Ensembles
Brass Ensemble
Dr. Randall Tinnin, director
The UNF Brass Ensemble performs music for brass spanning the 17th through 21st centuries. This dynamic group of undergraduate music students performed in a master class at the Juilliard School and has appeared locally at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Riverside Presbyterian Church, St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville, Mandarin, Nease, Lake Brantley, and Winter Springs High Schools and LaVilla School of the Arts. The ensemble was featured in the Riverside Fine Arts Project Listen series and the Lake Eden Arts Festival in Ashville, NC.
Former members have been accepted to and offered scholarships to DePaul (Chicago), University of Miami, UCLA, University of Illinois, University of Florida, University of Central Florida, SUNY Purchase (New York), and Queen's College (NYC), and have been winners and finalists in national and international solo competitions.
Contact Randall Tinnin at (904) 620-3844 | rtinnin@unf.edu for more information.
Choral Ensembles
Dr. Cara Tasher, Director of Choral Studies
Choral music is a tradition that fosters community, cooperation, harmony, and personal fulfillment among participants of diverse backgrounds and abilities. The human voice serves as the common denominator, uniting singers in shared artistic expression.
The University of North Florida Choral Program has been led by Dr. Cara Tasher since 2006. The program offers ensembles open to qualified students, faculty, staff, and community members. Membership in each ensemble provides singers with training in sight reading and vocal technique, along with the opportunity to study voice privately with a faculty member.
The UNF Choral Program presents diverse repertoire, meaningful student conducting opportunities, and welcomes students of all majors. Student-led a cappella groups occasionally emerge from within the ensembles.
Placement requires a brief voice placement. For more information, contact Dr. Cara Tasher at Cara.Tasher@unf.edu for more information.
Collaborative Keyboard Artist
Sachiko Frampton
Sachiko Frampton began her career as a professional collaborative pianist while studying in the high school division of Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo, Japan. She studied piano with Yoko Minagawa and Takashi Kawasaki and collaborative piano with Penka Badev. Before relocating to the United States, she performed numerous recitals, master classes, and competitions, and toured nationally with the percussion ensemble Group Woods for performances and outreach programs.
Prior to moving to Jacksonville in 2012, she served as a collaborative pianist for Grand Canyon University, area high schools in Phoenix, and the Arizona State Choral Directors Convention. In Jacksonville, she is a collaborative pianist for the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus and has toured extensively in Europe with the ensemble. She currently serves as staff pianist for the UNF School of Music voice studios.
Performance Highlights & Guest Artists
Highlights of the choral season include collaborations with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville SINGS! High School Honor Invitational, Osprey Choral Showcases, Handel’s Messiah, and an annual spring masterwork. International tours occur every other year.
Recent masterworks include Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, and Bach’s St. John Passion, Cantata 140 Wachet Auf, Motet Jesu, meine Freude, Brahms’ Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, and Orff’s Carmina Burana in collaboration with the UNF Orchestra, the Lawson Ensemble, and other distinguished partners.
UNF singers have worked with internationally acclaimed artists including Simon Carrington, Chanticleer, Simon Halsey, Joey Martin, Gene Peterson, Eugene Rogers, and Sandra Snow. Upcoming collaborations include Eric Whitacre and Bob Chilcott.
Support Choral Music at UNF
With a gift to the UNF Choral Music Program, you amplify student success. Your tax-deductible contribution creates transformative opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to pursue excellence. Thank you for making a difference.
Ensembles
Coro Profundo (UNF Men's Chorale)
Open to faculty, staff, and students of all majors, Coro Profundo performs one to three concerts per semester and rehearses twice weekly. The ensemble focuses on healthy vocal technique, diverse repertoire ranging from a cappella to accompanied works, and developing a professional understanding of choral musicianship. Student leadership opportunities make this ensemble especially valuable for future educators.
Rehearsals: Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:30–5:40 p.m.
Fine Arts Center, Building 45, Room 1404
Chamber Singers
The Chamber Singers are UNF’s premier choral ensemble and serve as the primary touring and fundraising choir, performing 8–12 concerts annually. Their repertoire spans Monteverdi to Whitacre, Britten to world music and vocal jazz.
