A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion families of instruments, and occasionally including the harp, double bass, or bass guitar. On rare occasions, additional, non-traditional instruments may be added to such ensembles such as piano, synthesizer, or electric guitar.
Frederick Fennell was an American conductor and one of the primary figures which promoted the Eastman Wind Ensemble as a performing group. He was also influential as a band pedagogue, and greatly affected the field of music education in the US and abroad. In Fennell's New York Times obituary, colleague Jerry F. Junkin was quoted as saying "He was arguably the most famous band conductor since John Philip Sousa."
Timothy Mahr is an American composer and conductor. He previously conducted the St. Olaf Band for 29 years before his retirement in 2023.
David Rex Holsinger is an American composer and conductor writing primarily for concert band. Holsinger is a graduate of Hardin-Central High School in Hardin, Missouri, Central Methodist University, the University of Central Missouri, and the University of Kansas.
The American Bandmasters Association (ABA) was formed in 1929 by Edwin Franko Goldman to promote concert band music. Goldman sought to raise esteem for concert bands among musicians and audiences. The reputations of concert bands suffered in comparison to symphony orchestras due to factors including "the concert band’s concert venue, often out-of-doors, the difficulty of conductors to obtain a quality music education, a limited repertoire that with the exception of marches was largely borrowed from the libraries of the orchestra, and a lack of camaraderie among the leading bandmasters/conductors of the period."
The Dallas Winds is a professional concert band based in Dallas, Texas.
Bells for Stokowski for Orchestra and for Symphonic Band by American composer Michael Daugherty, is a 14-minute, single-movement tribute to one of the most prominent 20th century conductors, Leopold Stokowski. Bells for Stokowski for Orchestra (2001) stands alone as a concert piece, however, it is also the last movement of the three-movement work, Philadelphia Stories. Philadelphia Stories was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra in celebration of the Orchestra's centennial under the direction of Wolfgang Sawallisch. The premiere was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, under the direction of David Zinman, in November 2001.
Kevin Matthew Puts is an American composer, best known for his opera The Hours and for winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for his first opera Silent Night and a Grammy Award in 2023 for his concerto Contact.
Christopher Anderson was the Director of Bands, Director of Instrumental Music Education, and an Associate Professor of Music at Arkansas Tech University. Prior to his appointment at Arkansas Tech, he was the Associate Director of Bands, Director of Athletic Bands, and an Associate Professor of Music at Texas Tech University. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Abilene Christian University under Fred J. Allen, a Master of Music in Conducting from Northwestern University under John P. Paynter, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting from University of Texas under Professor Jerry Junkin. Dr. Anderson served as the director of the Goin' Band from Raiderland, the Court Jesters and the Symphonic Band from 2003-2011. He taught music education courses and was a member of the Graduate Faculty at Texas Tech. In addition to his teaching duties, he continues to do a great deal of arranging for college marching bands, competitive high school bands and previously for the Goin' Band. He has also done arrangements for jazz ensemble, concert band, and saxophone quartet.
Gary Green is an American conductor, specializing in the wind band.
The Texas A&M Wind Symphony is a 63-member ensemble, representing "the finest wind and percussion players on the TAMU campus". The conductor of the Wind Symphony is Dr. Timothy Rhea and his assistant is Lt. Travis Almany. The band rehearses in the E.V. Adams Band Hall.
Dr. Timothy Brett Rhea is director of bands and music activities at Texas A&M University. As director of bands, he leads the university band program, serves as conductor of the Texas A&M Wind Symphony, and coordinates the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band marching band. As director of music activities, he administratively oversees the activities of the jazz, orchestra, and choral programs. Rhea also served as the 79th president of the American Bandmasters Association from 2016-2017.
Joseph W. Hermann is a leading American wind band conductor and educator and is currently Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee. He is also the current President of the American Bandmasters Association.
Steven Bryant is an American composer and conductor. His catalog of works includes pieces for orchestra, wind ensemble, electronics, and chamber music. Bryant states: "I strive to write music that leaps off the stage to grab you by the collar and pull you in. Whether through a relentless eruption of energy, or the intensity of quiet contemplation, I want my music to give you no choice, and no other desire, but to listen."
Cynthia Johnston Turner is a conductor and clinician in the United States, Latin America, Europe and Canada. She was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University in July 2021. Previously, she served as Director of Bands on the faculty of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia where she oversaw the entire UGA Band program, including the 440-member Redcoat Marching Band, Masters and Doctoral student in conducting, was chair of the conducting area, and artistic director of the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. She formerly served on the faculty of Cornell University, where she directed the Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony and chamber winds. Turner is a guest conductor and clinician in Canada, United States, and abroad.
H. Robert Reynolds is an American musician, conductor and academic. He is currently the principal conductor of the Wind Ensemble at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he holds the H. Robert Reynolds Professorship in Wind Conducting.
Maurice Clark McAdow was an American conductor, trumpeter, and music educator who served as director of bands at the University of North Texas College of Music for 29 years, from fall 1945 to spring 1975. The concert bands under his direction were acclaimed for performing a wide repertoire that exhibited advanced levels of musicianship commensurate with a major music school. The marching bands under his direction were known for innovative and colorful halftime shows. Since the mid-1940s, the College of Music had been, and still is, among the nation's largest music schools. Due to the size of the music school, his marching bands were filled with an unusual number of music majors, sometimes exceeding 90%.
James Scott Syler is an American composer fluent in many genres of music including Wind Ensemble, Choral, Orchestral, and Chamber Music.
The Symphony No. 3, Circus Maximus, is a composition for wind ensemble in eight movements by the American composer John Corigliano. The work was commissioned by the University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music for the University of Texas Wind Ensemble. It was given its world premiere by the University of Texas Wind Ensemble under their conductor Jerry Junkin at the Bass Concert Hall in the University of Texas Performing Arts Center on February 16, 2005. The symphony is dedicated to Junkin and is the composer's first piece written specifically for concert band.
