Ensemble & Performance Classes

The Chamber Music Workshop is a class for students who wish to perform the repertoire of Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th-21st century composers for small ensemble. Small "chamber jazz" groups are also potential projects for the workshop. The class is open by audition only; those students who are accepted are matched up with others of similar ability to perform duos, trios or quartets. The groups are coached by the instructor in separate rooms during class time, and perform in concert during the last weeks of the semester. Auditions for new students are held just prior to and throughout the registration periods preceding the semester in which the class is offered. Students should be prepared to play at least one 3-5 minute piece. There will be no auditors. In preparation for the final concert, there are also several masterclasses at which ensembles perform for each other with commentary from the instructor. Course Codes for Registration: Undergraduate Students: MUSPF 355-Section 001 - 1cr 2hrs Prereq: audition and permission of the instructor. No Auditors. Graduate Students: MUS 713-Section 001 - 1cr 2hrs Graduate Adviser's permission required. Wednesdays, 3:10 - 5:00 pm in Room HN 404 with Professor João Luiz.

Hunter College Choir

The Hunter College Choir is a mixed chorus (SATB) performing repertoire from all periods, both a cappella and with orchestra. The ensemble is open to members of the NY metropolitan area and all students, staff and faculty at Hunter College. A brief audition to assess vocal range and pitch identification skills is required during the first class, though prior choral experience is not a prerequisite.

The Fall 2023 Semester will meet in person in the newly renovated Appel Hall, or HN 635, located in the North Building of Hunter College at the northwest corner of 68th and Lexington Ave. Our fall performance is scheduled for Monday, December 4th, at 7:30pm, in Assembly Hall.

Rehearsals:

Mon & Thurs, 1:00 - 2:15 pm, starting August 28

Phone: 212-772-4239

Registration at Hunter College is a prerequisite for participation in either section of the Hunter College Choir, either through Continuing Education, through the Senior Citizen Program at Hunter, or as a fully registered student at the College.

For those interested in registering for credit, please consult the information below:

Course Codes for Registration:

Day Section: M/TH 1:00-2:15 pm, Room HN 635, Professor Sheetz

• Undergraduate Students: MUSPF 221- 1cr
• Graduate Students: MUSPF 711 – 1 cr

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Hunter College Chamber Singers

Chamber Singers is a group of 20-24 mixed voices performing the repertoire of the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque periods, often performing with the accompaniment of early instruments (recorders and viols). Participation is open to members of the NY metropolitan area and all students, staff and faculty at Hunter College. An audition is required.

Auditions for the Chamber Singers will be held during the first scheduled class of the semester.

Rehearsals: Mon & Thurs, 4:00 - 5:15 pm, starting August 28

The Fall 2023 Semester will meet in person in the newly renovated Appel Hall, or HN 635, located in the North Building of Hunter College at the northwest corner of 68th and Lexington Ave. Our fall performance is scheduled for Monday, November 20th, at 7:30pm, in the Lang Theatre.

Any questions should be directed to the ensemble’s director, Prof. Michael Sheetz, at michael.sheetz@hunter.cuny.edu

Phone: 212-772-4239

Chamber Singers rehearse twice a week, Monday and Thursday (4:00-5:15). Registration at Hunter College is a prerequisite for participation in the Chamber Singers, either through Continuing Education, through the Senior Citizen Program at Hunter, or as a fully registered student at the College.

For those interested in registering for credit, please consult the registration codes below:

Course Codes for Registration: M/TH 4:00-5:15 pm, Room HN 635, Professor Sheetz

• Undergraduate Students: MUSPF 353-Section 01 - 1cr
• Graduate Students: MUS 714-Section 01 - 1cr

