Groups & Ensembles

Kingswood Oxford offers several excellent music groups and ensembles to join. Playing and singing with others helps with your listening and focusing skills. You need to ensure your timing and pace align with your fellow musicians. If you’re having difficulty conquering a tricky section of a song, your ensemble members encourage you and are ready with suggestions. And best of all, the music sounds fantastic when it all comes together!

Middle School
 

Students in the Upper Prep Choraliers develop their individual and ensemble vocal techniques, performing at various concerts and events on and off campus.

Cantabile is the Middle School’s festival chorus. In addition to performing at Kingswood Oxford concerts and events, Cantabile Cantabile members work with Kingswood Oxford’s Composer Colloquy visiting artists (in workshops and master classes) and have premiered 25 commissioned works.  

F2B is the select a cappella group for boys in Forms 1 and 2. Students work with visiting artists from the Composer Colloquy and have premiered 15 commissioned arrangements.

The Octopipers, Kingswood Oxford’s oldest student group, is a Middle School, all-girls vocal group directed by Steve Mitchell. Octopipers train with visiting artists and has won numerous awards, including DownBeat magazine’s award for excellence in vocal jazz, pop, rock, and blues.

Upper School 

The Concert Choir, open to students in Forms 3-6, provides the foundation for Kingswood Oxford’s choral program. Here, students develop ear training, vocal techniques, and the ability to read music. The Concert Choir performs at the annual Choral Expo and Upper School Arts Night.

Students audition to perform with Voce Novissima, the all-female Upper School choral group, where they perform multi-genre works. The group also works with visiting artists and guest composers. 

Outlook is a select ensemble of students in Forms 4-6 who audition for a spot. The group performs a variety of jazz, pop, Broadway, and contemporary music. Outlook participates in campus concerts and regional festivals. 

The Oxfordians represent the most skilled female singers in the Upper School who are accepted into the choir through an audition process. They compete in the Wyvern Invitational A Cappella Festival and perform in various school concerts and events.

Like the Oxfordians, the Crimson 7 features the talents of the Upper School’s most skilled vocalists. In addition to performing in Kingswood Oxford concerts, this male singing group competes in the Wyvern Invitational A Cappella Festival.

Middle School
 

Middle School String Orchestra is open to all experienced string players (violin, viola, cello, and double bass) who perform a varied repertoire of String Orchestra performances, including:

Kingswood Oxford’s Candlelight Concerts
Spring Concert
Special events
School assemblies

Selected players perform with Upper School students. Individual lessons with a visiting professional are available on campus during the school day.

Upper School
 

The Upper School String Orchestra is open to students who play various string instruments — violin, viola, cello, and double bass. In addition to playing in Kingswood Oxford concerts, students focus on their individual playing techniques and the development of the ensemble as a whole. The Upper School String Orchestra performs in both string orchestra and chamber music settings. Outstanding student musicians are often invited to play with the West Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

Middle School
 

Students in the Middle School Concert Band develop their technical skills with a varied music repertoire. These woodwind, brass, and percussion players perform at school assemblies, concerts, events, and on special trips.

Members of the Middle School Jazz Band include woodwind, brass, percussion, piano, bass, and guitar players who audition for a spot. Performers develop their ensemble and improvisational skills through studying and performing jazz, rock, and Latin music traditions.

Upper School
 

Upper School Concert Band is a performance group open to Upper School woodwind, brass, and percussion players. The Band performs at evening concerts and for on-campus events, playing a classic concert band repertoire and new music.

Open to advanced jazz students by audition, the Upper School Jazz Combo performs a variety of musical styles within jazz. Here, student performers also learn the advanced concepts of jazz improvisation. In addition to performing on campus, the Upper School Jazz Combo occasionally performs at outside events and local jazz festivals.

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