Wind Ensemble
The Shepherd University Wind Ensemble is the premier wind band of Shepherd University and each year the auditions become more competitive. The group is comprised of music majors and a few select non-majors with entrance by audition only.
Over the past 20 years, the Wind Ensemble has been invited to perform internationally. In 2001, the group accepted an invitation form the Lord Mayor of Dublin to tour Ireland and performed throughout the country, including stops in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Tramore, and Dublin.
In 2004, their outstanding recording of Barnes Symphony #3 garnered them an invitation to be a part of the 2005 season in Carnegie Hall. The well-attended concert received a standing ovation and was well received by the New York audience. The Wind Ensemble has also enjoyed the opportunity to perform overseas in May 2009, with a 10-day concert tour of Munich, Salzburg, Vienna and Prague, a tour of Spain in May 2011, and a tour of France and Monaco in May of 2013 with performances in Nice, Avignon, and Paris. They participated in the Alba Music Festival in Italy in 2016, and in 2018 the ensemble toured Spain and Portugal.
The Wind Ensemble performs on campus throughout the year, including the Holiday Gala in December, and two concerts and a regional tour during the spring semester. Recent performance highlights include: the world premiere of Symphony No. 1 by Dr. Mark Andrew Cook in 2018, the Mid-Atlantic premiere of Symphony No. 5 – Return To Middle Earth by Johan de Meij in 2019 with the Masterworks Chorus, and a featured performance by guest clarinet soloist and applied faculty member David Drosinos of Twitch by Nathan Daughtrey in 2020. In March 2021 the Wind Ensemble broadcasted their first livestream concert, A Celtic Celebration, in collaboration with the City of Winchester Pipes and Drums.