About SymphWinds
The Symphonic Winds is a 60-member ensemble dedicated to presenting performances of the most significant music written for the chamber and large wind ensemble mediums. Now in his ninth year as Music Director, Steven Dennis Bodner has developed the ensemble’s identity as a leading proponent of the performance of new music on campus. Since 2001, the Symphonic Winds has commissioned and premiered works by composers Lukas Foss, Michael Torke, John Frantzen, Michael Weinstein, Dana Wilson, Judd Greenstein, Kyle Gann, student Benjamin Wood ‘08, and department chair David Kechley; the ensemble has also given the American premieres of several works by the Dutch composer Louis Andriessen, most recently presenting, in February 2008, the collegiate premiere (and only second North American performance) of his opera De Materie. Critic Barton McLean described this performance as “heroic” and “astounding,” while Andriessen himself remarked, “I am very impressed by the level of performance and [the] first class playing and singing. The playing is amazingly good…. I was really moved by what I would like to call the great enthusiasm, power and energy of the musicians.”
Recognized as one of the premier wind ensembles in New England, the Symphonic Winds performed at the 2006 College Band Directors National Association Eastern Division Conference. The ensemble has received the praise of numerous composers including most recently: Kyle Gann (“I was delighted with the quality of the performance… it sounds so much more like the piece did in my mind”)Roberto Sierra (who described a performance of his Cuentos as “beautiful” and “wonderful”), David Maslanka (who praised the ensemble’s “energized and enthusiastic performance” of Golden Light) and Nancy Galbraith (who wrote, “Your ensemble is quite wonderful, and your performance of Danza de los Duendes was excellent!”).
In recent years, the Symphonic Winds has been noted for its adventurous and creative programming, reflected in numerous thematic concerts that seek to present traditional and contemporary works in provocative juxtapositions. The recent performance repertoire of the Symphonic Winds ranges from the Baroque to the present and includes original music of Henry Purcell, W. A. Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn, Reynaldo Hahn, Darius Milhaud, Silvestre Revueltas, Kurt Weill, Astor Piazzolla, Paul Hindemith, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Toru Takemitsu, Aaron Copland, William Schuman, Vincent Persichetti, and Leonard Bernstein; as well as music of today’s leading composers, such as Louis Andriessen, John Adams, John Corigliano, Michael Colgrass, Richard Danielpour, Michael Gandolfi, Kyle Gann, Osvaldo Golijov, Kenneth Hesketh, Karel Husa, Giya Kancheli, David Maslanka, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and Joseph Schwantner. The Symphonic Winds has also served as the pit band for several recent music theater productions, including concert performances of West Side Story (2006) and Threepenny Opera (2007) and staged performances of Sweeney Todd in 2008.
The ensemble is open to all college woodwind, brass, string, piano, and percussion players and rehearsals begin in September in preparation for several public concerts held in Chapin Hall.