A collage featuring students in NC State's concert bands, jazz bands, dance companies, choirs and marching band.

Performance Groups

Find your Pack and Perform at NC State.

Do something you love, continue your artistic development, and be a part of our thriving dance and music community when you enroll in an NC State performing ensemble.

More than 500 student-performers, representing every college on campus, participate in dance companies and vocal and instrumental ensembles each semester. Each performance course can be repeated for course credit, and admission is open by audition.

Feeling nervous about auditioning? Try our symphonic band (MUS 135) to start, which doesn’t require an audition.

Singing in the choirs and being a music minor at NC State has legit given me some of the best memories and friends that I’ve ever had.
Lanz Santiaguel

Think and Do the Audition

You have everything to gain by going for that audition (and we’re so not scary). Take the leap. Find dates, requirements and contact information on our audition page and come join our Pack.

Learn about auditions

Photograph of the State Chorale performing inside Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral. Image shows a large group of students wearing formal attire, holding folders of sheet music and singing.

Choirs

Our three choirs—State Chorale, University Singers and Chamber Singers—provide opportunities for singers at a variety of experience levels to perform with their peers while developing choral and vocal skills.

Join a choir

Concert Bands

Our auditioned wind ensemble and non-auditioned symphonic band provide opportunities for every woodwind, brass or percussion instrumentalist who wishes to continue performing.

Join a concert band

Two dancers smiling for a pose while performing on stage

Dance Companies

Members of the Panoramic Dance Project and the State Dance Company routinely work with professional artists and train in a wide range of dance styles while focusing on performance and the choreographic process.

Join a dance company

Jazz Bands and Combos

Students interested in performing jazz are encouraged to audition for the jazz big bands and combos. Each ensemble provides student-musicians opportunities to perform and develop jazz and improvisational skills.

Join a jazz band

Drum line students warm up before a game

Marching Band and Pep Band

The Power Sound of the South® marching band and Varsity Band perform at football and basketball games, along with campus events, parades and occasional tours. Both bands are beloved parts of the NC State experience.

Join an athletic band

Student performs in an orchestra concert.

Orchestras

Our symphony and chamber orchestra include both students and community musicians, and each performs a mix of classic orchestral repertoire and brand-new music commissioned for our orchestras.

Join an orchestra

A gospel choir sings with a music director standing in the foreground.

Student Organizations

Our affiliated student-run performing organizations include several a cappella groups, a gospel choir and a group that gathers for jam sessions. Check out the organizations you can join and continue to perform.

Join a student organization

Being a part of [a dance company]… pushed me beyond my comfort zone in a safe and creative space, all while I connected with likeminded individuals with whom I formed lasting bonds.
Katie Quinn
B.S. fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology, 2021

Don’t Miss a Beat

Subscribe to our emails to receive audition updates, concert announcements, or our monthly newsletter so you’ll always know what’s happening with our student-performers.

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Musicians play brass instruments during a symphonic band concert