Frequently Asked Questions

The Yale Wind Ensemble, (formerly the Yale’ Concert Band), is a group of 45-65 wind, brass, and percussion players, that embraces the aesthetics of the traditional wind band and the contemporary experimental ensemble. The Yale Wind Ensemble repertoire consists of a panoply of wind band classics; premieres by and commissions of Yale students, faculty and established world-class composers; and the newest wind band literature that incorporates electro-acoustic sounds, folk/rock/hip hop music, soloists, and theatrical trappings. The Yale Wind Ensemble’s repertoire includes pieces for chamber winds.

The Yale Wind Ensemble is conducted by Thomas C. Duffy, Professor in the Practice of Music in the Yale School of Music, Yale University’s Director of Bands, and Clinical Professor in the Yale School of Nursing.

Auditions for the Yale Wind Ensemble (MUSI 1190) are held in late August in Room 301, Hendrie Hall in the Adams Center for Musical Arts, 165 Elm Street. Audition information and materials, including required excerpts, are posted in July. 

NOTE: Do not register for this 0-credit, P/F class until you have been admitted to the Yale Concert Band.

The Yale Wind Ensemble has the distinction of being the first United States college concert band to tour Europe, beginning in 1959 with Director of Bands and Professor Emeritus Keith L. Wilson. Since that time, the Yale Wind Ensemble, operating as the Yale Concert Band, has completed international concert tours to Puerto Rico, California, Florida, Texas, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, England, Denmark, Bermuda, Japan, Italy, Ireland, the north coast of Africa, Austria, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Swaziland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ghana, Greece, Australia,  Spain, Scotland and Wales. 

Learn more on our Tours history page. 

The Yale Wind Ensemble rehearses four hours per week — every Tuesday and Thursday from 4:05 pm to 6:15 pm — in Room 301 of Hendrie Hall in the Adams Center for Musical Arts. The ensemble performs four concerts per year in Woolsey Hall and periodically performs off-site. Members are encouraged to take advantage of group-sponsored social events (movie nights, bowling, etc). The overall time commitment to the ensemble is largely determined by the enthusiasm of the individual player.

The Yale Wind Ensemble performs repertoire ranging from wind band classics to premieres, commissions, music for chamber winds, and the newest wind band literature.  You can listen to selected recordings on the Recordings page. 

Yale has many musical opportunities. There are several student-run residential college orchestras, including the Berkeley College Orchestra and the Davenport Pops Orchestra. Wind and brass players can also set their sights on the Yale Symphony Orchestra and the Yale Jazz Ensembles. If you’re interested in chamber music, musicians abound at Yale and most are eager to start a small chamber group of their own. Students can even get credit for their chamber music and a School of Music coach by taking MUSI 2220, The Performance of Chamber Music. Additionally, you can play in the pit orchestra of a musical or an opera. 

Highly trained musicians at Yale College may qualify for a program that awards course credit for students taking free music lessons.  Students audition in September at the Yale School of Music, one of the top music graduate schools in the country, and are matched with instructors, including School of Music faculty and highly trained graduate students.  Students who take two semesters of music theory may receive free lessons and college credit. Placement examinations for theory classes are administered by the Department of Music in the first week of school.  Students who have not fulfilled the theory requirement can still take lessons for a fee but may not receive college credit. For more information, visit the Music Lessons Program page.

The easiest way to get more information is through the Yale Bands Office. The Bands Operations and Productions Manager will be glad to help you with any questions you might have via e-mail, or you can visit them in Hendrie Hall. To contact the Bands by phone, please call the band office at (203) 432-4111. If you would like to get in touch with a student, please write to the bands president.

The Yale Jazz Ensembles (MUSI 1193) combine the  big band and combo styles of jazz to present a variety of music across all styles of the genre: classic pieces from the golden age of the big band, jazz standards — including those from Yale’s Benny Goodman archive — and the newest, most progressive jazz compositions.

