Essential Music

The Piqua Civic Band was founded in 1932. Musical styles range from jazz to classical to Broadway and beyond! All concerts are free and open to the public.

The Rowdy Raider Grand Chorus at Wright State University consists of singers from Collegiate Chorale, Tenor-Bass Chorus, Treble Chorus, University Singers, WSU Alumni, and community members. In collaboration with the WSU Bands and Orchestras, the Grand Chorus performs for the annual Holiday Concerts and for major choral works.

For more than fifty years, the Sauerkraut German Band has been entertaining the community at festivals, Oktoberfests, and concerts. Their repertoire includes polkas, waltzes, schottisches, marches, and specialty numbers in traditional "oompah" style, along with many of the big band sounds of the '40s and '50s.

Sinclair's Music Department works to consistently offer students, faculty and staff, as well as the community, a wide variety of musical performances and events. Throughout the year, the Arts Calendar is filled with student choir performances, guest artists, symphonies, and much more that feature the Sinclair Jazz Ensemble, Concert Band, and guitar performing groups.

The Community Bands are composed of woodwind, brass and percussion musicians from Sinclair and the greater Dayton area. Membership includes students from high schools and colleges, music educators, and instrumentalists from a wide variety of professions. Music selections include the best of traditional and contemporary literature for both the large and small ensembles. The bands perform concerts in Blair Hall on the Sinclair campus each spring and fall.

The Southwest Ohio Philharmonic is a professional symphony orchestra within the southwest corner of the state of Ohio. Their musicians have been performing for many years in the area and reside throughout the entire region. The Philharmonic’s vision is to touch everyone with music and to provide music at the highest possible degree of excellence, to provide performance opportunities for area musicians, and to provide the cultural benefits of a Symphony Orchestra to the southwest Ohio region.

Springboro Community Choir is a close-knit, inclusive group that welcomes singers of high school age and up, and all skill levels. They gather weekly to rehearse a diverse repertoire that spans across musical genres, from classic choral works to musical theatre favorites (and everything in-between)Throughout the year, the choir performs at local events, spreading the joy of music and contributing to the Springboro community.​

The Springboro Wind Symphony is a non-profit premier ensemble providing a professional musical experience for the greater Dayton & Cincinnati regions. They provide concerts, chamber ensembles, and educational opportunities for the City of Springboro & surrounding communities.

Music Director Peter Stafford Wilson conducts some of the area’s finest professional musicians in the Springfield Symphony Orchestra at the Clark State College Performing Arts Center, presenting renowned guest artists for concerts and outreach programs. The Springfield Symphony Jazz Orchestra, directed by Jazz at Lincoln Center’s VP Todd Stoll, performs in the John Legend Theater.

The DGMC sings to inspire, encourage and sustain excellence in the performing arts and to achieve a gay affirming presence in the Miami Valley.

The Dayton Jazz Ensemble is an auditioned big band that offers a traditional and contemporary experience combining the skill of interpreting challenging written music with the art of improvisation. The ensemble performs at local and regional concerts, at high school and college jazz festivals, and other invited musical events, including the Ohio Music Education Association conference. DJE also performs frequently with local, regional, and internationally known jazz artists.

The University Orchestra is an auditioned ensemble that performs a broad repertoire for string orchestra in the fall semester and full symphony orchestra in the spring semester. In addition to four concerts presented each year, the orchestra regularly collaborates in choral and operatic performances with the University Chorale and Opera Workshop.