Wind Ensemble
Director:
[[rcmarcus, Richard Marcus]]
About:
50 wind, brass, and percussion players performing wind music from the 16th through the 21st centuries.
Website:
{{https://windensemble.pages.wm.edu/}}
Membership:
Open to all undergraduate and graduate students by {{https://windensemble.pages.wm.edu/auditions-2/, audition}}.
About the Wind Ensemble
Founded in 1929, the William & Mary Wind Ensemble brings together approximately fifty of the College’s most talented wind, brass and percussion players to perform the highest quality wind literature from the 16th through the 21st centuries. The Wind Ensemble is open to all undergraduate and graduate students (regardless of major) by audition at the beginning of the Fall Semester and is a full-year commitment. The group gives 3 to 4 performances each semester, including Family Weekend, Homecoming, Winter, and Spring concerts.
In March 2015, the group performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The program featured two world premières: Margins Afterwards by Brian Hulse and Dabke by W&M Artist-in-Residence Kareem Roustom. Since 2016, the ensemble has premièred works by Dawn Avery, Maria Faust, Kevin Kay (W&M, ’17), and Calder Sprinkle (W&M, ’25). The ensemble recorded works by Brian Hulse on the Centaur Records label and was featured prominently in the original score to 923 Films' motion picture, Hogtown. The film was officially selected by the 2014 Black Harvest Film Festival and premiered at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, Illinois. The W&M Wind Ensemble was named a national finalist in the American Prize Competition in 2020, 2021, and 2023.
The Wind Ensemble's collaborations include performances with Virginia and Richmond Symphony soloists, joint concerts with the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band and the TRADOC Band, and guest conductors from the U.S. Marine Band. The ensemble performed for the investiture of Chancellors Robert Gates and Sandra Day O’Connor and the inauguration of Gene Nichol and Katherine Rowe, William & Mary’s twenty-sixth and twenty-eighth presidents. Recent performances include the College Music Society Mid-Atlantic Chapter’s regional conference in April 2024.
Each spring, the Wind Ensemble embarks on a tour to promote the W&M Music Department. The group has performed in major cities such as Montreal, Nashville, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Chicago. In May 2015, with support from the U.S./China Cultural and Educational Foundation and the Reves Center for International Studies, the Wind Ensemble embarked on an international tour to China, with concerts in Beijing and Shanghai. In May 2018, the Wind Ensemble completed a 10-day tour of the United Kingdom. The Wind Ensemble, alongside the W&M Symphony Orchestra, traveled to Prague and Vienna in May 2023.
