Essential Music

The Dayton Celebration Chorus offers adults who enjoy singing the opportunity to join music lovers from all over the Miami Valley in enhancing their vocal skills, expanding their repertoire of mostly American music, and performing at a variety of venues. In addition to two concerts annually, recent performances include Dayton's Grand Illumination in Court House Square to open the holiday season, Angel Night at Calvary cemetery, and a lunch at the Earl Heck Community Center in Englewood. During the summer, the chorus sang the National Anthem at a Dragon's game and at a summer concert at Stubbs Park in Centerville.

The society's mission is the fostering, developing, and maintaining of high interest in the guitar, guitar music and guitar performance throughout the Miami Valley region. Emphasis is the classical guitar and related styles. Their signature event is GuitarFest, a fabulous outdoor three-hour show at Stubbs Park in Centerville in early September featuring local and nationally known performers.

The Dayton Jazz Orchestra presents the exciting sounds of modern and traditional big band music. The 16-piece jazz orchestra plays selections from the music libraries of Count Basie, Stan Kenton, Bob Mintzer, Rob McConnell, Duke Ellington, and more. The DJO presents concerts and educational clinics throughout the Dayton area.

The Dayton Metro Barbershop Chorus, a chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, is a barbershop chorus that has been in the Dayton area since 1950. Barbershop music is characterized by a four-part a cappella harmony and the distinct barbershop seventh (ringing) chord. The DMBC performs at a wide variety of community venues throughout the region each year.

The Dayton Music Club presents quality music programs and enhances music education for young musicians. They currently have over 100 members and provide a number of services to the Dayton community, including a forum for auditioned, active members to share music at monthly musicales that are free and open to the public, opportunities for students of Dayton Music Club members to audition for scholarships and perform at a yearly honors recital, and club sponsored activities including Junior Music Clubs, concerts throughout the greater Dayton area, and programs in hospitals and retirement centers.

Founded in 1962, Dayton Opera has enriched the cultural life of Miami Valley. Throughout the company's history, it has had significant partnerships with other arts organizations, stemming from the need for economic operations and the desire to produce the best-quality opera possible. A desire to support young talent has also been manifest through the company's Artist-in-Residence program, a professional training program.

Founded in 1933, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra has a distinguished place in the Gem City’s history as one of the Miami Valley’s oldest and longest-standing cultural institutions. A regional orchestra with 83 contracted musicians and rich in artistic tradition, led by Artistic Director and Conductor, Neal Gittleman, the Dayton Philharmonic family includes five chamber ensembles, a professional concert band, a 140-voice all-volunteer Chorus and three youth orchestras.

The Englewood Civic Band is a volunteer concert band that began in 1990. The band started as the Trotwood Municipal Band in 1973 and moved to Englewood in 1990. Band members range in age from high school students to members in their late eighties and nineties with some original Trotwood Band members still playing. The band plays a wide variety of music including marches, pop tunes and concert band literature.

The Gem City Chorus is Dayton’s premier women’s show chorus, dedicated to advancing the musical art of a cappella singing – especially that All-American tradition of barbershop harmony.

The Greene County Adult Concert Band was organized in the summer of 1988. The purposes of the group were and still are to afford an opportunity for accomplished band musicians of Greene County and surrounding areas to express their talent and interest and to provide high quality summer concerts for the communities within the county. The group functions during the months of June, July and August only, and plays from four to six concerts per summer. The band’s repertoire includes marches, overtures, orchestral transcriptions, contemporary symphonic music and novelty selections.

The Jeremy Winston Chorale International is a group of dedicated musicians who are changing the world through music. Since 2012, the Chorale has been celebrated as one of this nation’s leading ensembles. Winning at the World Choir Games, performing for the Obamas at The White House, and headlining the Prague Proms festival in Czech Republic are a few of the lasting experiences our members and supporters have been able to be a part of.

The Kettering Children’s Choir’s mission is to educate talented young singers and build an appreciation for musical excellence. The Choir’s vision is to be known throughout Ohio as a premier vocal ensemble and choral school with structured musical training as well as high-quality standards of artistic performance and music appreciation. KCC is in residence at Wright State University’s Creative Arts Center.