FARMINGTON – The musical ensembles at the University of Maine at Farmington, which are open to the community, is registering new members. Singers and instrumentalists of all levels are encouraged to join for the new season.

The UMF Community Chorus, celebrating its 26th year, will present the Camille Saint-San’s Christmas Oratorio and Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols in the winter concerts.

Rehearsals will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Mondays in Nordica Auditorium, Merrill Hall, University of Maine at Farmington starting on Sept. 17. All interested are asked to register and audition for vocal placement between 6:30 and 9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10.

The same audition can be used to determine placement in the UMF Chamber Choir, a select subgroup of the chorus that will also perform in the winter program.

Call Robin Palmer-Mosher for an audition time at 778-7072 or go to Nordica Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 10.

The winter program will be conducted by Dr. Paul McGovern, who returns to the UMF Community Chorus with experience as a choir director and music educator. He is the music director for the Granite State Choral Society in Rochester, N.H., and the New Vocal Collective in Conway, N.H., and chorus master for PORTopera.

For the past four years, McGovern has served as assistant professor of music and choir director at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish. He has also taught and directed choirs at the Crane School of Music at SUNY-Potsdam and Georgia Southern University.

The UMF Community Orchestra’s winter program will feature four dramatic works that celebrate special occasions: Handel’s “Royal Fireworks,” Beethoven’s “Coriolanus Overture,” Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll” and “Finlandia” by Sibelius. Rehearsals wil be held from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays in Nordica Auditorium at UMF, starting on Sept. 5. All interested instrumentalists are asked to register at the first rehearsal.

UMF Community Orchestra director, Dr. Trond Saeverud, has performed as violin soloist with major orchestras in Europe and in the U.S., including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Lincoln Center in New York City. He has produced solo CDs on the Simax, Grappa and BIS labels as soloist with Danish and Norwegian orchestras. His recital CD “HIKA” was chosen as “Strad Selection” in the May 2002 issue of Strad Magazine.

He is concertmaster of the Bangor Symphony, first violin in the Nor’easter String Quartet, artistic director of the Harald Saeverud Chamber Music Program and founder and conductor of the Passamaquoddy Bay Symphony Orchestra. He is on the faculty at the University of Maine at Machias.

The UMF Concert Band, comprised of community members and UMF students, performs a variety of standard concert band repertoire to jazz and contemporary music. In their programs, smaller groups such as the Trombone Choir and Jazz Ensemble may be featured.

This winter, the band will present works by Berlioz, Holst and Strauss along with a selection from “Fiddler on the Roof” and a classic Sousa march. Rehearsals will be held from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Thursdays in Nordica Auditorium at UMF, starting on Sept. 6. All interested instrumentalists are asked to register at the first rehearsal.

Anita Jerosch, director of the UMF Concert Band, is a versatile bass trombonist and euphonium player and is a member of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and director of the Edith Jones Project, a modern, big band jazz group. She has performed with the Portland Symphony Orchestra and Maine State Music Theater and has played for Carol Channing, Rita Moreno, Barry Manilow, The Manhattan Transfer and performed at both inaugural balls for President Bill Clinton.

The winter concerts for the UMF Community Chorus will be held Saturday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 2, at 3 p.m. at the Old South Church. The UMF Concert Band will present its winter concert on Friday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m. and the UMF Community Orchestra on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 3 p.m. The band and orchestra concerts will take place in Nordica Auditorium.

For more information, contact the UMF Department of Visual and Performing Arts at 778-7072.