Founded in 1980, the Ensemble is a highlight of the music program. Members include singers, composers, and instrumentalists. The group also encourages multi-media and theatrical collaborations. Like the Vocal Ensemble, the University's New Music Ensemble performs a wide range of 20th Century music, but it attempts to concentrate especially on music written since the 1960s. The New Music Ensemble, which is not ad hoc but made up of a regular group of students, performs four concerts each year on campus.
Concerts usually feature the music of a guest composer and a member of the composition department.
The group also tours regularly. For example, in 1995 they returned to New York's Merkin Hall for the second time. They have released five CDs to date, the latest of which features the music of the University's faculty. Other important aspects of the School of Music are its band, Jazz Department, Latin American Music Center , and Electronic Music Studios. The concert band incorporates new music into its repertoire and has performed the music of Karel Husa , Joseph Schwantner , William Bolcom , Samuel Adler , John Corigliano , Luciano Berio and Ingram Marshall , among others.