The Naperville Winds perform an evening of 20th-century music Feb. 23
The Naperville Winds, an art music focused wind ensemble, will perform their third concert of the 2022-23 season, "Evolution: Wind Band in the 20th Century," on Thursday, Feb. 23.
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave. in Naperville.
The Naperville Winds comprises talented musicians from across the Chicago area and beyond. It is the ensemble's mission to promote the best wind band repertoire from a diverse array of styles, time periods, and composers through programming and commissioning.
The performance will feature a musical journey from the beginning of the wind band as an art-music ensemble in earnest: starting with the British Band Classics of the 1900s to 1910s, jazz influence of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, the post-war commercial era of the 1950s and '60s, the exploration of color, texture, and extended techniques of the 1960s to the '80s, and the explosion of the percussion section in the 1990s.
The program will feature the early 20th-century British composer Gustav Holst's Second Suite in F; early 20th-century American composer George Gershwin's Second Prelude (featuring pianist Dr. Devin Starr); contemporary American composer Ron Nelson's "Rocky Point Holiday"; 20th-century American composer Clifton Williams Jr.'s "Caccia and Chorale"; and an encore performance of contemporary Japanese composer Satoshi Yagisawa's "Machu Picchu: City in the Sky."
The special guest ensemble, the Dwight D. Eisenhower High School Wind Ensemble, led by conductor Justin Antos, will open the performance.
Tickets range from $10-$15 and are available at the door and online at the-naperville-winds.ticketleap.com.
The concert season will wrap up on Thursday, April 6, with "Distant Lands."
The concert program will feature 20th-century Greek-American composer Andreas Makris' "Aegean Festival" Overture; contemporary American composer Joan Tower's "Fascinating Ribbons";
19th-century German composer Richard Wagner's "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral" from the Romantic opera "Lohengrin"; and American composer David Maslanka's "A Child's Garden of Dreams."
The special guest ensemble will be the Dundee-Crown High School Concert Band with conductors William Brocker and Miles Bohlman.
Additional information about The Naperville Winds may be found at thenapervillewinds.org.