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
The Wind Ensemble, conducted by William & Mary Director of Bands Dr. Richard Marcus brings together 50 talented wind, brass, and percussion players to perform the finest wind music from a repertoire that spans the 16th through the 21st centuries.
Membership in the Wind Ensemble is open to all undergraduate and graduate students (music majors & non-music majors) by audition at the beginning of the school year.
Founded in 1929, the Wind Ensemble will celebrate its 90th Anniversary Season in 2019. The ensemble performs throughout North America and has made recordings including a CD of commissioned works by Brian Hulse on the Centaur Records label. In addition, the Wind Ensemble is 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 Wind Ensemble's collaborations include performances with Virginia and Richmond Symphony soloists, a joint concert with the US Air Force Heritage of America Band, and guest conductors from the US Marine Band. The Wind Ensemble performs annually at the W&M Global Film Festival and at historic local venues including the Kimball Theatre, Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall, and the 316 year-old Wren Great Hall. The group is honored perform at significant W&M events, including the investiture of Chancellor Sandra Day O'Connor.
In May 2015, the Wind Ensemble toured China with concerts in Beijing and Shanghai as well as special service learning projects which will involve W&M students teaching and performing with younger Chinese music students. To celebrate this special tour, the Wind Ensemble performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC in March 2015.
