individual musical personalities and as a cohesive unit.” At the suggestion and encouragement of former Dean Joan Wick-Pelletier, the new trio at UAlbany was established, and they have taken on a new name to reflect their new incarnation in New York. Following their first performances in the Capital region in 2008, they have had successful tours of the southern U.S. and New England. Having held rigorous summer residencies in the past in Maine and in Michigan, they are pleased to be rekindling this passion and commitment to the art of chamber music at the University at Albany.

Empire State Youth Percussion Ensemble
Richard Albagli and Mark Foster are Co-Conductors of the Youth Percussion Ensemble. This ensemble provides the most advanced area high school and middle school percussion players with an opportunity to develop and improve ensemble skills under the supervision of several of the area's top percussion players. The ensemble has performed at high schools and colleges throughout the Capital Region and participated in clinics and percussion festivals throughout the northeast. In September 2002, the ensemble appeared on the nationally syndicated radio program From the Top, which aired on more than 250 NPR stations.