Hunter College Choir Selected Repertoire

Bach, J.C.: Magnificat
Bach, J.S: Cantata 106
Bach, J.S: Magnificat
Bartok: Folk Songs
Beethoven: Choral Fantasy, Hallelujah Chorus (Mount of Olives)
Beethoven: Mass in C Major, Opferlied
Beethoven: Ninth Symphony
Bernstein: Chichester Psalms
Bernstein: Excerpts from Candide and West Side Story
Brahms: Ave Maria, Liebeslieder Walzer
Brahms: Nanie
Cherubini: Mass
Copland: Old American Songs
Ellington: Sacred Service
Fauré: Requiem
Finzi: In Terra Pax
Gabrieli: Motets
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess Concert Suite
Gorecki: Totus Tuus
Gjeilo: The Lake Isle
Hailstork: I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes
Handel: Alexander’s Feast
Handel: Chandos and Coronation Anthems
Handel: Israel in Egypt
Handel: Messiah Excerpts
Handel: Utrecht Te Deum
Haydn: Missa Sancti Nicolai
Haydn: Lord Nelson Mass
Haydn: Mass in Time of War
Haydn: Theresienmesse
Hildegard: Chant
Honegger: King David
Mahoney: Three Brontë Songs, Smiling Child
Mendelssohn: Die erste Walpurgisnacht, Verleih uns Frieden
Mendelssohn: Elijah
Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus, Kyrie, Regina Coeli
Mozart: Coronation Mass, Grand Mass in C Minor, Solemn Vespers
Mozart: Requiem (Sussmayr and Levin completions)
Orff: Carmina Burana
Pinkham: Christmas Cantata
Poulenc: Gloria
Purcell: Come Ye Sons of Art
Ray: Gospel Mass
Rossini: Stabat Mater
Rutter: Magnificat
Sbordoni: Little Prayers, Praises and Prayers
Schubert: Mass in A-flat
Szymanowksi: Stabat Mater
Thompson: The Last Words of David
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on the “Old 104th” Psalm Tune
Vaughan-Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem, Five Mystical Songs, Serenade to Music
Verdi: Requiem
Vivaldi: Beatus Vir, Dixit Dominus
Vivaldi: Gloria, Magnificat

The Hunter Symphony Orchestra is comprised of students from Hunter College as well as the metropolitan area and involves collaboration and instruction with experienced professional players. It performs two concerts each semester for the Hunter College community. Any musicians who play an orchestral instrument are welcome and invited to contact Prof. David Fulmer regarding auditions, even for future semesters. Students who audition successfully may be considered for private lessons. Hunter Symphony is open to all students, faculty, and community members and rehearses weekly from 6:30-9:00 PM on Wednesday evenings in the Assembly Hall (North Building, First Floor). Visit our page for more detailed information about the symphony. Course Codes for Registration: (for e-permits, contact Prof. David Fulmer) Undergraduates Students: MUSPF 231-Section 001 - 1cr Graduate Students: MUS 710-Section 001 - 1cr

Jazz Ensemble

Located in the heart of midtown New York City, Hunter College’s burgeoning jazz program, led by trombonist and composer Ryan Keberle, provides a tailor-made and well-rounded education in a broad range of styles where students work closely with world-class performers. The Hunter College Jazz Ensemble performs a wide repertoire representing different stylistic periods and concentrates on the development of ensemble playing and improvisational skills. Students are also provided the opportunity to develop valuable ensemble performance competencies in both small and large group settings. Members of the ensemble will periodically have the opportunity to study and perform with the very best New York City jazz musicians in the form of guest artists and clinicians. Past clinicians and guest artists have included Jimmy Heath, Sean Jones, Jay Anderson, Mike Davis, Ingrid Jensen, Donny McCaslin, John Ellis, Carl Allen, Anat Cohen, Pedro Giraudo, Darcy James Argue, Ben Wendel, and Marshall Gilkes among others. The Jazz Ensembles will have two Crossover Concerts and one 'Jazz at The Lang' concert each semester. In addition, both ensembles will represent Hunter College at the Annual CUNY-Wide Jazz Festival at Aaron Davis Hall, CCNY, in the Spring. Open to all Hunter students with intermediate or advanced instrumental ability. Audition required. Additional instructors include: Nate Radley - electric and acoustic guitar Matt Holman - trumpet Alejandro Avilés - saxophones Ike Sturm - electric and acoustic bass Eric Doob, Brad Wentworth - drums Priscilla Owens - vocals Course Codes for Registration Undergraduate Students: MUSPF 249-Section 001 - 1cr 2hrs Open to all instrumentalists by audition. Graduate Students: MUS 715-Section 001 - 1cr 2hrs Graduate Adviser's permission required. Tuesdays and Fridays, 2:10 - 3:00 pm in room HN 635, Prof. Ryan Keberle (Learn more about Ryan Keberle.)

