Texas A&M Wind Symphony
Encyclopedia
The Texas A&M Wind Symphony is a 63 member ensemble, representing "the finest wind
and percussion
players on the TAMU
campus." The conductor
of the Wind Symphony is Dr. Timothy Rhea and his assistant is Lt. Travis Almany. The band rehearses in the E.V. Adams Band Hall.
Timothy Rhea was named conductor
of the Texas A&M Wind Symphony in 1995 and Director of Bands
of Texas A&M University
June 1, 2002.
Rhea has conducted the Wind Symphony at the Texas Music Educators Association
, the College Band Directors National Association, and the American Bandmasters Association
conventions. Upon several occasions, he has toured with the band throughout the state of Texas
, including performances at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, the Wortham Center in Houston, as well as San Antonio and Austin.
Timothy Rhea began conducting the Wind Symphony in Europe
in 1999. Under his direction, the Wind Symphony has released a six volume march series, entitled “Legacy of the March”; a four volume band music album, “Wind Band Masterworks”; and, occasionally, live concert recordings.
Since 1999, European tours of the band have resulted in concert appearances in Germany
, Ireland
, Austria
, the Czech Republic
, and England
. In their most recent tour, in May 2007, The Texas A&M Wind Symphony performed in Prague
, Czech Republic
; Salzburg
, Austria
; and Munich
, Germany
. The Wind Symphony performed in Carnegie Hall in February, 2008.
during the spring semester. Since 2005, the Wind Symphony has carried out private and public performances in nearly every major city in the State of Texas. Destinations have included Katy, TX, Lake Jackson, TX, Pasadena, TX, Houston, TX, The Woodlands, TX, Richardson, TX, Austin, TX, and San Antonio, TX (2007 TMEA Convention).
. Due to the popularity of the band's ability to perform marches, for every compact disc consisting of traditional and modern music, another is dedicated solely to marches. As of February 2008, the Texas A&M Wind Symphony has released four volumes of their Wind Band Masterworks collection and six volumes of their Legacy of the March series. Additionally, upon occasion, the band releases recordings of live performances, depending on the venue
.
February 22, 2008. They performed Leonard Bernstein
's Overture to Candide, Gustav Holst
's First Suite in E-flat for Military Band, George Gershwin
's Rhapsody in Blue
, featuring Dr. Katheryn Woodard, Donald Grantham
's Southern Harmony, Percy Grainger
's Children's March 'Over The Hills And Far Away', Frank Ticheli's Blue Shades, William Himes' version of Amazing Grace
, Dr. David F. Wilborn's newly commissioned Concertante Caprice and John P. Sousa's The Freelance March. For their encore, the band performed Stars and Stripes Forever.
In the 2008-2009 season, instrumentation of the band consists of:
Wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of...
and percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
players on the TAMU
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
campus." The conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
of the Wind Symphony is Dr. Timothy Rhea and his assistant is Lt. Travis Almany. The band rehearses in the E.V. Adams Band Hall.
Timothy Rhea's tenure
Timothy Rhea was named conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
of the Texas A&M Wind Symphony in 1995 and Director of Bands
Director of Bands
A Director of Bands is the head figure of a marching or concert form of bands, a person who leads a musical ensemble. The Director, by history and tradition, must know all the concepts of music and must be able to teach all different kinds of instrumental musicians in order to make a performance at...
of Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
June 1, 2002.
Rhea has conducted the Wind Symphony at the Texas Music Educators Association
Texas Music Educators Association
Texas Music Educators Association, or TMEA, is an organization of over 9,000 Texas school music educators. Its stated goals are to provide professional growth opportunities, to encourage interaction among music education professionals, to foster public support for music in schools, to offer...
, the College Band Directors National Association, and the American Bandmasters Association
American Bandmasters Association
The American Bandmasters Association was formed in 1929 by Edwin Franko Goldman to promote concert band music. Goldman sought to raise esteem for concert bands among musicians and audiences...
conventions. Upon several occasions, he has toured with the band throughout the state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, including performances at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, the Wortham Center in Houston, as well as San Antonio and Austin.
