The Brooklyn Wind Symphony (BKWS) is a

community band A community band is a concert band or brass band ensemble composed of volunteer (non-paid) amateur musicians in a particular geographic area. It may be sponsored by the local (municipal) government or self-supporting. These groups rehearse reg ...

based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Background

Founded in 2008 as the Grand Street Community Band (GSCB), the band is a select, all-volunteer ensemble accepted by open auditions. The group split into two in 2011 to allow for more members by reinstating the Grand Street Community Band as an all-volunteer ensemble that rehearses and performs standard wind band repertoire. The mission of BKWS is to promote lifelong participation in music while increasing public awareness of

wind bands A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

and the literature written for them. Advanced instrumentalists, regardless of profession, have the opportunity to play the most esteemed repertoire for

. The ensemble continues to add new repertoire by commissioning new works by talented composers, such as

David Maslanka David Maslanka (August 30, 1943 – August 7, 2017) was an American composer of Polish descent who wrote for a variety of genres, including works for choir, wind ensemble, chamber music, and symphony orchestra. Best known for his wind ensemble c ...

, Michael Markowski, and Viet Cuong.

Performances

The ensemble traditionally performs two concerts in the fall, two concerts in the spring, and summer concerts outside in the parks of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. BWKS and GSCB are governed by the Metropolitan Music Community (MMC) Board of Directors. The MMC is a

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. The Brooklyn Wind Symphony performed at the 67th and 76th

Midwest Clinic The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference is the world's largest instrumental music education conference, annually drawing approximately 17,000 attendees to Chicago from all 50 states and as many as forty countries. It is he ...

in December 2013 and December 2022 held in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. BKWS was the first

ensemble to be invited to participate as a performing band in the prestigious annual event's history, which attracts top musicians and music educators from all over the world. In July 2015, the ensemble was invited to perform at the 16th International World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) Conference in San Jose, California.

Staff

* Jeff W. Ball, Founder/Conductor * Jasmine Britt, MMC Artistic Director * Kimberly Roof, Assistant Conductor/MMC President * Andrew Schwartz, MMC Executive Director * Kate Jiranek, MMC Managing Director

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooklyn Wind Symphony Concert bands Musical groups from Brooklyn Wind bands Musical groups established in 2008 2008 establishments in New York City

Background

Performances

Staff

See also

References