Emphasis is on listening to different styles of jazz performance and playing in a small group setting. The group performs at two concerts and enters one to two festivals each year. This is a traditional ensemble that rehearses the great masterworks of orchestral literature, including symphonies, tone poems and incidental music. It involves the efforts of strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion and occasional soloist or incidental performances. The orchestra gives two annual concerts and attends two to three festivals.
Students also perform at opera, gospel and musical theatre productions.
This course works on jazz skills required in a small to medium ensemble. Special emphasis is given to improvisation. This is an advanced theory course designed to meet the special needs of those students specializing in jazz performance. This course is offered as an elective course for any student interesting in learning how to improvise. This class is offered as an elective course for vocalists who desire to learn or strengthen their acting skills.