Admission requires a rigorous audition process held prior to each academic year and is reserved for singers who demonstrate excellence and enthusiasm in both solo and choral performance.
To book the Chamber Singers, contribute to scholarships, or request more information, contact Cara.Tasher@unf.edu. To schedule an audition, e-mail chorus@unf.edu.
Osprey Treble Chorus
Open to faculty, staff, and students of all majors with soprano and alto voices, the Osprey Treble Chorus performs up to three concerts each semester on campus and throughout the Jacksonville community. Repertoire spans the Renaissance through the 21st century and includes both a cappella and accompanied works. The ensemble offers meaningful student leadership opportunities in a dynamic and engaging environment.
Rehearsals: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 1:00–1:50 p.m.
Fine Arts Center, Building 45, Room 1404
Clarinet Choir
Dr. Sunshine Simmons, director
The UNF Clarinet Choir consists of music performance, education, and technology undergraduate students performing engaging original works as well as time-honored classics. This dedicated group of musicians has performed on various stages in Florida, as well as Belgium, Nevada, Tennessee, and Colorado. In Jacksonville, they have performed for the community at MOCA, Mayo Clinic, Friday Musicale, Discovery Village, Wolfson Children's Hospital, in addition to performing for Ndaba Thembekile Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela. The UNF Clarinet Choir has also performed in a number of churches and schools in the area, often in smaller ensembles depending on the performance needs. Playing a variety of literature, the students rotate parts so they have an opportunity to perform on the various clarinets utilized in a clarinet choir. UNF Clarinet Choir members have been featured in masterclasses and clinics across the country as well as internationally, and have attended graduate schools at Northwestern University, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, New York University, Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, and Michigan State University.
Contact Dr. Simmons at sunshine.simmons@unf.edu for more information.
Concert Band
Dr. Kristen Zelenak, conductor
The UNF Concert Band provides performance opportunities for a diverse ensemble of musicians including students with majors other than music, music performance and education majors, and community members not otherwise affiliated with the university. Rehearsing one evening per week, the band is challenged to prepare a final concert, which serves as a culminating presentation for the semester. This ensemble’s mission is to explore and perform quality wind/band literature while building basic concepts of musical expression and performance among the members of the ensemble.
Contact Kristen Zelenak at (904) 620-3802 | kristen.zelenak@unf.edu for more information.
Drumline
Robert Tobias, coordinator
The Drumline is one of the many ensembles affiliated with the School of Music. It consists of students from across the university and is open to both music majors and percussionists who desire to continue performing throughout college. The Drumline maintains a visible performance schedule on and off campus, including sporting events, commencement, TV appearances, recruitment tours, and performances in conjunction with the percussion studio.
The Drumline is coordinated by a graduate teaching assistant from the percussion department. Auditions are held at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters for the academic school year and are open to all enrolled UNF students.
For more information about the Drumline, including auditions and inquiries about booking for events, email drumline.unf@gmail.com or visit us on Facebook or Instagram.
For more information about the Percussion area see the percussion ensemble below or visit us on Facebook.
Audition Requirements
Students interested in auditioning will be asked to play on a variety of drums, so please be sure to review all parts as members are assigned to the Drumline as needed.
Jazz Ensembles
Jazz Ensemble 1
J.B. Scott, director
The University of North Florida Jazz Ensemble 1, led by director J.B. Scott, is the flagship ensemble of the prestigious University of North Florida Jazz Studies Program. Thanks to the visionary leadership of Rich Matteson in 1986, UNF's Jazz Ensemble 1 has enjoyed the reputation of being one of the finest collegiate jazz ensembles worldwide. That the majority of the group members of UNF JE 1 are undergraduates makes this achievement that much more impressive.
Jazz Ensemble 1 has won numerous group and individual awards and has been consistently recognized by such publications as Cadence, Jazz Times, Jazz Educators Journal, and DownBeat Magazine for its improvisational prowess and precision ensemble playing. JE 1 was the first collegiate winner of the prestigious Monterey Next Generation Festival in California. The band has consistently been invited to perform at prestigious stages in both the U.S, Europe, and Asia, for the former International Association of Jazz Educators Conferences in Atlanta, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans, for Jazz Educators Network Conferences, for the prestigious Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, and for jazz festivals including the Montreux Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Suncoast Jazz Festival, the Mobile Jazz Festival, and annually at the Savannah Jazz Festival and the Jacksonville Jazz Festival.
