The Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Shawn Smith and Dr. Shayna Stahl, recently traveled to Natchitoches, Louisiana, to perform at the College Band Directors National Association Southern Division Conference (February 20-22). The UNC Charlotte band was one of just a handful of ensembles chosen to perform through a competitive audition process.
“Around the time I started here in 2013, the Wind Ensemble and I sat down and talked about a few goals we would like to have for the ensemble as a whole,” Smith told the Niner Times. “We had short-term, long-term and medium-term goals. Getting selected to perform at this concert was one of our medium-term goals.”
The Wind Ensemble’s program, which they performed at UNC Charlotte on February 19, included two commissioned works: Caminantes, by Venezuelan-born composer Ricardo Lorenz, and Places we can no longer go, by composer John Mackey and featuring guest soprano Lindsay Kesselman.
The next Wind Ensemble concert will take place on April 25 in the Anne R. Belk Theater in Robinson Hall.