Ensembles

Brass Ensemble

Dr. Edward Bach

Brass instruments are taught by  faculty members  Edward Bach (trumpet) and William Gordon (French horn), who are joined by John Helmer (trombone), Bart Hasselfield (tuba/euphonium) and others.  Twenty of our brass students comprise this year’s Brass Ensemble.

Choral Music

Dr. Andrée Dagenais

The Chorale, an advanced choir, specializes in presenting works for small ensembles from a variety of historical periods. This awarded ensemble has toured nationally and internationally, and has been invited, on several occasions, to perform at the
New Music Festival in Winnipeg. Our largest choral ensemble, the Concert Choir includes more than 50 voices. This choir occasionally joins forces with the BU orchestra or BU Brass Ensemble. Recent performances featured Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Stravinsky’s Symphony of psalms and Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna. Women’s Voices has a tradition of performing various styles of music. Invited regularly to perform for community events, the choir is equally at ease in world music and classical music.  Upon an audition, the BU Choral Ensembles welcome voice majors, music students, the university community and the Brandon
community.

Clarinet Choir

Dr. Catherine Wood

Clarinet choirs have been in existence since the early nineteenth century and include various instruments from the clarinet family. Members of the BU Clarinet Choir have the opportunity to gain experience on E-Flat clarinet, A and B-Flat soprano clarinets, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, and the contrabass clarinets. The BU Clarinet Choir has performed at the WSO New Music Festival, BU New Music Festival, WSO Musicians in the Making Series, and is featured annually in the BU Clarinet Festival. The ensemble supports the Manitoba band community through annual outreach tours and clinics.

Guitar Ensemble

Paul Madryga

Jazz Ensemble

Professor Michael Cain, Professor Greg Gatien, Professor Eric Platz

Open to all students, the School of Music includes two large Jazz Ensembles that perform a variety of music, from older classics to contemporary works.  The jazz ensembles perform regularly throughout the year, including performances as featured ensembles at the annual Brandon Jazz Festival.  Students have the opportunity to audition and participate in Small Groups that give frequent performances at on and off-campus locations.  Based on the tried and true tradition of artist-as-mentor, students work closely with experienced faculty as they learn firsthand about the language of jazz.  Through personalized instruction, faculty provide high-level training in a dynamic and supportive learning environment.

New Music Ensemble

Professor Megumi Masaki

The Brandon University New Music Ensemble (BUNME) comprising all programs, years and instruments. This energetic group explores a diverse array of contemporary repertoire for large and small ensemble by working with and performing works by living composers. BUNME presents an annual New Music Festival at Brandon University in February. BUNME has worked with composers Nicole Lizée, Jorge Córdoba Valencia, T. Patrick Carrabré, John Psathas and Pulitzer & Grammy Awards winner Steven Stucky.

Opera Ensemble

Professor David Playfair, Gordon Portman

When it comes to opera, graduate schools, young artist programs, and professional companies prefer to work with singers who have trained in movement, character study, and the integration of musical and dramatic techniques.   The voice area at Brandon University’s School of Music offers the opportunity to begin this training through systematic class work, culminating in a full-length, full-scale production.  This unique program makes BU’s Opera Ensemble program an invaluable stepping stone in professional operatic training.

Orchestra

Dr. Leanne Zacharias

The Orchestra welcomes performance, jazz, music education, even non-music students to join in exploring and performing a wide range of symphonic repertoire. The orchestra partners with choirs and community ensembles, provides orchestral audition
experience, and holds an annual concerto competition providing music students the opportunity to perform with the ensemble as soloist.

Percussion Ensemble

Victoria Sparks

Symphonic Band

Dr. Wendy McCallum

The Symphonic Band provides opportunities for musicians to perform quality wind literature in an ensemble setting.  Through the rehearsal and performance of diverse repertoire, students are exposed to a wide variety of compositional techniques, musical forms, rehearsal processes and expressive possibilities that challenge each student to develop their individual musicianship.