Music

students play horns on stage

Just about anyone can find the right tune at CSM.

Singers, jazz lovers, or traditional band musicians can all find a place at the college, taking classes, joining an ensemble or just learning from private lessons. Music ensembles are open to both students and community members.

We offer a variety of music ensembles for all who wish to experience the teamwork of ensemble performing. Membership in the ensembles ranges from students earning college credit or training for musical careers to community members participating for sheer enjoyment and enrichment. Beginning this season, CSM’s ensemble concert series will include concerts at the Leonardtown and Prince Frederick campuses. Ensembles also occasionally perform in the community and local schools in public outreach programs.

Music performances take place at the La Plata Campus, Fine Arts Center, Brad and Linda Gottfried Theater, except where indicated. Tickets are $5 unless otherwise noted. 

CSM Ensembles

CSM’s Latin Ensemble, Ritmo Caché, specializes in Salsa, Mexican, Afro-Cuban, Merengue, Latin Jazz, and other musical styles of Latin America. In addition to the “big band” of twenty musicians, there is a small combo of eight musicians which performs occasional off-campus events. The group is open to both CSM students and community members who have a love of Latin-American music.

Seeking New Members!

No auditions necessary; beginners are welcome and will receive on-the-job training! Brass, woodwind, piano, bass, and guitar are expected to have some band or lesson experience.

Instrumentation

  • Drums: congas, bongos, timbales.
  • Hand percussion: guiro, cowbells, claves, maracas, shakers.
  • Rhythm section: piano, bass, guitar.
  • Woodwinds: flute, saxophone.
  • Brass: trumpet, trombone (or other low brass).
  • Vocals: men and women; ability to sing in Spanish is a plus but is not required.
  • Other instruments will be considered.

Registration

  1. New members: Latin Ensemble I (MUS-1030)
  2. Returning members: Latin Ensemble II-IV (MUS 1031-1033, The Roman numeral should match your semester in the ensemble.)
  3. Community members (non-credit): Latin Ensemble (PEP-5430) (See CSM Continuing Education catalog for details.)

For more information, contact Dr. Stephen Johnson: 301-934-7578.

¡Que viva la Música!

Solid Brass Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Randy Runyon, is comprised of CSM students, local high school students, community members, and local professional musicians. The ensemble performs throughout the year at various venues in Southern Maryland and each semester at CSM. The spring festival offers workshops for area high school musicians and ends with a concert featuring Solid Brass and the guest artist. Interested students and community members are encouraged to inquire with the director or CSM’s Coordinator of Music for available spots in the ensemble.

CSM’s choirs, directed by Siobhan Maguire, offer two different vocal experiences for students and community members. The Chorale is the college’s main choir. It is open to all students and community members without audition. The music it performs includes such diverse styles as traditional choir music, gospel music, modern choral music, and contemporary styles of popular music. The Chamber Choir offers is a small, select choir that is available through audition. It performs historic musical styles for small choir such as the madrigal and contemporary popular styles that focus on small ensemble singing.

More Information

CSM students can receive college credit as members of the Chorale:  MUS 1040- Chorale I to MUS 1043- Chorale IV. Each is offered as a one credit course through CSM. In total, you can receive up to four credits if registered for all four levels of Chorale.  These courses are offered every Fall and Spring Semester.

For information on CSM Chorale, please contact Director Siobhan Maguire at sobrien@csmd.edu.

Each semester, CSM’s private studio teachers recommend their most accomplished students for performance in this recital to celebrate their individual musical accomplishments. The recitals are free and open to the public and take place at the end of each semester. Any student taking a lesson for credit who has been approved by their instructor is eligible to perform. The recitals feature a diversity of musical styles ranging from classical instrumental and vocal music to popular and jazz renditions for piano, guitar, voice, or other instruments. The Honors Recitals represent the highest level of musicianship in the CSM music program.

Southern Mix, under the direction of Paul Douglass, is a men’s barbershop chorus consisting of community members and CSM students taking the ensemble for credit. Southern Mix maintains an active community outreach schedule throughout Southern Maryland at off-campus events such as county fairs, church functions, and regional competitions.

Male singers are encouraged to contact CSM’s Coordinator of Music or the ensemble for membership.

The Southern Mix Chorus is available to perform at social outings, business functions, and charitable events. 

Contact Ernie Doyle at 240-508-7761 or dunks5@verizon.net or Paul Douglass at 410-326-6325 or pdouglass@csmd.edu for further information.

Barbershop Links

The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form.

The Southern Maryland Concert Band (SMCB) is a community-based concert band comprised of amateur and professional community musicians and CSM students. The SMCB is a popular fine arts fixture in the Southern Maryland music scene, performing concerts throughout the year in their community series and their two concerts on the La Plata Campus. Community members with woodwind, brass, or percussion experience are encouraged to contact the ensemble to inquire about available openings. CSM students may contact CSM’s Coordinator of Music to register for the band for credit.

