Skip to Content Skip to Footer

College of Arts & Sciences

Community Music Opportunities at Clayton State banner image

Community Music Opportunities at Clayton State

Community Ensembles

We invite you to join one of our community music ensembles at Clayton State – the CSU Big Band, the Masterworks Chorus and the Southern Crescent Symphony. Below you will find a brief description of each group along with audition dates and requirements. Also included is a brief bio of the conductors of each of our groups.

 

Register for an audition

Note for CSU Students: If you want to get course credit for being in an ensemble you will need to audition by August 15th – email Dr. Bell at richardbell@clayton.edu to schedule an earlier audition.

 

CSU Big Band

Auditions
Monday, August 19
6:00 – 8:30 p.m.

The Big Band is a traditional jazz big band performing standards from the jazz repertoire. The group presents 2 concerts each year in Spivey Hall. Rehearsals: Mondays from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Audition Requirements

  1. A prepared piece of your choice in any style (jazz, classical, rock, blues, etc.– play something that you’re comfortable with!!)
  2. Sight reading selected from traditional big band arrangements provided at audition
  3. A few scales (Major, minor, modes, – dorian, mixolydian, etc.)
  4. Improvisation – OPTIONAL –  if you have some improvisation experience or you’d like to have soloing opportunities, improvise over a blues or jazz standard of your choice.
  5. Rhythm section players (piano, drums, guitar, bass): please be prepared to perform comping in swing, latin, funk and other styles at various tempos.

Masterworks Chorus

Auditions
By appointment

The Masterworks Chorus is open to anyone who can match pitch. If you sing in the car, shower, or around the house, you are the kind of singer we’d like to have. The choir sings a wide array of literature that spans all time periods of music, in addition to performing major works in collaboration with the Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra and/or the CSU Orchestra. Rehearsals: Sundays from 6:30-8pm. 

Audition requirements

  • A short vocal placement to determine your voice part is required. 

Southern Crescent Symphony

Auditions
Tuesday, August 20
7:00 – 9:30 p.m.

The Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra is a community orchestra devoted to meeting the cultural needs of audiences and performers in the Southern Crescent area of Metro Atlanta. Members of the orchestra include professional musicians, music educators, amateur musicians and students, all of whom strive to utilize their full potential in presenting a quality musical product. The group presents 4 concerts each year in Spivey Hall and other areas venues. Rehearsals: Tuesdays from 7:15 – 9:15 p.m.

Audition Requirements

  1. Solo of your choice
  2. Sightreading
  3. Interview concerning your playing background

kyle bryant

Kyle Bryant – CSU Big Band

Kyle Bryant is a jazz guitarist, composer, and educator who joins Clayton State after recently earning his graduate degree in Jazz Studies from the University of South Carolina. He is an active performer across the Southeast, leading his own ensembles and contributing as a sideman for jazz bandleaders. Currently, he is preparing to release an album of original music in the fall of 2024.

sean vogt

Sean Vogt – Masterworks Chorus

Dr. Sean Vogt is CSU’s Director of Choral Activities and Conductor of the Spivey Hall    Masterworks Chorus. The choirs at CSU have collaborated with Spelman College, Tuskegee University, and was the first group at CSU to be invited to perform at a national conference by competitive peer review. Having also worked on a doctorate in organ, Dr. Vogt collaborates regularly with schools, universities, and ensembles as a collaborative keyboardist.

richard bell

Richard Bell – Southern Crescent Symphony

Dr. Richard Bell is currently Professor Emeritus at Clayton State where he conducts the CSU orchestra and the Southern Crescent Symphony. Prior to his 10 years as Associate Professor at Clayton State, he taught middle school and high school orchestra in the Clayton and Henry County schools for 30 years. He served as president of both the Georgia Music Educators Association and the Georgia Chapter of the American String Teachers Association. Dr. Bell has presented sessions at the GMEA In-Service Conference, the American String Teachers Association National Conference and the Music Educators National Conference. Awards received during his career include the Georgia Music Educators Association Distinguished Career Award, the Georgia String Teachers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the Georgia String Teachers Association Advocacy Award, the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation Award, the Wal-Mart Foundation Teacher of the Year Award, the STAR Teacher Award, and the Clayton State University College of Arts and Sciences Gene Hatfield Service Award.