UMASS WIND ENSEMBLE

MATTHEW WESTGATE, CONDUCTOR

The UMass Wind Ensemble is the premiere wind and percussion performance ensemble at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  Wind ensemble is a training ground for advanced performers preparing for professional careers in performance and/or education.   The group performs the highest quality music available for wind and percussion instruments from all time periods based upon composers’ chosen timbres, balances, and instrumental weights.  Members of the Wind Ensemble are expected to serve as artistic musical leaders within the department of music and dance, as well as for the university, state, region, and country. 

The Umass Wind Ensemble has recorded the wind music of David Maslanka and Charles Bestor on the Albany and Centaur CD Labels.  Their most recent recording, "Fantastique," on the MSR Classics label, features UMass teacher/artists Eric Berlin (trumpet) and Greg Spirodopoulos (trombone) on compositions all composed for Berlin.  Recent high profile engagements include invitations to perform at the 2018 and 2016 Eastern Division College Band Directors National Association conventions at Yale University (New Haven, CT) and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (New London, CT), performances at Music Educators National Conference and College Band Directors conferences in New Jersey, Connecticut, and Washington D.C., and a special UMass 150th Anniversary Concert at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA. They embarked on their first international concert tour to Ireland in May 2017 and are planning a new CD release for 2019.

Membership is open to all UMass and Five-College students by audition.  Rehearsals are held MWF from 10:10-11:50am in Room 36, Fine Arts Center. Contact Dr. Matthew Westgate (mwestgate@music.umass.edu) for more information.

UMASS SYMPHONY BAND

Lindsay Bronnenkant, CONDUCTOR

The UMass Symphony Band is an ensemble dedicated to in-depth study of music through the preparation and performance of quality literature written for winds and percussion.  Comprised primarily of Music Education majors, the "process" element of music making is stressed; special emphasis is placed on developing individual and ensemble performance skills while, at the same time, exploring a variety of teaching strategies. Students in Symphony Band experience both solo and ensemble performance opportunities through the rehearsal and performance of a wide variety of wind band & chamber wind literature. The UMass Symphony Band performed at the CBDNA Eastern Division Conference in 2014.

Membership is open to all UMass and Five-College students by audition.  Rehearsals are held MWF from 2:30-4:10pm in Room 36, Fine Arts Center. Contact Dr. Matthew Westgate (mwestgate@music.umass.edu) for more information.

UMASS CONCERT BAND

TIMOTHY T. ANDERSON, CONDUCTOR

The University Concert Band is the department's newest ensemble.  Membership is primarily from the Marching Band, but anyone can participate, including community members. Concert Band performs a variety of literature, from marches to Broadway show tunes to the music of Mozart.  Many members of the ensemble use Concert Band as a way to learn a secondary instrument or strengthen their skills on their primary instrument.

Membership is open to anyone by audition, and auditions are used for seating purposes only.  Contact Dr. Timothy Anderson (tanderson@music.umass.edu) for more information.

UMASS MINUTEMAN MARCHING BAND

TIMOTHY T. ANDERSON, DIRECTOR

The UMass Minuteman Marching Band has long been a source of great pride for the University of Massachusetts and the surrounding region. Under the leadership of director Timothy Todd Anderson and associate director Thomas P. Hannum, the Minuteman Marching Band has emerged as one of the nation's outstanding band programs. At home football games, the "Power and Class" performs its traditional Post Game show for hundreds of enthusiastic, dedicated fans who don't leave the stadium until the last note.

Over 380 students experience the excitement of college marching band at UMass. The Minuteman Band has performed for Presidential Inaugural Ceremonies in 1981, 1985, and 2001. In 1993, 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2011, the band performed at Bands of America Grand Nationals. In 1998, the Minuteman Marching Band received the most prestigious honor bestowed upon college bands, the Louis C. Sudler Trophy, which is awarded in recognition of "the highest of musical standards and innovative marching routines and ideas, and which has made important contributions to the advancement of the performance standards of college marching bands over a period of several years." In 2013, The Minuteman Marching Band proudly represented the Department of Music & Dance, university community, and Massachusetts with a featured performance in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Membership is open to all UMass and Five-College students by audition.  Contact Dr. Timothy Anderson (tanderson@music.umass.edu) for more information.  

MARCHING BAND WEBSITE: https://www.umass.edu/band/