Music Program Ensembles
All students, not just music majors, can participate in Carroll's acclaimed choral and instrumental ensembles.
Concert Choir
The Carroll Concert Choir, the flagship ensemble of the choral program, performs regularly throughout the year in the choral concert season, including the annual performances of “Christmas at Carroll,” and appear at university ceremonies such as Convocation, Homecoming and Baccalaureate. The Concert Choir has a rich history of touring internationally and frequent collaborations with instrumental ensembles such as the Wisconsin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Carroll Wind Symphony and Orchestra to perform major works including Vaughan Williams's Dona Nobis Pacem, Mozart's Requiem and Orff's Carmina Burana.
Chamber Singers
The premier vocal ensemble at Carroll, Chamber Singers is comprised of selected members of the Concert Choir and performs repertoire that focuses on more virtuosic vocal chamber music. The Chamber Singers have quickly garnered a reputation throughout Wisconsin for their beautiful tone and sensitive singing, and recent engagements include performances with professional ensembles such as the Vancouver-based Orchid Ensemble and appearances on the concert series of regional performing arts organizations. The Chamber Singers also serve as the musical ambassadors for the Carroll choirs and travel throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest on their annual performance and recruitment tour each January.
Concert Women’s Chorus
Students from all majors on campus participate in the Concert Women’s Chorus, sharing camaraderie through music and achieving musical excellence in performance. The ensemble is designed to enhance the skills of developing musicians while exploring the broad diversity of repertoire uniquely written for treble voices. The choral performance experience in this ensemble provides to its singers the necessary preparation of technique and artistry for successful membership in the Concert Choir.
Marching Band
Carroll University’s newest music ensemble is the Marching Pioneers. The group performs at home football games, in parades and at community events throughout the year. The ensemble is made up of brass, woodwinds and percussion players as well as a color guard. Hearing the band perform the university's new fight song promotes school spirit and celebrates the tradition of music at Carroll. Learn more about the opportunity to join the Carroll University marching band.
Wind Ensemble
The Wind Ensemble, open to all students and majors, is Carroll University’s concert band. The Wind Ensemble plays the best music from traditional wind band repertory to the newest, contemporary wind literature. Select members of the ensemble also participate in performing works for chamber winds and percussion, as well as making up the wind section of the Chamber Orchestra. The Wind Ensemble regularly hosts and performs with guest composers, conductors, and instrumental soloists and regularly engages in commissioning and premiering new works. The ensemble performs roughly two times each semester and tours regionally and internationally, including trips to Italy and Brazil in conjunction with the university’s Cross-Cultural Experience program.
Chamber Orchestra
The Carroll University Chamber Orchestra is open to all students who play a string instrument. This ensemble regularly joins with members of the Wind Ensemble to perform great works from the symphonic repertory and often collaborates with the university’s choirs, particularly in the annual Christmas at Carroll concert. The Chamber Orchestra tours regionally, and members have the opportunity to travel internationally with the university’s Cross-Cultural Experience program.
Jazz Ensemble
The Jazz Ensemble at Carroll University is a traditional big band that plays music from the broad range that makes up the jazz canon, ranging from New Orleans street beats and Duke Ellington to the music of Death Cab for Cutie and Too Many Zooz and everything in between. This ensemble is open to any student on campus and regularly performs at campus events including Carroll’s CU Merry and Bright and “Swingin’ Christmas.” The Jazz Ensemble also acts as a laboratory for students to regularly improvise in rehearsals and concerts and to write original arrangements and compositions, workshop them in rehearsals, and getting them performed in concert.