The Syracuse University Brass Ensemble (SUBE) is a professional-level brass ensemble comprising more than 40 brass and percussion musicians. Its membership reflects the breadth of the University and surrounding community, bringing together Syracuse University faculty, staff, students, retirees, and alumni, as well as faculty and staff from SUNY Upstate Medical University and accomplished musicians from communities across Upstate New York.
SUBE is a permanent Syracuse University Ensemble-in-Residence, supported by the College of Arts and Sciences and Hendricks Chapel. The ensemble presents more than a dozen performances each year on the Syracuse University campus and throughout the Northeast, serving both ceremonial and concert roles.
The ensemble regularly performs at major academic events, including convocation ceremonies for the College of Arts and Sciences and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. SUBE has earned national recognition, taking first place twice in the Open Division of the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) Championship Festival. Its repertoire spans all major musical periods and frequently includes newly commissioned works by nationally recognized composers.
SUBE’s annual holiday performances are broadcast regionally on PBS, as well as on local NPR affiliates WAER and WCNY, extending the ensemble’s reach well beyond the campus community. The ensemble has released multiple CD and DVD recordings and has premiered several dozen new compositions and arrangements, most recently In Praise of Science, written for SUBE by Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Robert Ward.
Colleges and Units Represented
Faculty, staff, retirees, students, and alumni participate in the Syracuse University Brass Ensemble. Members represent the following colleges, schools, and units:
-
College of Arts and Sciences
-
Setnor School of Music
-
College of Law
-
Whitman School of Management
-
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
-
Division of Marketing, Syracuse University
-
Graduate School at Syracuse University
- SUNY Upstate Medical University
James T. Spencer, Director
Phone: 315.443.2426
Email: jtspence@syr.edu
subrass.syr.edu
Horns & Harmonies
TBD 2026
7 PM
at Hendricks Chapel
Ring in the holidays with “Horns and Harmonies” — an annual concert by the Syracuse University Brass Ensemble (SUBE) and the Spirit of Syracuse Chorus (SOS) — on Sunday in Hendricks Chapel.
Join SUBE Artistic Director James T. Spencer and SOS Co-Directors Alicia Caron and Sky Harris along with their award-winning ensembles for this joyful all-ages program of seasonal classics, culminating with a heartwarming candlelight ceremony.
Free and open to the public, the concert includes complimentary parking in all University lots on a first come, first served basis.