A special component of the UNF Jazz Studies Program is the Great American Jazz Series, which regularly brings in stellar jazz artists as residents. This series, along with other opportunities, has enabled Jazz Ensemble 1 to perform in concert with 100's of esteemed artists, including Herbie Hancock, Tito Puente, The Count Basie Orchestra, Joe Henderson, Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker, Diane Schuur, Dave Brubeck, Joe Williams, Ernie Watts, Dianne Reeves, the Air Force Airmen of Note, Louie Bellson, Dr. Billy Taylor, Maria Schneider, Slide Hampton, Claudio Roditi, Bill Watrous, the Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra, Arturo Sandoval, Jimmy Heath, Jon Faddis and the Dizzie Gillespie Allstars, Nicolas Payton, Kevin Mahogany, Wynton Marsalis, the Navy Commodores, Christine and Ingrid Jensen, Branford Marsalis, Ed Calle, Kurt Elling, Doc Severinsen, Carmen Bradford, Christian McBride, Michael Mossman, Luis Bonilla, Ignacio Berroa, Allen Vizutti, Richard Stoltzman, Roy Haynes, Marcus Roberts, Terry Gibbs, Joe Lovano, Billy Higgins, Benny Green, Clark Terry, Jimmy Cobb, the Heath Brothers, Billy Taylor, Eddie Daniels, Cassandra Wilson, Jeff Hamilton, Randy Brecker, Joshua Breakstone, Mulgrew Miller, Steve Davis, John Lee, Conrad Harwig, Russell Malone, John and Jeff Clayton, Bella Fleck and the Flecktones, Dave Holland, Cyrus Chestnut, John Pizzarelli,Jack Petersen and many others.
Contact J.B. Scott, coordinator of Jazz Studies, the Great American Jazz Series and director of JE1, at (904) 620-3847 | jbscott@unf.edu for more information.
Jazz Ensemble 2
Dennis Marks, director
Dennis Marks, Associate Professor of Jazz Bass, is the conductor of this elite jazz band at the University of North Florida. JE 2’s performance repertoire is quite varied. The material chosen comes from all idioms of big band jazz, including swing, bop, funk, and fusion. This ensemble consistently enjoys the presence of high-quality players, enabling a wide variety of sound colors and textures to be realized. JE 2 has played several important venues over the last few years and has the honor of being the opening act for the featured spring artist in the Great American Jazz Series. Most players that have played in this band have advanced on to JE 1.
Contact Dennis Marks at (904) 620-3843 | dmarks@unf.edu for more information.
Jazz Ensemble 3
Marc Dickman, director
Dr. Marc Dickman directs this wonderful ensemble, which plays 4 to 5 gigs a semester. UNF’s JE 3 has performed at many venues and jazz festivals in Florida and Georgia. Recent engagements include UNF's Great American Jazz Series, the Intercollegiate Jazz Festival, the Lakeside Jazz Festival in Daytona Beach, the Jazz Festival at the Kravis center in West Palm Beach, the Bella Sera Jazz Weekend in Jekyll Island, and the Amelia Island Jazz Festival.
Contact Marc Dickman at (904) 620-3841 | mdickman@unf.edu for more information.
Opera
Dr. John Daughtery, director
The UNF Opera Ensemble was established in 2007. Comprised and cast entirely from undergraduate voice majors, the UNF Opera Ensemble focuses on skill development, stagecraft, and theatrical experience through production and performance of complete operatic works suitable for student voices. UNF Opera Ensemble also engages in community outreach, student recruitment, and promotion of operatic arts through production of special concerts, educational programs, and school performances.
Past productions include Dido & Aeneas (Henry Purcell) as the first complete opera performed at UNF, Amahl and the Night Visitors (Gian-Carlo Menotti), Suor Angelica (Giacomo Puccini), Hansel and Gretel (Engelbert Humperdink - school show and complete opera), The Consul (Gian Carlo Menotti) as well as Magic Flute, Marriage of Figaro and Cosi Fan Tutte (Mozart), all productions have been received with great response from the audience and strong critical acclaim.
