Piano Performance and Music Theory MM students can expand their performance experience through a variety of ensembles, depending on their concentration and interests.

Instrumental Ensembles

Students who play keyboard, percussion, woodwind and brass, and string instruments have the opportunity to perform in numerous instrumental ensembles including the following.

• Chamber Orchestra, which performs larger chamber works in a true chamber music setting. The Chamber Orchestra generally performs one concert per semester and on occasion has joined with the Temple University Concert Choir in a combined performance.

• Diamond Marching Band, which performs at athletic events throughout the academic year, including traditional pregame shows and varied halftime shows throughout the season. The “Pride of the Cherry and White” marching band performs at all home games and also travels to select away games.

• Percussion Ensemble, which provides a quality educational chamber music experience for its members, promotes the performance of percussion literature in a variety of styles, and encourages the composition of new works for the medium.

• Symphony Orchestra, which comprises string, brass, woodwind and percussion players at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The orchestra has performed in recent years at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, as well as Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center.

• Wind Symphony, an ensemble for woodwind, brass and percussion students that comprises advanced graduate and undergraduate musicians. This group performs at least six formal concerts throughout the academic year.

Jazz Instrumental & Vocal Ensembles

Students looking to grow specifically through Boyer’s renowned jazz ensembles can join the following groups.

• Temple University Jazz Band performs on Temple’s Main Campus and throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. It hosts the annual Essentially Ellington Eastern Regional High School Jazz Band Festival.

• Temple University Lab Band has served as the opening act for the Temple University Jazz Band’s Kimmel Center performances and as the headliner for the annual Big Band Dance swing dance held each spring in The Underground at the Howard Gittis Student Center. The band has also performed at Temple Performing Arts Center and in Tomlinson Theater.

• Jazz Band Number Three provides an environment in which students can improve application and knowledge of ballad concepts, ensemble and section blend, expansion of dynamic range, and rhythmic interpretation. The repertoire covers a wide chronological range, from the Count Basie and Duke Ellington catalogues to contemporary arrangements and compositions.

Performance Opportunities

The Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts at Temple hosts 1,400 annual music and dance concerts, lectures, master classes and recitals. With hundreds of concerts per year, Boyer students have an array of performance opportunities that meet their interests and skill level. Students can participate in instrumental and vocal clubs or ensembles, and some can perform at renowned institutions or record music. While most ensembles require auditions, many music groups do not.

• The Boyer College Electroacoustic Ensemble Project (BEEP) brings together students who create electroacoustic music in a collaborative environment. BEEP functions as an electronic music band, a fusion of computers and traditional instruments, and a laptop orchestra.

• Night Owls Campus Community Band is a large concert wind band that comprises community members from the Greater Philadelphia area with Temple University students and staff. The ensemble performs one concert at the end of each semester.

• OwlCappella is a coed a cappella group—one of seven student-run a cappella ensembles on campus—that provides a musical outlet for non-music and music majors alike.

• Owlchestra Community Orchestra is a community string orchestra composed of students and community members who want to play music together in a low-stress environment.

• Singing Owls is a mixed choir, comprising Temple University alumni, faculty, staff and students as well as members of the Greater Philadelphia community. The ensemble’s primary goal is to create a dynamic and inclusive singing community through the appreciation and performance of music from diverse cultures, genres, places and time periods.

• Swinging Owls Campus Jazz Band is a traditional big band made up of community members from Greater Philadelphia as well as Temple students and staff. Membership does not require an audition, but participants should be able to read music and bring their own instruments, either rented or owned.

To participate in most student ensembles, you’ll need to audition. Learn more about choral, instrumental and jazz ensembles.