Courses
Reverence Gospel Ensemble
Large vocal ensemble with emphasis on traditional and contemporary gospel music. In this course, students will participate in two choir rehearsals per week.
Old Time/Appalachian Music
The Old Time/Appalachian Music ensemble will study and perform music from the old time genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotlan
21st-Century String Band
Using influential acoustic innovators like David Grisman, B'ela Fleck, and Crooked Still as inspirations, this ensemble will explore the ever growing trend of using traditional string instrume
Acoustic Strings Workshop
This ensemble specializes in original and progressive acoustic string music, drawing from bluegrass, jazz, and rock roots. Students should have a firm foundation in memorized repertoire.
Advanced Woodwind Chamber Music
Woodwind ensembles for advanced players (flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and French horn) emphasizing the development of classical chamber music performance skills.
Advanced Repertory Workshop
Harmonic analysis and performance of contemporary standard jazz repertoire. Instrumentation: mixed winds, piano, guitar, bass, and drums.
Harp Improvisation Ensemble
This ensemble is designed to strengthen the basic skills needed for improvisation, including jazz harmony, phrasing, melodic development, reading chord charts, and technical aspects of improvisatio
Banjo Improvisation Ensemble
Banjo students will study chords and scales, and the ways in which they relate. This will then be used as the basis for improvisation, comping, and composing original tunes.
Funk String Ensemble
This course will introduce string players to performance techniques useful for playing popular music.Using music by James Brown, Wilson Picket, Stevie Wonder, the Meters, and others, students will
Free Improvisation for Strings
This ensemble provides students with the opportunity to develop improvisational skills through free improvisation.
Berklee Contemporary String Orchestra
Classic and contemporary approaches to string ensemble performance, including groove-based playing and improvisation in addition to more traditional repertoire.
String Master Class
This ensemble is a contemporary version of the traditional conservatory master class.
Acoustic Roots Improvisation Ensemble
This ensemble is a hands-on tour of two great American improvisational music forms, bluegrass and swing, focusing on melodic variation as well as chord-based jazz improvisational strategies, with a
Wayfaring Strangers Ensemble
This ensemble uses traditional folk, country, and blues repertoire as a means to develop higher level improvisational, compositional, and arranging skills in a band setting.
Rhythmic Explorations for Strings
This ensemble will explore grooves, rhythms, and textures for string group using traditional, international, jazz, and other modern material, some of which will be improvised, some written.
Classical String Chamber Music Ensemble
Study and performance of string quartets and trios from the repertoire of the baroque period through the 21st century.
Contemporary Arranging and Performing For Strings
Strings playing covers of non-string based popular music. Students pick the repertoire and write the arrangements.
Old Time Fiddle Ensemble
This ensemble explores ways to incorporate regional fiddle styles (including Appalachian/old-time, Celtic, Scandinavian, and related traditions) into varied small string ensemble formats, using ext
Global String Ensemble
This ensemble will examine the way string instruments and improvisation are used in a variety of musical cultures including Greek, Bulgarian, Hungarian, klezmer, Romanian, and Charanga.
Rock Strings Ensemble
This ensemble offers string players the opportunity to study and play past and current rock violin styles, including the music of Jerry Goodman, Sugar Cane Harris, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Boyd Tinsley.