Music Ensembles & Performance Opportunities

Take the stage.

With dedicated opportunities to get out and perform, there is no shortage of ensembles and clubs at Exeter.

All located within the Forrestal-Bowld Music Center, our music program features three orchestras, two choirs, the PEA Jazz Ensemble, Jazz/Contemporary combo groups, a modern music making ensemble, a cappella groups and vocal & instrumental chamber music groups.

Orchestral Music at Exeter

Chamber Orchestra

This ensemble draws on the most advanced instrumentalists to perform works which require smaller forces, particularly works of the early classical and Baroque periods, such as Mozart symphonies and Bach and Handel concerti grossi.

Symphony Orchestra

A full symphony orchestra performs several times throughout the year. Repertoire ranges through the symphonic literature from Schubert and Beethoven to Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. Opportunities also exist for students of outstanding accomplishment to appear as soloists with the orchestra in our yearly concerto competition.

Symphonia

This small, intermediate-level string orchestra studies varied repertoire and performs several times each year. In recent years, Symphonia has played music from Beethoven to themes from Lord of the Rings.

Instrumental Chamber Groups

Fifteen to 20 chamber music groups rehearse and perform works from the Baroque period to the 21st century. Instrumental ensembles ranging from trios to quintets study masterworks by composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Haydn.

Instrumental Concerto Competition

Each winter instrumentalists perform movements from the concerto literature for an outside panel of expert judges. The winner is invited to perform in the spring concert accompanied by one of the campus orchestras.

Choral Music at Exeter

Concert Choir

This 40-singer ensemble, selected by audition, sings a full spectrum of choral music with a focus on unaccompanied literature. Recent projects include a collaborative performance of Mozart’s Requiem, Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia, and Jeffrey Van’s A Procession Winding Around Me.

Exeter Choral Union

This mixed-voice choral ensemble performs a variety of works from the choral literature. The group is open to all students and often collaborates with the Concert Choir to prepare large works with the orchestras.

Vocal Chamber Music

Vocal groups sing Italian madrigals, cutting edge new composition, African-American Spirituals and more. Chamber music ensembles perform each term.

A Cappella Singing Ensembles

Exeter has a variety of student-run singing groups that prepare and perform music in the college a cappella tradition ranging from treble-only groups to mixed voices.

Jazz, Bands and Contemporary Music

PEA Jazz Ensemble

The PEA Jazz Ensemble studies classic, big band repertoire by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Woody Herman as well as by more recent composers and arrangers. Stage band performs each term.

Small Jazz Contemporary Combo Groups

This is a developmental jazz group where players build their skills in style, soloing and performing.

PEA Band

The Concert Band performs music from the entire range of wind ensemble literature, including marches, brass ensembles, classical arrangements, and contemporary music. Open to all woodwind, brass, and percussion players without audition, this group performs several times throughout the year.

Global Rhythm Ensemble (Steel Drums)

Group lessons are offered in West African drumming. Students learn basic playing techniques of the hand drumming traditions of West Africa, the Caribbean, Brazil and the African Diaspora. The Drumming Ensemble performs several times throughout the year, including collaborations with the Glee Club and the Dance Department.

Exeter Association Of Rock (E.A.R)

This active club of rock ‘n roll enthusiasts rehearses regularly and contributes to the many outstanding musical performances on campus. E.A.R. is open to all interested individuals.

Electronic Music Production at Exeter

Modern Music Making

A workshop for students interested in making modern styles of music, primarily through technology. Students will develop their technique, their aesthetic and their ears by working on multiple collaborative and independent projects across a spectrum of musical genres including pop, hip-hop, EDM, ambient and experimental.