• musicians
    The Chapman Orchestra
  • opera students singing
    Opera Chapman
  • big band students on stage
    Chapman Big Band
  • chamber musicians
    Chamber Ensembles
  • choral students
    The University Singers
Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music

Performance Ensembles

» Join a Performance Ensemble

The Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music has many performance ensembles open to audition by any Chapman student, and include students from a range of disciplines, not just music majors! 

Chapman ensembles perform in a range of campus venues, including the intimate Salmon Recital Hall and Chapman's 1044-seat Musco Center for the Arts concert hall, and sometimes perform on tour.

@chapmancopaMusic Performance Locations at Chapman University #chapman #music #university #conservatory #college #musicschool #performer #musician ♬ original sound - CU College of Performing Arts

Make Music With Us!

Make music part of your college experience. Ensemble auditions take place early each fall semester. Check out the possibilities below! Click on the ensemble links below to read more about each group.

If you have any questions about a specific ensemble, feel free to contact the program director or message us at music@chapman.edu.

Erandi Sánchez ’22
Performance (Saxophone) and Music Education double major
Erandi, who started playing music when she was four years old, was instrumental in establishing the mariachi ensemble during her time at Chapman.

Ensemble Descriptions and Audition Information*

*Audition information for each academic year is posted in August.

Chapman Big Band

Albert Alva, director

Besides performing standard repertoire in all genres of jazz and big band, Chapman University Big Band students are very fortunate to perform original works from the library of jazz drum legend Louie Bellson. 

 

 


Chamber Ensembles

There are instrumental chamber music groups of all types in the conservatory. Concerts feature piano, string and woodwind quintets, quartests, trios and brass ensembles. Here are just a few examples:

 


The Chapman Orchestra

Danko Drusko, director

The Chapman Orchestra (TCO) is considered among the finest university ensembles on the West Coast. The late Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel lauded TCO following An Evening of Holocaust Remembrance, an interdisciplinary collaboration with Chapman University’s Rogers Center for Holocaust Studies.

 

 


Commercial Music EnsembleStudent playing electric guitar on stage wearing sunglasses and varsity jacket.

Tim Hall, director

The Commercial Music Ensemble performs music composed, recorded, mixed, filmed, edited, and directed by the students. The entire production process is handled by the students under the mentorship of award-winning faculty. This unique opportunity provides students with a practical, hands-on experience in the music industry.

Watch Video


Early Music Ensemble

Bruce Bales, director

Music compositions of the 18th century and earlier are featured in the Early Music Ensemble programs. Adding to the authenticity of the performance, students use period instruments, including the sackbut, horn, lute, Baroque guitar, transverso, dulcian, recorder, violone, and harpsichord, to name just a few. 

Watch Video

 


Chapman Guitar Ensemble

Daniel de Arakal, director

Classical guitar students have opportunities to perform as soloists and in ensembles for concerts each semester, classes at Chapman and on tour.





Jazz Combo

Albert Alva, director

Jazz Combo students enjoy hands-on training in small-group jazz, honing improvisation skills, collaborating in group arrangements and composing and arranging original works for the ensemble.

Watch Video

 


Mariachi Panteras

Tammy Yi, director

Orange County’s first collegiate Mariachi ensemble, Mariachi Panteras is dedicated to the performance of traditional Mexican music, including the son, huapango, corrido, polka, and ranchera genres learned by ear, using traditional instruments such as the violin, guitar, trumpet, harp, vihuela Mexicana, Guitarrón, and voice.

Watch Video

 


Chapman New Music Ensemble

Sean Heim, director

This ensemble presents works by current Chapman composition majors as well as those by many of the major composers of the last 50 years. Music faculty and distinguished guest artists often participate in the ensemble, offering students a chance to perform with their teachers and mentors as well as their peers.

 


Opera Chapman

Marc Callahan, director

This ensemble presents semi-staged scenes in the fall and a full-scale opera each spring. Opera Chapman alumni are active on stages around the world, including The Metropolitan Opera, NY, Staatsoper Berlin, Weiner Staatsoper, The Royal Danish Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Covent Garden in London, Santa Fe Opera, NM, and L.A. Opera, CA.

 


Chapman Percussion Ensemble

Nicholas Terry, director

Led by GRAMMY® winner Nick Terry, CPE performs music reflecting the diversity inherent in the world of contemporary percussion. Their repertoire draws both from the standard literature and many of the most exciting contemporary pieces from Europe and Southern California.

Watch Video

 


Saxophone Ensemble

Gary Matsuura, director

The Saxophone Ensemble performs music written or arranged for saxophones of all types, ranging from classical to jazz and blues to contemporary music.

 

 

 


The Temianka Quartet at Chapman

This ensemble is made up of select string students based on criteria that include talent, academic scholarship, and demonstrated leadership. It is led by Dr. So-Jin Kim, Temianka Endowed Professor in Music and instructional assistant professor of violin.

The ensemble is supported by the conservatory’s Henri Temianka Endowed Scholarship for String Studies, which was established in 2013, along with the Temianka Endowed Professorship, thanks to a generous gift of $2.25m from Daniel Temianka and Zeinab Dabbah in memory of the gifted and indefatigable artist and ambassador of classical music. 

Quartet members uphold the ensemble’s mission to serve as ambassadors of excellence for the conservatory, the college, and the university through on- and off-campus performances, outreach visits and activities that promote string education in local schools, supporting recruitment of new students for Chapman and the conservatory, and learning how to work as a pre-professional chamber music group.

Watch Video


University Choir

Stephen Coker, director

This select group of singers represents all departments of the university. The choir has concertized and recorded extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. The choir is also featured in Chapman's Holiday Wassail Concert and the conservatory's spring Sholund Scholarship Concert.

Watch Video

 


University Singers

Stephen Coker, director

This select undergraduate chamber ensemble performs choral repertoire ranging from the Renaissance era to modern-day compositions. University Singers has a history of domestic and international tours, and is featured in Chapman's Holiday Wassail Concert and the conservatory's spring Sholund Scholarship Concert.

 

 


University Treble Choir

Mikayla Feldman, conductor

This ensemble performs concerts each semester as well as the university's Holiday Wassail Concert. They perform advanced literature for treble voices, from the Renaissance to contemporary compositions, featuring music from around the world in a variety of languages and styles.

 



Vocal Jazz Ensemble

Teryn Ré Carter, director

This ensemble explores in depth the various styles of jazz, including swing, ballads, bossa nova, and others; and it is the only vocal group of its kind on campus! 

Watch Video 

 


University Wind Symphony

Mathieu Girardet, director

This elite concert ensemble of brass, woodwind, double bass and percussion musicians performs standard masterworks of the repertoire, including composers Paul Hindemith, Johann Sebastian Bach, Samuel Barber, Boris Kozhevnikov, Béla Bartók, and Percy Grainger, to name a few.