Arts and Music
I enjoy arts and crafts as a hobby. What's available in this area?
Plenty. Miami's Art Center in Rowan Hall provides space, equipment, tools, and credit and non-credit instruction in ceramics, photography, wood, and other art forms to non-art majors.
You can also get involved in the Visual Arts Club. With student publications, you can do graphic design, illustration, or photography for the newspaper The Miami Student; the yearbook, Recensio; Oxford Magazine, a national literary publication; and the undergraduate literary magazine, Inklings.
What vocal groups does Miami have? How do you get in them?
Miami has several vocal ensembles for aspiring singers: Choraliers, a women's group of approximately 65 voices; the Men's Glee Club, a group of over 100 men; the Collegiate Chorale, a 90-voice mixed choir; the Chamber Singers, a select, mixed choir of 26 voices; and Opera, whose members perform in an annual, fully staged production. Most every ensemble holds auditions at the beginning of the Fall semester (usually the first week) and are open to all Miami students, majors and non-majors alike.
You receive academic credit for singing in any of these groups, and they all have done some exciting things. For example, the Men's Glee Club has traveled to Russia and has toured Europe on several occasions. In addition to touring abroad, the Collegiate Chorale has performed with Cincinnati's May Festival Chorus and with the Cincinnati Symphony. The choral groups perform with the Miami Symphony Orchestra each year. If you like gospel music, you can join the Gospel Singers, an open, nondenominational student organization.
What about band and orchestra?
There's also a number of instrumental ensembles, including the Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Symphony Band, Marching Band, Jazz Ensembles, and Steel Drum Band. The Pep Band plays at home basketball and hockey games. You have to audition for all these groups, usually at the beginning of the semester, but you don't have to be a music major to try out. Just contact the Department of Music when you get to campus at 513-529-3014.
How do you get involved in the marching band?
If you want to be in the Marching Band, you have to come to band camp, held a week before classes begin in August. At approximately 230 members, the marching band is open to both men and women and includes brass, woodwinds, percussion, and auxiliary units. Music majors represent less than 25 percent of the group.
Stephen Lytle, the director of the band, sends out information about band camp to all incoming freshmen during the spring and summer. You can also contact him by email.
What about a drill team or flag corps?
Miami has feature twirlers, field commanders (drum majors), a drill team (called the Shakerettes), and a flag corps (colorguard). Flag corps auditions are held during band camp in August. Other auditions require you to come to campus in the spring, or you can make special arrangements to audition at another time. For tryout dates and contacts, see Audition Information.
