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Ensembles

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Balinese Gamelan Ensemble (Music 8). Instruction in practice and performance of gamelan music from Bali, Indonesia, including ritual and new music. Preparation of several works for public presentation.

UCSC Celtic Chamber Ensemble - directed by Bill Coulter

Learn to play traditional and contemporary music and songs from Ireland, Scotland, England and beyond.

Meet day/time: Tuesday 7 PM - 9 PM.

Central Asian Ensemble (Music 10).  Formerly Eurasian Ensemble. Instruction in various repertoires and music cultures from the Eurasian continent.  Primary focus on vocal and instrumental traditions from Central Asia.

Chamber Music Workshop (Music 165/265). Chamber music activities on a credit basis are available for each quarter.

Chamber Singers (Music 166). The University Chamber Singers, an advanced choir conducted by Michael McGushin, specializes in presenting works for small ensembles from a variety of historical periods in historically informed performances.

Classical Guitar Ensemble - Study of selected repertoire and instruction in performance for classical guitar ensemble. Currently the Classical Guitar Ensemble is directed by William Coulter, who has achieved the following degrees: B.A., University of California, Santa Cruz.

The class is open to all undergraduate and graduate students interested in exploring early ensemble repertoire for voices and instruments. We will be focusing on Renaissance and Baroque repertories.

Experimental Music Ensemble (Music 168). The Experimental Music Ensemble generally focuses on experimental music composed during the past fifty years.

Jazz Ensembles. (Music 164). Groups of 4-6 players working with music traditions of the Jazz world. Groups perform composed arrangements as well as develop their own arrangements of Jazz standards and original compositions.

Large Jazz Ensemble (Music 3). In an effort to promote and perpetuate the indigenous American form of music known as jazz, the UCSC Large Jazz Ensemble continues in its mission to study and perform the finest jazz literature written or arranged for a big band format.

Live Electro-Acoustic Ensemble (Music 129)

Explores the live performance practice of electroacoustic music, including historical repertoire, improvisation, and compositions by participants. All manner of electronic audio resources are applied to real-time performance.

Mariachi Ensemble (MUSC 12) 

North Indian Music Workshop (Music 54). A course covering the music of North India taught using the oral traditions of Indian music. For beginners as well as more experienced students, this course is well suited for instrumentalists and vocalists.

Opera Workshop (Music 159A-B). Directed by Sheila Willey, the opera workshop is open to singers, accompanists, and directors who wish to develop a wide variety of skills related to opera through scene-work.

Percussion Ensemble (Music 165) Directed by William Winant. Repertoire includes the music of Varese, Cowell, Chavez, Russell, Cage, Harrison, Roldan, Xenakis, Stockhausen, Zappa as well as more current composers i.e.: John Zorn, Fred Frith, James Tenney, Larry Polansky, Chris Brown, Frederic Rzweski, Alvin Curran, Peter Garland and Steve Reich.

Popular and Raga-Based Songs of South Asia (Music 78) 

The Music Department offers two levels of Ashwin Batish's North Indian Rhythm workshops throughout the year.

University Concert Choir (Music 1C and 103). The UCSC Concert Choir is under the direction of Nat Berman and is more than 80 members strong.

University Opera Theater. (Music 160). For many students, participation in opera is a defining part of their college experience.

University Orchestra (Music 2 and 102). The UCSC Orchestra is the largest ensemble on campus and one of the most popular, with nearly all of their performances sold out events.

West African Drumming (Beginning Ghanaian) Ensemble (Music 53A)

West Javanese Gamelan Ensembles (Music 5ABC). Beginning-Advanced. Ensembles of about 16-28 performers directed by a master musician from Indonesia, who teaches several regional styles of music from Java, including Kecapi-suling and Angklung.

In this video clip, Nat Berman conducting the UCSC Wind Ensemble in a concert performance of Vesuvius by Frank Ticheli, Spring 2016.