Music

CSM’s Latin Ensemble, Ritmo Caché, specializes in Salsa, Mexican, Afro-Cuban, Merengue, Latin Jazz, and other musical styles of Latin America. In addition to the “big band” of twenty musicians, there is a small combo of eight musicians which performs occasional off-campus events. The group is open to both CSM students and community members who have a love of Latin-American music.

Seeking New Members!

No auditions necessary; beginners are welcome and will receive on-the-job training! Brass, woodwind, piano, bass, and guitar are expected to have some band or lesson experience.

Instrumentation

• Drums: congas, bongos, timbales.
• Hand percussion: guiro, cowbells, claves, maracas, shakers.
• Rhythm section: piano, bass, guitar.
• Woodwinds: flute, saxophone.
• Brass: trumpet, trombone (or other low brass).
• Vocals: men and women; ability to sing in Spanish is a plus but is not required.
• Other instruments will be considered.

Registration

1. New members: Latin Ensemble I (MUS-1030)
2. Returning members: Latin Ensemble II-IV (MUS 1031-1033, The Roman numeral should match your semester in the ensemble.)
3. Community members (non-credit): Latin Ensemble (PEP-5430) (See CSM Continuing Education catalog for details.)

For more information, contact Dr. Stephen Johnson: 301-934-7578.

¡Que viva la Música!

Solid Brass Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Randy Runyon, is comprised of CSM students, local high school students, community members, and local professional musicians. The ensemble performs throughout the year at various venues in Southern Maryland and each semester at CSM. The spring festival offers workshops for area high school musicians and ends with a concert featuring Solid Brass and the guest artist. Interested students and community members are encouraged to inquire with the director or CSM’s Coordinator of Music for available spots in the ensemble.

CSM offers an enriching choral experience for students and community members through its choirs, directed by Siobhan Maguire. The ensembles include CSM students, community members, and local professional musicians. They perform at various venues in Southern Maryland and each semester at CSM. The choirs showcase a range of secular and sacred music from diverse styles and cultures, emphasizing artistic excellence.

The choir program is open to everyone. If you love to sing, we have an ensemble for you! Members come from various backgrounds, including both music majors and non-majors, and engage with a wide array of musical selections.

CSM students can earn college credit by joining the choirs, with each choir offered as a one-credit course that requires enrollment and a fee. Community members can also participate in the choirs as continuing education courses. To register as a community member, please visit the Apply and Register page, sign in or create a student login, set a password, and pay the semester registration fee.

Interested students and community members are encouraged to contact Siobhan Maguire for information on auditions and available spots in the ensembles. For more details about the CSM choirs, please email Siobhan Maguire at sobrien@csmd.edu.

Each semester, CSM’s private studio teachers recommend their most accomplished students for performance in this recital to celebrate their individual musical accomplishments. The recitals are free and open to the public and take place at the end of each semester.

Any student taking a lesson for credit who has been approved by their instructor is eligible to perform.

The recitals feature a diversity of musical styles ranging from classical instrumental and vocal music to popular and jazz renditions for piano, guitar, voice, or other instruments.

The Honors Recitals represent the highest level of musicianship in the CSM music program.

The Southern Maryland Concert Band (SMCB) is a community-based concert band comprised of amateur and professional community musicians and CSM students. The SMCB is a popular fine arts fixture in the Southern Maryland music scene, performing concerts throughout the year in their community series and their two concerts on the La Plata Campus.

Community members with woodwind, brass, or percussion experience are encouraged to contact the ensemble to inquire about available openings.

CSM students may contact CSM’s Coordinator of Music to register for the band for credit.

Benny Carroll Morgan was a beloved music educator in the St. Mary’s County Public Schools for 30 years and served as organist and choir director in several area churches. In January 2016, Morgan generously donated his prized Steinway grand piano to the College of Southern Maryland’s Leonardtown Campus. Sadly, Morgan passed away several weeks later, however, with the knowledge that his generosity will add to the musical culture of CSM’s students and the Southern Maryland community for years to come. The Benny C. Morgan Recital Series was instituted in his memory.

Admission to the recitals in the series is free due to the generosity of community sponsors. All performances take place in the Auditorium of Building A on CSM’s Leonardtown Campus.

Benny C. Morgan Series Sponsors

CSM Foundation
The Nancy S. McMullin Estate
Johnny Alvey
Susan B. Kreckman

Thank you to our supporters!

The Ward Virts Concert Series celebrates the life and talent of Ward Virts, a talented Southern Maryland pianist who died suddenly in 1993. A group of Virts' friends and classmates conceived the Ward Virts Piano Project to bring the love of life, beauty, and music that Ward embodied to a new generation of Southern Maryland students, performers, and appreciative audiences.

The concerts are performed on a world-class handcrafted Bosendorfer Grand Piano, a gift to CSM’s Prince Frederick Campus from the Ward Virts Piano Project.

The series takes place in the Multipurpose Room 104 in Building B on the Prince Frederick Campus. All performances begin at 3 p.m. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. No tickets or reservations are needed.

Ward Virts Sponsors 

CSM Foundation
The Nancy S. McMullin Estate
Johnny Alvey
Susan B. Kreckman

Thank you to our supporters!