Many young musicians find the close collaboration and artistic give-and-take of chamber music to be uniquely rewarding. Possible chamber music configurations include but are not limited to string quartets, piano trios, woodwind and brass quintets, and other ensembles with piano. Both self-formed and instructor-suggested groups are feasible, and enrollees are permitted to select repertoire from an array of choices recommended by the instructor.
The Amherst Symphony Orchestra is open by audition to all students regardless of major. It rehearses twice a week from 7-930pm on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and performs three concerts per semester. Membership ranges in size from fifty to eighty. Repertoire includes overtures, concertos, symphonies and tone poems by canonic composers from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern periods in addition to works by a diversity of historically underrepresented artists.
Participation in a jazz combo involves 2 coached sessions per week and a minimum of 3 performances each semester. Players are placed in groups according to their ease with the skill of improvisation. Repertoire is taken from traditional, standard jazz resources as well as more popular music and original compositions. Though prior experience is helpful, we can find a place for virtually all who wish to be a part of this vibrant program. Establised in 2021-2022, Jazz@Friedmann Room provides a club-like atmosphere for our students to share their musical progress.
The Amherst College Jazz Ensemble meets a minimum of 2X per week in rehearsals and gives a minimum of three performances each semester. Membership is possible for those who perform on traditional jazz instrumentation (saxophones, brass, piano, guitar, bass, drums, vibes) as well as vocalists. An exciting opportunity each year is the chance to give a world premiere of a piece composed especially for the membership of the jazz ensemble. This always current piece goes along with other repertoire that is chosen from the last 100 years of jazz.
(Offered as MUSI 225 and FAMS 375) Jazz occupies a special role in the development of American film. From The Jazz Singer (1927), the first American film that included synchronized sound, to the sprawling Jazz: A Documentary (2001) from Ken Burns, filmic representations of jazz speak to fundamental ways that Americans negotiate difference and imagine national identity. This course examines the relationship between jazz and American culture through three modalities: improvisation, narrativity, and representation. How might jazz improvisation influence the construction of film?
Through composition, analysis, listening practice, and performance, we will build a solid working understanding of many principles of music common in Western musical traditions. The course aims to develop comfort and dexterity in engaging with music via listening, analysis, and creative work. Assignments include harmonizing melodies, writing short melodies and accompaniments, creative representation and listening projects, and annotated analysis. On several occasions we will use our instruments and voices to bring musical examples to life in the classroom.
The Amherst College Glee Club, founded in 1865, is the fifth oldest collegiate choral ensemble in the United States. In this course, the ensemble will meet twice a week to develop the skill and knowledge to perform a wide range of musical styles and genres. Participation in this course will help singers develop their vocal ability in a positive environment, interact with living composers on newly composed repertory, as well as engage in the study of repertory from the Western and non-western choral canon.
This course is intended for students with little or no background in music who would like to develop a theoretical and practical understanding of how music works. Students will be introduced to the technical details of music such as musical notation, intervals, basic harmony, meter and rhythm. Familiarity with basic music theory will enable students to read and perform at sight as well as provide an introduction to the composition of melodies with chordal accompaniment. The music we analyze and perform will draw from folk, popular, and concert traditions.
(Offered as MUSI 108 and PHYS 108) Appreciating music requires no special scientific or mathematical ability. Yet science and mathematics have a lot to tell us about how we make music and build instruments, what we consider harmonious, and how music is processed by the ear and brain.
Open to seniors with consent of the Department.
Spring semester. The Department.
How to handle overenrollment: null
Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Quantitative work, Writing intensive, Independent research.