Timothy Rhea began conducting the Wind Symphony in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1999. Under his direction, the Wind Symphony has released a six volume march series, entitled “Legacy of the March”; a four volume band music album, “Wind Band Masterworks”; and, occasionally, live concert recordings.
European tours
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In their most recent tour, in May 2007, The Texas A&M Wind Symphony performed in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
; Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
; and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The Wind Symphony performed in Carnegie Hall in February, 2008.
Domestic tours
The Wind Symphony regularly tours throughout the state of TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
during the spring semester. Since 2005, the Wind Symphony has carried out private and public performances in nearly every major city in the State of Texas. Destinations have included Katy, TX, Lake Jackson, TX, Pasadena, TX, Houston, TX, The Woodlands, TX, Richardson, TX, Austin, TX, and San Antonio, TX (2007 TMEA Convention).
Recordings
The band records regularly each academic year and its series of compact discs recordings are with Mark Custom Recording of New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Due to the popularity of the band's ability to perform marches, for every compact disc consisting of traditional and modern music, another is dedicated solely to marches. As of February 2008, the Texas A&M Wind Symphony has released four volumes of their Wind Band Masterworks collection and six volumes of their Legacy of the March series. Additionally, upon occasion, the band releases recordings of live performances, depending on the venue
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...
.
Carnegie Hall debut performance
The Wind Symphony performed in Carnegie HallCarnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
February 22, 2008. They performed Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
's Overture to Candide, Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
's First Suite in E-flat for Military Band, George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
's Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band written in 1924, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects....
, featuring Dr. Katheryn Woodard, Donald Grantham
Donald Grantham
Donald Grantham is an American composer and music educator.Grantham was born in Duncan, Oklahoma. After receiving a Bachelor of Music from the University of Oklahoma, he went on to receive his MM and DMA from the University of Southern California. For two summers he studied under famed French...
's Southern Harmony, Percy Grainger
Percy Grainger
George Percy Aldridge Grainger , known as Percy Grainger, was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. He also made many...
's Children's March 'Over The Hills And Far Away', Frank Ticheli's Blue Shades, William Himes' version of Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
, Dr. David F. Wilborn's newly commissioned Concertante Caprice and John P. Sousa's The Freelance March. For their encore, the band performed Stars and Stripes Forever.
Membership
- 1 PiccoloPiccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
- 4 fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s - 2 oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s - 1 English hornCor anglaisThe cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
- 1 E♭ Clarinets
- 11 B♭ Clarinets
- 1 Bass ClarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
- 1 Contra-alto ClarinetContra-alto clarinetThe contra-alto clarinet is a large, low-sounding musical instrument of the clarinet family. The modern contra-alto clarinet is pitched in the key of EE and is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the EE contrabass clarinet...
- 1 bassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
- 1 ContrabassoonContrabassoonThe contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
- 2 Alto Saxophones
- 1 Tenor SaxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- 1 Baritone SaxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
- 6 Horns in F
- 7 trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s - 4 tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s - 2 Bass Trombones
- 3 euphoniumEuphoniumThe euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...
s - 3 tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
s - 2 String Basses
- 1 PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- 6 Percussionists
See also
- Fightin' Texas Aggie BandFightin' Texas Aggie BandThe Fightin' Texas Aggie Band is the official marching band of Texas A&M University. Composed of over 300 men and women from the school's Corps of Cadets, it is the largest military marching band in the world...
- Texas A&M Singing CadetsTexas A&M Singing CadetsThe Texas A&M Singing Cadets are a male choral group at Texas A&M University. Nicknamed "The Voice of Aggieland", the Singing Cadets have been touring for 107 seasons, with their roots in a glee club founded on the A&M campus in 1893. The Singing Cadets are one of the oldest collegiate singing...
- Texas A&M University Century SingersTexas A&M University Century SingersThe Texas A&M University Century Singers are Texas A&M University's 80 to 90 member mixed choral group. The current director is Dr. Jess Wade III.-History:...