Upcoming Events

The CSM Chorale, conducted by Siobhan Maguire, is CSM’s main chorus. Its repertoire includes traditional choir music, gospel and spirituals, popular music, musicals, and other styles.

The CSM Chamber Choir, also conducted by Professor Maguire, is a select chorus of 12-16 singers open to more advanced students interested in performing choir literature of specific small ensembles, usually one voice per part. Its literature includes madrigals, gospel, popular songs, contemporary vocal music.

This concert will feature small and large ensemble vocal numbers as well as vocal chamber music and solos by members of the ensembles.

Performance: 
Thursday, December 7, at 7:30 p.m.

Performance: 
Friday, December 8, at 7:30 p.m.

CSM's Latin ensemble, Ritmo Caché, directed by Dr. Stephen Johnson, will feature several old familiar “chestnuts” of Latin American music in styles such as salsa, bolero, cha-cha-chá, and modern renditions of Latin pop and jazz.

Performance: 
Saturday, December 9, at 7:30 p.m.

The Student Honors Recital, coordinated by CSM voice instructor Dr. Antony Zwerdling, features solo and chamber performances by CSM music students. This recital will feature a variety of contemporary popular music and standard classical repertoire for specific instruments and voice. Student participants are recommended by their studio teachers.

Performance:

Wednesday, December 13, at 7:30 p.m. 

This performance is free and tickets are not required. 

 

Performance: 
Saturday, December 16, at 7:30 p.m.

Performances: 
Friday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m.

CSM's Latin ensemble, Ritmo Caché, directed by Dr. Stephen Johnson, will feature several old familiar “chestnuts” of Latin American music in styles such as salsa, bolero, cha-cha-chá, and modern renditions of Latin pop and jazz.

Performance: 
Wednesday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m.

Performance: 
Thursday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m.

The Student Honors Recital, coordinated by CSM voice instructor Dr. Antony Zwerdling, features solo and chamber performances by CSM music students. This recital will feature a variety of contemporary popular music and standard classical repertoire for specific instruments and voice. Student participants are recommended by their studio teachers.

Performance:

Friday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m. on the Prince Frederick Campus

This performance is free and tickets are not required. 

 Performance: 
Saturday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m.

CSM Professional Series

This table includes the schedule for the Benny C. Morgan and Ward Virts performances

Date

Time

Artist(s)

Series

October 21, 2023

3 p.m.

 Brent Weber, saxophone

Benny C. Morgan

November 11, 2023

3 p.m.

David W. Cook, tenor

Benny C. Morgan

December 9, 2023

3 p.m.

ensemble 132

Ward Virts

February 10, 2024

3 p.m.

 Brian Ganz, piano

Ward Virts

March 9, 2024

3 p.m.

TBA

Benny C. Morgan

April 13, 2024

3 p.m.

TBA

 Benny C. Morgan

April 13, 2024

3 p.m.

 TBA

Ward Virts

June 8, 2024

3 p.m.

TBA

Ward Virts

The Ward Virts Concert Series celebrates the life and talent of Ward Virts, a talented Southern Maryland pianist who died suddenly in 1993. A group of Ward’s friends and classmates conceived the Ward Virts Piano Project to bring the love of life, beauty and music that Ward embodied to a new generation of Southern Maryland students, performers and appreciative audiences. The concerts are performed on a world-class handcrafted Bosendorfer Grand Piano, a gift to CSM’s Prince Frederick Campus from the Ward Virts Piano Project.

The series takes place in the Multipurpose Room 104 in Building B on the Prince Frederick Campus. All performances begin at 3 p.m. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. No tickets or reservations are needed.

Ward Virts Sponsors 2022-2023

Arts Council of Calvert County
Anne & George “Stovy” Brown
Dr. and Mrs. Henry Virts

Thank you to our supporters!

Benny Carroll Morgan was a beloved music educator in the St. Mary’s County Schools for 30 years and served as organist and choir director in several area churches. In January of 2016, Mr. Morgan generously donated his prized Steinway grand piano to the College of Southern Maryland’s Leonardtown campus. Sadly, Mr. Morgan passed away several weeks later, however, with the knowledge that his generosity will add to the musical culture of CSM’s students as well as the Southern Maryland community for years to come.  The Benny C. Morgan Recital Series was instituted in his memory. Admission to the recitals in the series is free due to the generosity of community sponsors. All performances take place in the Auditorium of Building A on CSM’s Leonardtown Campus.

  • CSM Foundation
  • Carroll L. Alvey, Jr.
  • St. Mary’s County Arts Council
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