This ensemble provides a rich and engaging experience for all participants, whether in high school, college, or members of the community. Parts are rotated throughout the semester to give all players a variety of opportunities for section and solo playing.
Conductor
Jason Worzbyt, Professor of Music, Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance, IUP
Cost
Community Members: $25 tuition per semester plus $25 registration fee: $50 total (only $1.79 per hour of rehearsal!)
IUP Students: As an official course in the university catalog (MUSC 124), IUP students must take it for one credit, or for zero credit if on/over 18 credits, in order to participate.
Note: A limited number of scholarships are available to high school students through their high school band director. See our Scholarships Page for details.
Eligibility
Wind, brass, and percussion players, age 15 (ninth grade for 2025–26 academic year) and older.
Auditions
There are no required auditions for the University Band. Simply use the following process:
- If you are a returning player, IUP student, or community member, email both Prof. Worzbyt at reedtip@iup.edu and the IUPCMS director, Tory Dellafiora, at community-music@iup.edu and let them know you’re planning on participating for the upcoming semester. Done!
- If you are a new player, also email them, but include your full name, age, the instrument you’ll be playing, a little about your background/experience playing, and what level of player you would rate yourself to be.
- If you’re a new community player, you’ll be directed to register into the IUPCMS; if a university player, you’ll be provided additional information by Prof. Worzbyt.
Fall Semester, 2025
Rehearsals
- Tuesdays, 7:00–9:00 p.m., Sep. 2 to Dec. 2, Room 121, Cogswell Hall
- Note 1: Beginning with Sep. 9, rehearsals will be extended by 15 minutes in order to prepare the additional music with soloist Doreen Ketchens (see below). If the director finds it is not needed, the extra 15 minutes will be discontinued.
- Note 2: There WILL NOT be rehearsals on Tuesday, October 21, and Tuesday, November 25.
- Note 3: There will be sound check/rehearsal on Saturday, November 15, at 3:00 p.m. in Fisher Auditorium with clarinet soloist Doreen Ketchens, in preparation for the evening concert.
- Note 4: There may be one additional post-concert rehearsal/get-together on Tuesday, December 9. Dr. Worzbyt will announce at the December 2 rehearsal.
Concert
Exciting news this semester as the band will perform TWICE—part of a shared initial concert with the IUP Jazz Ensemble on November 15, and then their own concert on December 5.
In November, Doreen Ketchens, a fabulous jazz/dixieland clarinetist from New Orleans, will be on campus for a residency with the Jazz program and has agreed to solo with the University Band. Soloing with concert bands is something she has done for many years, so it is a wonderful opportunity for the band to perform with a world-class soloist!
The Jazz Band will perform with her on the first half of the concert, and Doreen will solo with the University Band on the second half.
- CONCERT 1: Saturday, November 15, 7:30 p.m., Fisher Auditorium (shared with Jazz Ensemble)
- CONCERT 2: Friday, December 5, 7:30 p.m., Fisher Auditorium (University Band only)
- Admission: $5 regular; $3 seniors, I-Card holders, and students; children under 12 free; tickets are cash/check only, available at the door one hour prior to the performance.
Repertoire
The ensemble will perform a program titled “Stolen,” as it is comprised of transcriptions from orchestral, choral, and chamber works. Selections include:
- Konningsmarsch, by Richard Strauss
- O Magnum, Mysterium, by Morton Laurisden, arr. Robert Reynolds
- I’m Seventeen Come Sunday, by Percy Grainger, arr. Larry Daehn
- Vuelo do Brujas Rhapsody for Clarinet and Band, by James David, Rosemary Engelstad, clarinet soloist
- D'un jardin clair, by Lili Boulanger, arr. Ben Saylor
- Suite in B-flat, by Gordon Jacob
- Porgy and Bess, by George Gershwin, arr. Robert Russell Bennett
Spring Semester, 2026
Rehearsals
- Tuesdays, 7:00–9:00 p.m., Jan. 27 to April 21, Room 121, Cogswell Hall
- Note 1: Prof. Worzbyt will announce whether there will be a rehearsal on March 10 during Spring Break.
- Note 2: There may be one additional post-concert rehearsal/get-together on Tuesday, April 28. Prof. Worzbyt will announce details in rehearsal.
Concert
- Sunday, April 26, 3:00 p.m., Fisher Auditorium
- Admission: $5 regular; $3 seniors, I-Card holders, and students; children under 12 free; tickets are cash/check only, available at the door one hour prior to the performance.
Repertoire
As an example, listed below is the repertoire for the spring 2025 concert that was performed under the title “Tapestries.” The spring 2026 repertoire will be announced and listed in January before the start of the spring semester.
- The Girl I Left Behind Me by Leroy Anderson
- Lyric by George Walker, arr. Cheldon Williams
- Three Places in England by Jack Stamp
- Lyric Suite by Gerald Finzi, arr. Moss
- Fantasy on “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” for Piccolo and Band by Robert Starer, Terri Wacker, piccolo
- Florentiner March by Julius Fucik
- Schlagwerk Marsch by Rosendo Santos, Jr.
Summer Concert, 2026
Rehearsals
- TBA towards the end of the spring 2026 semester.
- Participation in the summer band is 100 percent FREE! Email Prof. Worzbyt at reedtip@iup.edu of your interest and for the link to download the music. Be sure to come to the first rehearsal with your music and having practiced.
Concert
- A Saturday in July, TBA towards the end of the spring 2026 semester.
- Free and open to the public; bring a picnic and your favorite beverage.
- Note: Rain site will be Cogswell Hall, Room 121.
Repertoire
As an example, listed below is repertoire for the summer 2025 concert. The summer 2026 repertoire will be announced and listed towards the end of May 2026.
- The Gold Bug March by Victor Herbert
- Florentiner March by Julius Fucik
- Chimes of Liberty by Edwin Franko Goldman
- National Emblem March by Edwin E. Bagley
- Hands Across the Sea by John Philip Sousa
- Highlights from "The Music Man" by Meredith Wilson, arr. Alfred Reed
- Pavane from Symphonette No. 2 by Morton Gould
- Three Ayres from Gloucester by Hugh Stuart
- Toccata for Band by Frank Erickson
- The Minstrel Boy by Leroy Anderson
- America the Beautiful by Samuel A. Ward, arr. Carmen Dragon
- The Girl I left Behind Me by Leroy Anderson
- Armed Forces Salute by Bob Lowden
- Irish Tune from County Derry by Percy Grainger