Chamber Groups

The Electric Guitar Ensemble is directed by guitar instructor Larry Greer and performs diverse works from European classics to original arrangements of Jazz and pop standards. This ensemble performs one on-campus concert per semester and performances at various community and college related functions.

Past performances featured works from the following composers:

• Camille Saint-Saëns
• G.F. Handel
• J.S. Bach
• Michael Praetorius
• Miles Davis
• Duke Ellington
• and Carlos Santana.

Membership is open to both music and nonmusic majors by audition or with consent of the instructor. Concurrent applied lessons are encouraged.

Contact Larry Greer at greerlawre@sfasu.edu for more information.

This ensemble is comprised of majors and nonmajors who play horn. They perform many concerts throughout the year and are featured performers for the annual Pineywoods Horn Day event.

The group meets one hour a week and performs standard horn choir pieces, as well as jazz and popular tunes.

The Percussion Ensemble, directed by Dr. Brad Meyer, consists of five to six chamber groups, each with three to 15 performers per event. The ensemble regularly performs/competes at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention's "Concert Chamber Percussion Ensemble Competition" and Texas Music Educators Association's "Showcase Concert."

 View performances on YouTube

Devoted to the development and preservation of the percussion instrument family, the ensemble prides itself on performing a variety of works by composers such as:

• Varèse
• Cage
• Rouse
• Udow
• Levitan
• Rosauro
• Daughtrey
• Trevino
• and many more.

The highest standard of percussion performance is maintained through various musical styles, including:

• contemporary percussion
• classical transcriptions
• popular and jazz arrangements
• ragtime
• African and Eastern ethnic music
• and novelty works.

The percussion ensemble also is used as a vehicle for solo student performance, student concerto performances and student conducting.

Rehearsals are two to three hours a week and performances are usually one to two concerts each semester. Membership is open to both music and nonmusic majors with consent of the instructor.

One of the most popular and requested ensembles in the School of Music, this 15- to 20-member group uses:

• a full set of pans including:
  • six leads
  • four double seconds
  • two cellos
  • one bass pan
• as well as a large rhythm section with:
  • drumset
  • electric bass
  • and various Latin percussion.

At times, the ensemble also employs vocalists and a four-piece horn section.

Performing a wide variety of music including traditional Caribbean music, pop, rock and Latin, the nature of the ensemble allows for student members to develop skills in improvisation and music arranging.

The band rehearses two hours a week and performs five to seven concerts a semester including appearances at Scare on the Square, the Nine Flags Christmas Festival and other Nacogdoches events and festivals.

Membership is open to both music and nonmusic majors with consent of the instructor.

Founded in 2000 by Dr. Deb Scott, the Trombone Choir ensemble performs several times each year, including programs for local schools and charity organizations. This ensemble of more than twenty players has been featured at a concert during the Texas Music Educators Association Conference in San Antonio.

The trombone choir meets one hour weekly. Many guest artists and clinicians, including Bones Apart, Canadian Brass, John Marcellus, Viento Sur and Edward Kleinhammer, visit the studio to interact with students.

The Trombone Choir is an ensemble open to any trombone playing student on campus but is made up primarily of music majors. The spirit of the ensemble and the trombone studio is one of positive encouragement and camaraderie.

Trombone students from SFA have become successful band directors, university teachers, professional symphony trombonists, jazz trombonists, and been in the finals of international solo competitions.

SFA School of Music's Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble is directed by Dr. JD Salas, professor of tuba and euphonium.

The performance repertoire of the ensemble is comprised of many different styles — from the works of JS Bach to modern pop groups — along with some of the more traditional marches for which the tuba and euphonium are widely recognized.

Since its founding in 2006, the Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble has been invited to perform at several International Tuba-Euphonium and South Central Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conferences. This regularly-meeting group also maintains an active performance schedule in the East Texas area as part of SFA’s Music in the Schools program.