Opera Study Abroad Summer Opera Program in Czech Republic
UNF Opera Summer Program in Czech Republic was established by Dr. Krzysztof Biernacki in collaboration with University of North Florida, University of British Columbia, Canada, and European Music Academy in Teplice, Czech Republic as a summer opera program for UNF and UBC students. European Music Academy is a 4-6 week long summer opera program offering students and emerging professionals the opportunity to gain European experience by performing complete operatic works in professional operatic environment under the instruction of international faculty. The program involves study and performance of at least two full operas in established European opera theatres with professional orchestras (North Czech Philharmonic and Usti nad Labem City Opera Orchestra), as well as masterclasses, individual coachings, and open air orchestra concerts. Past productions include six complete performances of Mozart’s Magic Flute (2010) at the Estates Theater in Prague and City Opera Theater in Teplice, accompanied by North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, four performances of Marriage of Figaro (2011) at the City Opera Theater in Teplice, as well as six performances of Cosi Fan Tutte (2012) at the Karlovy Vary Opera, City Opera theater in Teplice, and Konopistie Castle open-air stage. Scheduled production for summer 2013 include Bizet’s Carmen as well as Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen accompanied by North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra – Dr. Krzysztof Biernacki – Stage Director & Program Coordinator.
Videos
Orchestra
Dr. Marguerite Richardson, conductor
The University of North Florida Orchestra is comprised of University students and outstanding community musicians selected through an annual audition process. The orchestra performs four concerts a year, covering a wide-ranging symphonic genre from Baroque to present-day compositions. The UNF Orchestra has been invited to perform at the Florida Orchestra Association's fall conference and the Music Educator's State Conference. A strong advocate for education, outreach and music of today, the UNF Orchestra has performed for 12,000 school-aged students in Duval, St. Johns, Clay and Brevard counties and have premiered works by Piotr Szewczyk, Gary Smart, Conor Brown and Courtney Bryan.
Contact Marguerite Richardson at marguerite.richardson@unf.edu for more information.
Osprey Pep Band
Dr. Kristen Zelenak, director
The Osprey Athletic Band is a pep band comprised of University of North Florida students that provides support for athletic teams, lively entertainment at athletic events, and represents the University of North Florida, University Bands, and the Athletics Department with class, enthusiasm, and professionalism. The band is one of the most visible ensembles in the School of Music, performing for over 10,000 people per year in the UNF Arena and around the city of Jacksonville. The band also travels with the team during the A-Sun tournament, and most recently traveled to Dayton, OH for the 2016 NCAA Tournament for men’s basketball. Osprey Athletic Band is open to all students on campus who play woodwinds, brass, electric bass, or drum set.
Note: All participants are required to bring their own instruments.
Join the fun and excitement, and contact Dr. Kristen Zelenak at kristen.zelenak@unf.edu for more information.
Percussion Ensemble
Dr. Andrea Venet, director
The University of North Florida Percussion Ensemble, directed by Dr. Andrea Venet, consists of undergraduate and graduate percussion performance majors with a focus on chamber music. The ensemble performs a varied spectrum of repertoire that includes contemporary works, new compositions, commissions, standard repertoire, modern arrangements, world music, and consistently gives world premieres. Commissions and consortiums include works by Michael Burritt, Alejandro Viñao, Marie A. Douglas, Victor LaBozzetta, and Andrea Venet. The ensemble has competed in the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) Chamber Percussion Ensemble Competition four times, competing against up to 30 of the country's top university programs and receiving 2nd in 2019. As active performers on and off-campus, the ensemble regularly collaborates with other UNF ensembles and has an extensive presence within the School of Music. The UNF Percussion ensemble regularly hosts world-renowned guest artists, including Michael Burritt, Escape Ten, Quey Duo, Sympatico Percussion Group, Line Upon Line, Frozen Earth Percussion, Melinda Leoce, and Valerie Naranjo.
Contact Andrea Venet at andrea.venet@unf.edu for more information.
Wind Symphony
Dr. Erin Bodnar, conductor
The UNF Wind Symphony is composed of approximately 45 of the most outstanding woodwind, brass, and percussion players at the University of North Florida. Dedicated to promoting and performing the finest in traditional and contemporary wind literature, this ensemble has firmly established a reputation for musical excellence. Members of the Wind Symphony enjoy opportunities to perform with nationally renowned guest artists, as well as premiering new works for winds by leading composers.