Jazz Vocal Workshop Ensemble

The Hunter College Jazz Vocal Workshop Ensemble provides vocalists with a forum for the study of the performance practices and skills required of the jazz/commercial music singer. Instrumentalists are instructed in the art of accompanying, sight reading and working with a vocalist. The Jazz Ensembles will have two Crossover Concerts and one 'Jazz at The Lang' concert each semester. In addition, both ensembles will represent Hunter College at the Annual CUNY-Wide Jazz Festival at Aaron Davis Hall, CCNY, in the Spring. Open to all Hunter students with intermediate or advanced music ability. Audition required. Course Codes for Registration Undergraduate Students: MUSPF 251-Section 001 - 1cr 2hrs Pre-req: MUSPF 111 or MUSPF 211 or MUSPF 401 in Voice, and audition. Also open to rhythm-section instrumentalists by audition. Graduate Students: MUS 716-Section 001 - 1cr 2hrs Graduate Adviser's permission required. Tuesdays and Fridays, 3:45 - 4:35 pm in room HN 635, Prof. Priscilla Owens (Learn more about Priscilla Owens.)

Jazz and Popular Music Combos

The Hunter College Jazz and Popular Music Combos provides an opportunity to study and perform - as well as to better listen to and appreciate - the pazz and popular music styles of today. Focus will be on Jazz, Latin, and Pop/Rock (plus other potential styles such as Hip-Hop, R&B and Country/Bluegrass), with an emphasis placed on developing the tools necessary to work in today’s popular music scene. Each ensemble will consist of a rhythm section (guitar, piano, bass, drums, and percussion), with 2-3 instrumentalists and/or vocalists, as determined by the instructor. There will be 3 to 4 performances each semester. Audition required. Course Codes for Registration Undergraduate Students: MUSPF 250-Section 001 - 1cr 2hrs Open to all instrumentalists by audition. Graduate Students: MUS 721-Section 001 - 1cr 2hrs Graduate Adviser's permission required. HOURS TO BE ARRANGED in room HN 635, contact Prof. Ryan Keberle for more information about auditions and semester schedule.

Ryan Keberle and Priscilla Owens

Learn more about Ryan, listen to sound clips, and view pictures at his website: www.ryankeberle.com Learn more about Priscilla, listen to sound clips, and view pictures at her website: www.cillajazz.com

Topics in Piano Performance explores many dimensions of piano performance, and focuses on different special topics each semester, made explicit by a decimalization of the course number, and the special topic designation as part of the course title. In addition to focusing on study of repertoire in a masterclass format, potential topics include performance practice associated with different eras in music, exploration of particular genres, issues surrounding public performance and memorization, improvisation in different styles, composition for the piano, sight-reading and score reading, collaborative piano, performance techniques for 20th and 21st century music, and jazz. Exact topics will vary each semester depending on student needs and interest. The class may be taken up to 4 times for credit.   The class is open to all music majors whose primary instrument is piano, and to non-music majors by permission of the instructor. Class topics culminate in a Final Performance Project in Lang Hall, usually focusing on works of a particular composer and/or genre, or a topic era, such as improvisation or collaborative piano. Some examples from past and future semesters include Scriabin’s Preludes and Etudes, Shostakovich Preludes & Fugues, Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words, Bartók’s Mikrokosmos (Vols. 4-6), Debussy’s Preludes, Schubert’s Winterreise (the entire song cycle, with each pianist performing 1-2 songs, accompanying M.A. Voice Majors) and Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano.   Auditions for non-piano majors are held just prior to and throughout the registration periods preceding the semester in which the class is offered. Students should be prepared to play at least one work, or substantial movement of a work. For more information, please contact Prof. Geoffrey Burleson

FALL 2022: COLLABORATIVE PIANO  Tuesdays 4:00-5:50, Rooms 407 & 413 Prof. Geoffrey Burleson Undergraduate Students (B.A. and B.Mus.): MUSPF 365.01 Graduate Students: MUS 717.01

This course will explore many dimensions of collaborative piano preparation, rehearsal and performance.  In addition to performance and study of repertoire in a masterclass format, topics will include performance practice associated with different eras, exploration of genres, issues surrounding public performance and presentation, vocal coaching, sight-reading, ensemble/orchestral reductions (including SATB scores), transposition, and reading lead sheets.    Although a strong focus will be placed on collaborative piano as this semester’s special topic, students will also be performing solo repertoire that they are working on in the class, during the masterclass portions of the course.

