Symphony Orchestra
Wind Symphony
Jazz Ensemble
We are proud of our instrumental ensembles and eager to work with you as we prepare another great season of music. We welcome all new student musicians as well as our returning musicians!
Dr. César Leal, Director of Orchestral Activities,
Dr. Russell McCutcheon, Director of Bands
Dr. Amanda Heim, Director of Jazz Ensemble
We invite all students at Gettysburg College to audition for instrumental ensembles. Membership is not restricted to music majors.
Music majors, music minors in their first four semesters of participation, and students on a music scholarship whose principal instrument is a string, woodwind, brass or percussion instrument must take part in these auditions; please review the ensemble participation policy in the Sunderman Conservatory Student Handbook.
Audition Information
- Students audition once for Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra (at the same time/block audition format).
- These auditions include woodwinds, brass, percussion, strings, piano, and harp.
- Jazz Ensemble:
- Wind performers (saxophone, trumpet, trombone) interested in jazz ensemble will audition for jazz ensemble during the same audition as Symphony Orchestra and Wind Symphony and should also prepare the jazz portion of their excerpts below.
- Jazz rhythm section performers and vocalists should see the separate Jazz Ensemble rhythm section audition page.
- A sign-up sheet with audition times and locations will be posted outside of the Instrumental Ensembles Office the weekend before classes start. Students auditioning should sign up for an audition time. The Instrumental Ensembles office is located on the 2nd floor of Schmucker Hall.
- Auditions for woodwinds, brass, percussion, piano, and harp will be held Monday, January 22, 2024 from 4:00pm - 6:00pm. We may begin earlier; check the times on the sign-up sheets for the final schedule.
- Auditions for strings (violin, viola, cello, bass), will be held Tuesday, January 23, 2024 from 7:00pm – 10:00pm.
- If selected, the first Wind Symphony meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 24 from 4:00pm - 6:00pm.
- If selected, the first Jazz Ensemble meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 24 from 7:30 - 9:30pm.
- If selected, the first Symphony Orchestra meeting will take place on Thursday, January 25 from 7:30pm - 9:30pm.
Course Information
All ensembles at Gettysburg College, including Wind Symphony, Jazz Ensemble, and Symphony Orchestra, are courses for which students earn grades and credit.
- Students cannot pre-register for these courses as they are audition-dependent. All ensemble members will be registered administratively after auditions during the first week of classes. Do not worry about signing up in advance. We'll take care of it for you!
- Even though you cannot sign up in advance, you should still hold space in your schedule for ensemble rehearsals/meetings.
- Wind Symphony meets on Mon/Wed 4:00 - 6:00pm.
- Symphony Orchestra meets Tues/Thurs 7:30 - 9:30pm.
- Jazz Ensemble meets Wed 7:30 - 9:30pm.
- Music majors, music minors in their first four semesters of participation, and students on a music scholarship whose principal instrument is a woodwind, brass or percussion instrument should hold all times until auditions are complete and placements are made.
- All Students can fulfill the Multiple Inquiries-Arts requirement of the Gettysburg Curriculum through performance in ensembles for four semesters.
- After your first four semesters - when each 0.25 adds to a full (1) course for MI-Arts - ensemble credits will continue to accrue above the 32 required courses for graduation.
- Grades earned in ensembles are factored into your GPA, both during your first four semesters and beyond.
- Ensembles are listed as 0.25 courses. They do not count toward your regular course enrollment toward full-time status of three or four courses. They also do not count against your regular course enrollment, so if you are registered for four or even five regular courses you can still participate in ensembles.
- The Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees are 36-course programs. Ensembles for these students continue to count toward the 36 courses for graduation up through 36. Ensemble courses beyond the 36 will accrue above the 36 required.
Preparation
Auditionees should prepare excerpts from the list below and major scales. If you are able to play minor scales, please inform the panel at the beginning of your audition. All string musicians should also expect a short sight-reading excerpt.
Excerpts for each instrument are contained in a single file for download.
- For most excerpts, instructions regarding what to prepare are included in the file.
- In cases where there are only two excerpts, prepare both.
- In cases where multiple excerpts are given, choose two unless instructed otherwise in the contents of the file.
- Try to choose contrasting excerpts.
- For some instruments, these are the same excerpts as in the past.
- If this is true for you and if you have options, please choose different excerpts than the ones you prepared previously.
- Otherwise, prepare the same excerpts.
- If you are auditioning for jazz ensemble as well (saxophone, trumpet, trombone), be sure to prepare the jazz portion of your audition materials as well.
- If you have any concerns or are considering not auditioning, don't be worried. We are friendly! Auditions can be intimidating, but know that we are eager to meet you. Before deciding not to audition, drop us a line via email and we can talk about options.
List of Performance Excerpts
Auditionees are encouraged to consult recordings and excerpt guides when preparing these excerpts. Many free recordings and resources can be found online. The Gettysburg College library is a great place to start, and has subscriptions (free for you) to several online music sites including Naxos music online and the Classical Music Library. You can also often find great recordings on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and many other streaming services. For all excerpts, we have attempted to include the title, movement, and composer of the piece from which it was drawn. This should be helpful as you search for recordings.
Using recordings to aid in your preparation helps you to understand how to play the excerpt, including the tempo, style and phrasing of the piece and how your part fits into the whole. It is not cheating to listen, it is the appropriate professional practice.
All excerpts linked below are in PDF format, ready to download. If you require audition materials in a different format for accessibility, please contact bands@gettysburg.edu. We are committed to ensuring all students are welcome in our ensembles.
Excerpts for String Players
Excerpts for Woodwind and Brass Players
Excerpts for Percussion, Piano and Harp