Azusa Pacific University School of Music

This last April, the APU Jazz Ensemble took 1st Place at the California Jazz Championships in Folsom, CA. Congratulations to Director David Beatty and his fantastic group of musicians!

We are hiring Music Assistants for the 2024-2025 School Year! Apply on the Handshake app TODAY to gain experience assisting with concerts, recitals, and day to day operations in the School of Music. These positions are open to all current APU students. Deadline to apply is 8/31/24!

You will not want to miss our Chamber Music Series Vol. 4 this Monday, April 22nd! This performance will begin at 7:00pm inside Munson Chapel, and will feature multiple chamber ensembles made up of our APU music students. See you there!

This Sunday (4/21), the APU Bel Canto Women's Choir will be featured in their concert entitled "Charity and Love". Come out to Munson Chapel at 3:00pm to see this wonderful performance!
Featuring a premiered piece by student composer Lauren Biggs

Come out this Saturday (4/20) to see the APU Chamber Singers in their concert entitled "Give My Regards to Broadway". This performance will take place inside Munson Chapel at 8:00pm.

This Friday (4/19), the University Choir and the Symphony Orchestra will combine for a performance of Durufle’s beautiful Requiem. This program will also include Florence Price’s wonderful 3rd Symphony and Beethoven’s powerful Egmont Overture. The performance will be at the Haugh Performing Arts Center of Citrus College. The concert is free but parking on campus is $5. You will not want to miss this special concert!

The APU Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. John Burdett will be performing in an electrifying concert this Thursday 4/18, at 7:30PM inside Munson Chapel. This performance will feature the West Coast premiere of Spinning Wheel by James Stephenson (with trumpet soloist Wellington de Lima) and esteemed faculty member Dr. Philip Shackleton's piece for wind ensemble entitled Transformations. You will not want to miss this concert!

This Wednesday (4/17), the APU School of Music will be presenting a very special treat! Our Student Composers Showcase will be taking place inside Munson Chapel at 7:30pm, and will feature works by multiple student composers / composition majors at APU. Do not miss this wonderful concert!

You will not want to miss our Chamber Music Series Vol. 3 this Monday, April 15th! This performance will begin at 7:00pm inside Munson Chapel, and will feature multiple chamber ensembles made up of our APU music students. See you there!

This weekend, the APU Opera program presents the comic opera “The Old Maid and the Thief” by Gian Carlo Menotti. This will be a fully-staged production with orchestra!
Admission is free!

You will not want to miss the APU Commercial Styles Pop/Rock Ensemble concert tonight! This performance will occur on Friday, April 12th at 5pm in the Wynn Amphitheater. Come hear them perform some of your favorite songs by Queen, Bon Jovi, Toto, Paramore, and more!

You are in for a special treat this Wednesday night, as 6 Beats Apart takes the stage in the UTCC at 7:30pm! This is a six piece jazz fusion band including APU faculty Mark Gasbarro, representing the most in demand musicians in Los Angeles. Come celebrate Jazz history month and listen to some spectacular music!
Free Admission!

This Tuesday, The APU Jazz Combos will be putting on a spectacular performance inside Warren Music Center Room 111! Come out at 7:30pm to hear a wonderful night of Jazz, and original compositions by some of our students.

This Thursday (April 4th) the APU East End Vocal Jazz group under the direction of Bill Cantos will be performing inside Munson Chapel! Come out at 7:30PM to hear arrangements by Tom Hynes, Bill Cantos, Samuel Thompson, Kerry Marsh, Jennifer Barnes, Michele Weir, & more!.

We had a fantastic time welcoming hundreds of local high school students to perform in our annual Choral Festival last month! This festival included many high school choirs, along with multiple APU choral ensembles!

Don't miss the APU Symphonic Band in concert tonight (Monday 3/25) at 7:30pm inside the UTCC! Conducted by graduate conductors Josh Linares and JP Mora along with Dr. John Burdett, this will be a fantastic performance filled with film and wind classics!

The Azusa Pacific University Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. John Burdett, will be performing as the showcase ensemble this Friday at the Inland Empire Band and Orchestra festival hosted by Los Osos High School instrumental music and their director Solomon Encina (MM 2017). In conjunction with the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association, this festival will feature multiple high school bands, with APU closing out the night at 8pm. In addition to performing works by Prokofiev and Spanish composer Luis Alarcon, the APU Wind Ensemble will perform a few audience favorites from movie classics!

This year’s Music Industry Symposium put on by our own APU music students is coming up soon! Join us for a day full of learning, and networking! Connect with industry professionals and gain knowledge and new opportunities.

50% discount available for students. Don’t forget to bring your student ID!

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You will not want to miss our Chamber Music Series Vol. 2 this Monday, March 18th! This performance will begin at 7:00pm inside Munson Chapel, and will feature multiple chamber ensembles made up of our APU music students. See you there!

This Friday, you will not want to miss our Symphony Orchestra performing great works from Nordic countries including Sibelius’ 3rd Symphony. Dr. Marek Szpakiewicz, head of strings at APU, is the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s beautiful Rococo Variations. The program starts at 7:30pm in Munson and admission is free!

This Friday will begin our Chamber Music Series for this semester! Come out to Munson Chapel at 7:00PM to see this wonderful concert!

Under the direction of Dr. John Burdett, the APU Wind Ensemble will be performing as part of the San Gabriel Valley Festival of Bands, featuring wind bands from South Hills High School, Arcadia High School, Los Altos High School and Citrus College. Tickets can be purchased here: https://tickets.haughpac.com/swsfest2024

Do not miss the APU Gospel Choir's Black History Month concert entitled "This Is My Story" on Tuesday, February 27th! This performance will begin at 7:30 and will occur inside Munson Chapel.
Free Admission!

This Tuesday, The APU Jazz Combos will be putting on a spectacular performance inside Munson Chapel! Come out at 7:30pm to hear a wonderful night of Jazz!

You will not want to miss the APU Commercial Styles Pop/Rock Ensemble concert this week! This performance will occur on Thursday, February 15th at 7:30pm inside Munson Chapel. Come hear them perform some of your favorite songs by Pat Benatar, Janis Joplin, Green Day, and more!

You will not want to miss this wonderful performance on Monday, February 12th inside Munson Chapel. This concert will be featuring Terry Longshore, a percussionist, educator, composer, and performer living in Ashland, Oregon who teaches at Southern Oregon University.
Free Admission!

Come hear our renowned Symphony Orchestra in their first concert of 2024 this Friday in Munson Chapel! It features some classics of the repertoire, one of Haydn’s most unusual symphonies, and concerto competition winner Catherine Hou (MM ‘24) performing Ravel’s virtuoso Tzigane. The wonderful Glendale Youth Symphony will also be performing, so do not miss this concert!

Last week, Ken Medema gave a wonderful guest artist performance inside Munson Chapel! Medema was welcomed into the School of Music throughout the week, speaking in performance forum, and spending time with our choirs.

Ken is one of the most creative and authentic artists performing today. For five decades, he has used music as a vehicle for creating conversation through storytelling and reflection. Ken custom designs each performance, integrating new and old music with his gift of improvisation to suit the occasion. With an ever-growing circle of friends around the world, Ken’s vocal and piano artistry and imagination have reached audiences of 50 to 50,000 people in 49 United States and in more than 15 countries on four continents. Ken is a team player…loves working with event planners, spiritual leaders, teachers, and other artists.

Great photos

Featuring the APU Gospel Choir team & friends!