Collaboration with Prof. Gonzalez’s Topics in Vocal Performance Class
This class will also be collaborating with Prof. Susan Gonzalez’s The Performance of Art Song class this semester, and we will be pairing up pianists and singers between the two classes.  Goals will include (1) rehearsals with your assigned singer(s) outside of class, (2) coachings of pianists & singers in BOTH the Art Song class AND the Collaborative Piano class, pending availability of participants, and (3) performances from all singers and pianists who are available for the Art Song/Collaborative Piano Class Recital, which is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, December 6^th at 5 PM.  Once matches have been made, participants should find some rehearsal time outside of class, using our practice rooms as primary rehearsal spaces.

Please note that this course will also fill the Ensemble Requirement for any students taking private lessons. Undergraduate Students (B.A. and B.Mus.): MUSPF 365.01 Graduate Students: MUS 717.01 Tu, 3:45-5:25, Rooms 407 & 413, Prof. Geoffrey Burleson

FALL 2023: IMPROVISATION & COMPOSITION FOR CLASSICAL PIANISTS  Tuesdays 4:00-5:50, Rooms 407 & 413 Prof. Geoffrey Burleson Undergraduate Students (B.A. and B.Mus.): MUSPF 365.01 Graduate Students: MUS 717.01

The course will explore essential, applied improvisation skills for the classical pianist. In addition to performance and study of repertoire in a masterclass format, topics of the class will include:

-Baroque ornamentation and improvisation

-Continuo playing, including reading figured bass

-Classical embellishment

-Improvisation/composition of cadenzas to Mozart concerti

-Romantic style improvisation

-20th/21st century aleatoric improvisation (John Cage, Terry Riley and beyond)

-Improvisation as a sight-reading skill

-Improvisation as a tool for negotiating memory issues

-Introduction to jazz harmony and scales

Please note:  no previous experience in improvisation whatsoever is necessary! 

Although a strong focus will be placed on improvisational and composition skills, students will also be expected to perform solo repertoire that they are working on in the class, during the masterclass portions of the course.

Please note that this course will also fill the Ensemble Requirement for any students taking private lessons. Undergraduate Students (B.A. and B.Mus.): MUSPF 365.01 Graduate Students: MUS 717.01 Tu, 3:45-5:25, Rooms 407 & 413, Prof. Geoffrey Burleson

Hunter Opera Theater

The Hunter Opera Theater provides students the opportunity to prepare and perform a fully staged opera. The OPERA PERFORMANCE class will focus on creating a full character profile through staging and scene work designed to get to the core of the character. Exploration of relationship between self and character as well as character to character will help the students integrate the operatic role organically and bring human experience to life through self expression. They will learn acting, style and period movement as well as ensemble coordination with other singers and the orchestra. The intended results will be growth as acting singers and increased depth as interpretive artists. The class will require additional rehearsal hours for acting and staging. The average class will need 10 to 15 hours a week to complete a project of this magnitude. Skills in stagecraft such as costuming, set, props, wigs, and make-up will require some of these hours. Rehearsals with orchestra with movement also require extra time. Course Codes for Registration FALL 2018 Undergraduate Students: MUSPF 369.04 Art Song Preparation and performance of a fully staged opera. May be taken four times for credit. Prereq: audition and perm. dept; Coreq: MUSPF 401 or 431 in voice; 3 hrs, 3 cr. Graduate Students: Mus 718.04 Art Song Preparation and performance of a fully staged opera. May be taken two times for credit. Prerequisite: Audition and Graduate Adviser's permission; 3 hrs, 3 cr. ART SONG will also be collaborating with Prof. Geoffrey Burleson's COLLABORATIVE PIANO this semester, and pianists and singers will be paired up between the two classes.