Instrumental Ensembles at Juniata
Thank you for visiting our Instrumental Ensembles page! We're very proud of our student musicians, our outstanding faculty, and the multitude of musical opportunities we are able to provide. I invite you to surf further into our site and read about our "Sinfonia" (the college orchestra) and our string quartets, our Wind Symphony and its small ensembles - brass, woodwind, and Jazz Ensemble, and Percussion at Juniata. All ensembles are open to all students.
Membership and Audition "seating placement hearing" Information
That strikethrough font above is on purpose!! We don't have formal entrance auditions for our instrumental ensembles. Members perform an informal "hearing" only once, so that our staff has an idea of your talent level and where it would fit within our program. We need to find out your strengths in order to have a more informed basis on which to select music. Also, when it is time to invite selected players to participate in the wind section of our orchestra, submit names for Pennsylvania and national Intercollegiate Bands, etc…, we refer to our notes from the hearing. This hearing may be performed during your senior year of high school (by prior arrangement), during summer orientation (by prior arrangement), or during your first week of membership in the ensemble. In your hearing, please plan to play:
WINDS:
- We want to hear something technical that shows your fluency and speed, and something lyrical and legato that shows your tone quality and phrasing. Most new players use parts from our band music (since hearings typically place after the first rehearsal; you can use music that we've read in that rehearsal). However, if you have a prepared piece or two you can play for us, that's great! You could use part of a solo, concerto, lesson etude, or audition piece that you’ve played, etc… There will also be a short sight reading excerpt, a chromatic scale through the entire range of your instrument (as much as you know), and a couple major scales. If you know some minor scales, great!
STRINGS:
- We rotate string seating early in the rehearsals so we can become familiar with your strengths and find compatible stand partners. It helps us plan repertoire and rehearsal time to hear how well you prepare and how well you read. In your hearing please plan to play:
- A scale, 2 or 3 octaves, your choice of key, which demonstrates your technical ability (shifting, intonation, tone, etc.)
- One page of a prepared piece, solo or orchestra music
- Sight reading
PERCUSSION:
- I need to hear all students play a short rhythm reading excerpt which I will give to you a couple days in advance. That's the only required part of the hearing.
- However, you probably play some or all of the instruments below...and, I need to get a good picture of your overall skills. EVERYTHING BELOW IS OPTIONAL IN THE HEARING...BUT IT WILL BE MOST HELPFUL TO HEAR AS MANY OF THE AREAS BELOW AS YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH so that I can choose appropriate musical assignments for you. If any or many of those are “no experience,” that’s absolutely fine….I just need to know that. So, please choose none, one, or more of the following:
- any prepared pieces that you might have from high school – something from a lesson book, a part of a solo or concerto you’ve played, etc… - on snare drum, timpani, 2 mallet keyboard, 4 mallet keyboard, drum set, and/or hand percussion;
- Timpani tuning technique;
- Drum set styles (time patterns, fills, measured and free solos)
- Hand and World drumming (we own bongos, congas, timbales, djembe, surdo, bodhran, talking drum, et al.)
- Short sight reading excerpts on any of the standard instruments that you are comfortable with