GRAMMY award-winning saxophonist Wayne Escoffery is the director of the Yale Jazz Ensembles.

Auditions for the Yale Jazz Ensembles are held at the beginning of each academic year., with information and audition excerpts posted in late July.  Visit the Auditions page for more information. 

The  Yale Jazz Ensembles Big Band rehearses two and a half hours per week (on Wednesdays from 7:00pm to 9:30pm) and may have sectional rehearsals outside that time. This ensemble performs two concerts per year in Yale’s Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall and performs a few other concerts off and on-campus. The Yale Jazz Ensembles Combos rehearse once a week by arrangement and perform one showcase concert each semester. The Yale Bands as a whole also sponsor a variety of social events at which all Yale Jazz Ensembles members are welcome. 

The Yale Jazz Ensembles play almost anything composed for big band; combo styles are handled by the Yale Jazz Ensembles Combos;  and the Yale Jazz Ensembles Big Band programs new commissions, standards, and charts from the masters’ playbooks. The repertoire for a standard concert might include an early Duke Ellington chart, a Thad Jones/Mel Lewis piece, newer music by Gordon Goodwin, a big-band jazz standard, a funk-fusion chart, and/or a novelty chart. The group also programs pieces composed by its members.

For academic offerings,  the Yale School of Music offers a course in jazz improvisation, taught by Wayne Escoffery. The Department of Music often offers elective courses on topics related to jazz theory or history.

There are many different smaller jazz groups at Yale, ranging in specialties from standards to funk to free jazz. Yale also hosts concerts by professional musicians throughout the year. The Ellington Jazz Series brings to campus the most time-honored and most innovative jazz artists. The Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective offers many events and hosts a Jazz Festival each spring. 

The easiest way to get more information is through the Bands Office. The Bands Operations and Productions Manager will be glad to help you with any questions you might have via e-mail, or you can visit them in Hendrie Hall. To contact the Bands by phone, please call the office at (203) 432-4111. If you would like to get in touch with a student, please write to the Bands president.

The Yale Precision Marching Band is a scatter-style marching bands that performs halftime shows composed of entertainment segments and music at Yale football games . During the winter sports season, the Yale Precision Marching Band serves as a pep band supporting Yale’s hockey and basketball teams, including traveling to playoff competitions. 

Auditions for the Yale Precision Marching Band are held at the beginning of each academic year. You can find complete audition information, including excerpts of the audition selections on the Auditions page. 

The Yale Precision Marching Band rehearses from 4:00pm to 6:00pm on Fridays and performs at Yale football games on Saturdays from 9:00am to 4:00pm.  During the winter, the Yale Precision Marching Band performs at two evening sporting events per weekend. Members are encouraged but not required to attend all winter sports performances. 

The three Yale Bands are separate entities under the same umbrella organization. Each band conducts its own auditions and runs its own rehearsals and performances. There are crossover members for all of the groups, but membership in one is not required to be part of the others.

The Yale Bands maintains an officer corps that works to keep things running on a day-to-day basis, and you can read about what they do here. The Yale Precision Marching Band section leaders consist of a representative or two from each instrumental section to make sure section members are present and given the correct music. 

Yes, students may participate in the Yale Precision Marching Band as announcers, properties managers, sound engineers, and equipment managers. 

The Yale Precision Marching Band has included musicians playing electric guitar, bass, accordion, mandolin, bagpipes, and other unconventional instruments. With a little ingenuity, they can accommodate nearly any instrument and find a place for you. 

The Yale Precision Marching Band  uniform consists of a blue band blazer and white pants, both of which are provided by the Bands. The cost is included in the nominal registration fee: the blazer is rented and must be returned but the pants are ordered in the member’s size at the beginning of the season and are theirs to keep. Members also need a white, long-sleeved, collared, button-down shirt, which they may want to purchase ahead of time, or when they arrive on campus.