Music Ensembles
Whitworth's choral program includes three select ensembles, the Whitworth Choir, Chamber Singers and the Whitworth Women's Choir, as well as the no-audition-required Men's Chorus. Members of the choirs represent a variety of academic majors and celebrate the joy of singing and community through the study and performance of a wide variety of music. The Whitworth Choir, regarded as one of the premier choirs in the Pacific Northwest, leads an active performance, touring and recording schedule. Women's Choir activities include the university's popular Christmas Festival Concerts, which tour to Western Washington in December, as well as performances on campus and throughout Spokane. The Men's Chorus is a great place to sing and to serve, and includes joint appearances with other Whitworth music ensembles and presentations at athletic and service events.
The Whitworth Jazz Ensemble has won first place in the college/university division at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival many times, competing against schools 10 times Whitworth's size. The ensemble was also selected to perform at multiple Music Educators All-State and All-Northwest conventions and has performed in residence in Italy, Australia, Brazil, Germany and Cuba. The jazz group has released 11 CD recordings. The group's annual Guest Artist Jazz Concert has featured jazz superstars such as Branford Marsalis, Pat Metheny, Arturo Sandoval, Joshua Redman, and 25 other internationally known jazz artists. The program encompasses two jazz bands and six jazz combos, jazz history class, and private lessons in jazz improvisation and jazz arranging.
The Whitworth Wind Symphony has appeared in concert at numerous regional conferences, including those of the Washington Music Educators Association and the Western/Northwestern region of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA). The Wind Symphony was recently showcased by CBDNA as among the most outstanding small college bands in the nation, and in March 2020, the ensemble will appear in concert at the Western/Northwestern Region CBDNA Conference. Immediately following that performance the Wind Symphony will undertake the first concert tour by at Whitworth music ensemble of the People's Republic of China, presenting concerts in Beijing, Guilin, and Chengdu.
The Whitworth Concert Band is open to all students without audition. It is especially designed for the student who wants to continue to play in band at Whitworth, but who is unable to make the larger commitment to the wind symphony. No audition is required to play in concert band, and the prerequisite for concert band is participation in high school band at least through the junior year, or permission from the conductor. The concert band performs once on campus each semester, and rehearses on Mondays from 6:30-9 p.m.
The Whitworth Symphony Orchestra performs literature of the highest quality and premiered Gwyneth Walker's Let America Be America Again. It features guest soloists, an annual concerto competition, guest composers and frequent side-by-side concerts with the Coeur d'Alene Symphony. The orchestra has performed at the WMEA regional and All-Northwest conferences, and was the featured collegiate orchestra in 2018. Recent biennial tour destinations have included Hawaii, New York City, San Francisco and Salt Lake City. String players also enjoy many additional opportunities including performance classes, chamber music, guest master classes, and frequent clinics with principal players and conductors of the Spokane Symphony. String quartets and the newly founded string orchestra provide additional opportunities for the most ambitious players.