Home/Ensembles
Six Ways
to Perform
The JCSU band program is made up of the IIOS Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Pep Band, the Five O’Clock Jazz Band and chamber ensembles — all under the College of Liberal Arts and the Department of Arts and Humanities.
The ensembles
Six
Ensembles
The International Institution of Sound is six ensembles. The marching band is the largest of them, and carries five sections of its own.
IIOS Marching Band
The full band on the field, in the stands and down every parade route — five sections, one sound.
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Pep Band
Basketball season, campus events and the CIAA Tournament.
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Symphonic Band
The concert season, and the program’s future touring ensemble.
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JCSU Percussion Ensemble
Concert and world percussion repertoire, open to all majors.
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Five O’Clock Jazz Band
Swing, cool, smooth, bebop and mainstream.
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Chamber Ensembles
Small groups drawn from across the program.
Explore →Inside the marching band
Find Your
Section
Five sections make up the IIOS Marching Band. Each one auditions on its own terms.
Ministers of Funk Drum Majors
The front of the band, and the field command.
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Woodwinds & Brass
Every wind and brass chair in the marching band.
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Funk Phi Mob Drumline
Snare, tenors, bass and cymbals.
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Blue Satin Dance Team
The dance line.
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UntouchaBulls Colorguard
Flag, baton and banner.
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Twirlers & Banner
Baton and banner within the colorguard.
Explore →From the band handbook
What Each
Section Asks
Every section of the Institution holds its members to a published standard. These are the requirements as they appear in the 2026–2027 Band Program Handbook.
IIOS Marching Band
- Open to all JCSU students and subsidiary community colleges
- Enroll in MUS 210 each year of participation
- Scholarship members also enroll in Symphonic Band (MUS 211) in the spring
- Report 4–5 hours before kickoff on home game days
Blue Satin Dance Team
- Interview
- Dance clinic participation (offered throughout the year)
- Prepared routine taught by JCSU dance staff and student leaders
- Freestyle routine created by the candidate
- Technique check — splits, Russians, tumbles, grand jeté
UntouchaBulls Colorguard
- Interview
- Twirl & Toss clinic participation
- Prepared routine taught by JCSU flag staff and student leaders
- Freestyle routine created by the candidate
- Technique check — slams, presents, butterflies, tosses
Twirlers & Banner
- Twirlers: flourishes, flashes, flat toss, figure 8s
- Twirlers: prepared and freestyle routines plus aptitude test
- Banner: interview, marching and maneuvering skills
- Banner: response to commands
Funk Phi Mob Drumline
- Mallets: major and chromatic scales, reading fluency
- Snare: the 26 standard rudiments, open–close–open (40 PAS rudiments preferred)
- Prepared etude and sight-reading excerpt
- Timpani: prepared etude and tuning exercise
JCSU Percussion Ensemble
- Membership through the percussion instructor and Band Director
- Open to percussion and non-percussion majors
- Standard and world percussion repertoire
Symphonic Band
- Rehearses Monday–Thursday, 4:00–6:00 p.m. in the spring
- Required of all scholarship and band financial award recipients
- Will split into Concert Band and Symphonic Band within three years
- The Symphonic Band will become the official touring ensemble
Pep Band
- Rehearses Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:00–5:30 p.m.
- Attend at least 90% of home basketball games to be considered for the CIAA Tournament
- Must be in good academic standing with all professors at the time of travel
Five O’Clock Jazz Band
- Members selected by the instructor and/or audition
- Swing, cool, smooth, bebop and mainstream repertoire
- Open to players building improvisational skill
Membership
Students
First
Membership is open to every student enrolled at least half-time at Johnson C. Smith University, and to approved full-time students at local community colleges and partner institutions — UNC Charlotte, Johnson & Wales, Davidson College and Queens University among them.
- 2.0 GPA to march
- 2.75 GPA to lead
- 3.0 GPA — Scholar’s Club
Student leadership positions are open to sophomores and above with at least one full year in the program, selected through an interview, performance assessment, vocal command, conducting and field teaching.
Fall rehearsal schedule