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Chorale
 The
Montclair State University Chorale, under the direction
of Prof. Heather Buchanan, is the core mixed-voice ensemble
of the John J. Cali School of Music in the College of
the Arts. The 140 members comprise music students majoring
in voice and instrumental performance, music education,
music therapy and composition, as well as non-music
majors from other Colleges in the University who account
for one quarter of the membership. The somatically based
choral pedagogy is designed to enable students to expand
and refine their musical, vocal, and choral skills,
enabling them to function as independent, flexible,
and responsive choral musicians in their subsequent
student and professional lives. The Chorale specializes
in large-scale works that include performances of the
New York Metropolitan area premiere of Howard Shore's
Academy Award winning score The Lord of the Rings
Symphony with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
under the baton of John Maucceri, the regional premiere
performance of Let My People Go! by Don McCullough,
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the New Jersey
Symphony under the baton of Neeme Järve, and the
Duruflé Requiem. Other recent performances have included works by Handel, Mendelssohn, Whitacre and Verdi. In January 2008, the Chorale appeared in the regional premiere of Robert Aldridge's opera Elmer Gantry. The New York Times praised the chorus's "starring role in this opera." (Vivien Schweitzer, January 25, 2008). The MSU Chorale performs
on campus at the acoustically superb Alexander Kasser
Theater.
Symphonic
Band
 The Montclair State University Symphonic Band, directed by Prof. Thomas McCauley, is an ensemble of nearly 60 musicians who are all MSU students. The majority are instrumental music majors, but non-instrumental and non-music majors are welcome to audition. The Symphonic Band and the smaller Wind Symphony perform at least four concerts each year. The repertoire for these concerts includes important works from the band literature of all periods. The ensemble also supports contemporary composers by premiering new works. The Symphonic Band offers opportunites to perform classics of the band literature and rehearse new works with their composers. Works by Aldridge, Burns, Rachmaninov, Grainger, Mennin, Ticheli, Maslanka, Whitacre and Arnold have been performed in recent seasons. The band has collaborated with distinguished guest artists, including Anatoly Selianin from Russia, COL Gary Lamb, Leader and Commander of the United States Army Band "Pershing's Own," pianist David Witten, and bass clarinetist Dennis Smylie.
Symphony
Orchestra
 The
MSU Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Prof.
Paul Hostetter, is composed of undergraduate and graduate
students. It performs repertoire from all periods by
classical, jazz and modern composers.
The
Orchestra regularly engages both faculty and guest soloists.
In addition, students participate in a Concerto Competition
resulting in an apprearence with the University Symphony.
Winners include Momoko Matsumura, who performed Mozart's
Violin Concerto No. 5, and Bryan Rudderow, who
performed Copland's Clarinet Concerto.
The orchestra collaborates with the
Cali School's Opera Workshop and Musical Theater program
in fully staged productions. Recent works include Kurt
Weill's Street Scene, Jason Robert Brown's Parade,
Menotti's The Consul and Handel's Saul. In December 2007, Tony Award winning actor and singer Chuck Cooper performed with the orchestra in the world premiere of The Star Across the Ocean by composer Scott Davenport Richards. In January 2008, students joined with professionals in the orchestra for the regional premiere of Robert Aldridge's opera Elmer Gantry.
Works
featured in recent seasons have included Mussorgsky/Ravel's
Pictures at an Exhibition, Dvorak's Carnival
Overture, Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3
with guest soloist Bruce Murray, Respighi's Pines
of Rome, Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man,
Ives's Three Places in New England, Debussy's
Afternoon of a Faun, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 and Mahler's Symphony No. 5.
The
orchestra also gives readings/recordings of student
composers' works and holds audition masterclasses, where
students interested in orchestral auditions have an
opportunity to perform excerpts and be video taped as
they receive advice. Recent students have won auditions
with the New World Symphony, Northeastern Pennsylvania
Philharmonic, Haddonfield Symphony, and many others.
Participation
in the University Symphony is determined by auditions
at the beginning of the academic year.
Wind
Symphony
 The
MSU Wind Symphony, directed by Prof. Thomas McCauley, is a 45 member auditioned ensemble of undergraduate & graduate students who are experienced instrumentalists. Students from all schools in the university who are in good academic standing are welcome to audition.
The
Wind Symphony performs a wide variety of works from the standard band repertoire, specially commissioned pieces, and wind chamber works that call for selected instrumentation.
The MSU Wind Symphony has appeared with such notable soloists as Donald Batchelder, Principal Trumpet of the New York City Opera and James Markey, Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic. The Wind Symphony has premiered works by Robert Aldridge, Fred Cohen, Patrick Burns, and in December of 2007, the group presented the world premiere of David Gillingham’s Symphony No. 2 (“Genesis”).
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