Music

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 O’Brien, 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 O'Brien 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.