The Wind Symphony maintains an active schedule including three or more concerts per semester, regional and international tours, and regular appearances at state, regional and international music events. Past performances include the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles Conference in Buñol, Spain (2019), College Band Directors National Association Southern Division Conference (2014), Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center (2011), Carnegie Hall (2008), and the FMEA State Conference (2007). In May 2022, the UNF Wind Symphony recorded its first album which was released in December 2022.
The Wind Symphony is open by audition to all UNF students. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Erin Bodnar at erin.bodnar@unf.edu.
Escape Ten (Faculty Percussion Duo)
About the Group
Escape Ten is a percussion duo formed in 2012 by Dr. Annie Stevens (Associate Professor, Virginia Tech) and Dr. Andrea Venet (Associate Professor, University of North Florida). Ardent about exploring many genres and expressing these creatively through the world of percussion, much of their repertoire includes innovative arrangements and compositions commissioned exclusively by the duo. The duo has performed and lectured at over 40 universities, at five international conferences, and was featured on NPR’s "Performance Today."
Escape Ten maintains a steady performance schedule touring nationally and internationally, and are consistently featured as chamber artists and clinicians at music festivals, concert series, conferences, and universities. Concerto appearances include the U.S. premiere of John Psathas’ double concerto for percussion and orchestra with the Roanoke Symphony, the first all-female performance of Viet Cuong’s Re(new)al at the University of Missouri and University of Nebraska-Omaha, and Sejourne’s Double Concerto at the WASBE Festival in Spain with the UNF Wind Symphony. Other notable performances include the Ágora Actual Percussion Festival (Spain), Academy of the Performing Arts (UTT) in Trinidad, Prairie Music Residency at the University of Saskatchewan, Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, Eastman Summer Percussion Festival, and the Leigh Howard Stevens Marimba Seminar. Through a collaboration with composer Eric Guinivan, they are the recipients of a marimba duo commission awarded from the prestigious Fromm Foundation entitled Illuminations (2018). Recent university invitations include McGill University, the University of Delaware Interactive Percussion Seminar, TCU Percussion Ensemble Festival, Northern Illinois University, and PAS Day of Percussion Ensemble Festivals in Tennessee and Arizona.
Alongside signature mallets (Escape Ten Series) through Malletech, they have their own publication series of works written for the duo through Keyboard Percussion Publications. Escape Ten has released two albums: Our Favorite Things (Ravello 2020) and Colours of a Groove (2014). Their inaugural performance endeavor was a three-week cross-country tour where they drove from Virginia to LA performing in 10 cities across the country. Their name ‘Escape Ten’ originates from their trademark roadtrip style performance tours in a Ford Escape, with many miles traveled on the I-10. Escape Ten proudly endorses Malletech, DREAM Cymbals, Black Swamp Percussion, and Remo drumheads.
Follow us at:
Facebook: @EscapeX
Twitter: @EscapeXPercussion
The Lawson Ensemble (Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence)
The Lawson Ensemble was formed in 2015 as a result of group members’ desire to consistently perform chamber music with a level of excellence and commitment and to share the results with the Jacksonville and regional community. Founding members are violinist Aurica Duca, violinist/violist Clinton Dewing and cellist Nick Curry. The group is in residence at the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville and performs regularly on the UNF campus, in Jacksonville and around the region. In the summer of 2016, the group joined the San Marco Chamber Music Society (SMCMS), touring and playing concerts in England and touring Germany in the summer of 2018. Additionally, the group has recorded for Albany Records.
Aurica and Clinton are husband and wife and are both full-time members of the Jacksonville Symphony. Nick is the Associate Professor of Cello at UNF, where he teaches. His wife, Cara Tasher, is the Director of Choral Activities at UNF. The trio has been playing together for several years but a generous donation to the UNF music department allowed them to form an official ensemble and invite other gifted musicians to play with them for select programs. Nick, Clinton and Aurica believe in the enduring power of chamber music, the necessity for all music students to have a chamber experience, and the need for audiences to feel the immediacy, intimacy and beauty of the best chamber works.
For more information, visit www.lawsonensemble.com.