Successful concerts and recordings require dedication and efforts of everyone affiliated with the Piedmont Wind Symphony, most notably our players [link to PWS Players under Who We Are]. We are fortunate to also have the contributions of guest artists, soloists, and arrangers. This section describes the talents and contributions of these people who help make the Piedmont Wind Symphony experience unique.

Click here to see lists of works we have performed on our concerts.

Guest Artists

                    Paul Anka

          Maynard Ferguson

Jazz legend, internationally renowned big band leader and one of the world's greatest trumpet and brass instrument players, Maynard   Ferguson is now in his fourth decade as a leader. With his Big Bop Nouveau Band, Maynard has redefined big band jazz for the '90's. While many other bands recreate music of bygone eras, Maynard and company draw upon bebop, straight-ahead jazz, funk, swing, classical and contemporary music to create a fresh sound within the classic big band form.

His recording of "Gonna Fly Now" on Columbia - the theme from the motion picture, Rocky rocketed him to pop fame with a top IO single, a gold album (Conquistador), and a Grammy Nomination in 1978.

An instrument designer, record producer, composer, educator/clinician, symphonic guest artist, and film soundtrack artist, this three-time Grammy nominee and consistent Down Beat and Playboy jazz Poll winner is a diverse and energetic musician whose multifarious talents extend far beyond "trumpet player." Ferguson debuted with the Piedmont Wind Symphony on May 18, 2002 at Wake Forest University's Brendle Recital Hall.

          Aldo Forte

Aldo Forte, is the composer and arranger for the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band and noted composer of music for wind ensembles. He also serves as adjunct professor of composition at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. A member of ASCAP, he has received several ASCAP awards. His music is recorded on Mark Records, Bayer Records (Qualiton Imports), Klavier Records, and Summit Records.

Composer Forte composed Van Gogh Portraits (1996), written as a tribute to celebrated Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh. Tan Gogh Portraits was inspired by five specific Van Gogh paintings, slides of which were projected on the wall during our performance in May, 2000.

We previously performed Mr. Forte's Canzonetta for Euphonium and Band on our May 4, 1999 concert with Patrick Clark, solo euphonium. For our 10th anniversary concert, Thursday, November 2, 2000 we performed the world premiere of Forte's A Piedmont Celebration, a work we commissioned from Mr. Forte to celebrate our first ten years.

          Dr. Frederick Fennell

Dr. Frederick Fennell is a world-famous conductor and founder of the celebrated Eastman Wind Ensemble, a group which revolutionized the way Americans looked at wind music. The recordings he made with the Eastman Wind Ensemble are classics and many of them are still available on CD. He was later conductor in residence at the University of Miami, Florida for many years and, at an age when many are considering retirement, became the conductor of the Kosei Wind Orchestra, in Tokyo, Japan, leading them for many years and producing a fine series of CDs.

Robert Simon, our music director, has known Dr. Fennell for many years and chose works for our May 9, 1998 concert that were closely associated with Dr. Fennell. Dr. Fennell conducted with obvious pleasure and enthusiasm, despite having conducted some of these works for more than 50 years. Four of the works on the program were Edition Frederick Fennell.

          Dr. Roger Hannay

Dr. Roger Hannay, nationally known 20f-century composer and Professor Emeritus of music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was in the audience for the world premiere of a new edition of his Symphony for Band (1963). The Edition Robert Simon of the Symphony for Band, the first printed edition of Dr. Hannay's symphony, was prepared by our music director and is available at better music stores everywhere.

          Keith Yelton Owens II

Keith Yelton Owens 11, 20-century composer, wrote the oboe concerto that we did the world premiere for at our February 8, 1998 concert with Melody Choplin, our principal oboist. This was PWS's first 'Pops' concert.   

Arturo Sandoval

Arturo Sandoval, one of the world’s most acknowledged guardians of jazz and trumpet and flugelhorn, can burn through an Afro-Cuban groove, tear up a bebop tune, soar over a Mozart concerto and sooth you with a luscious ballad with equal power and grace.

Arturo Sandoval has been awarded 4 Grammy Awards, 6 Billboard Awards and an Emmy Award. The latter for his composing work on the entire underscore of the HBO movie based on his life, “ For Love or Country ” starring Andy Garcia. He is one of the most dynamic and vivacious live performers of our time, and has recently been seen by millions in the Grammy Awards performing with pop-phenomenon Justin Timberlake as well as on the Latin Billboard Awards with the gifted Alicia Keys, where he was awarded his 6th Billboard Awards for " Best Latin Jazz Album”.

Sandoval is also a renowned classical musician, performing regularly with the leading symphony orchestras from around the world. Arturo has composed his own “ Concerto for Trumpet & Orchestra” , which can be heard on “ Arturo Sandoval: The Classical Album.” He has been chosen to perform with the foremost orchestras on primetime television, and was asked by John Williams to record on Williams’ original Trumpet Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra. His classical artistry has earned him the respect and admiration from the most prestigious conductors, composers and symphony orchestras worldwide.

Diane Schuur

Diane Schuur’s interpretative powers and her legendary three-and-a-half octave vocal range have earned her the title of “the new First Lady of jazz,” five GRAMMY® nominations, two GRAMMY® awards, and acclaim from critics worldwide, including the late Leonard Feather. The venerable father of contemporary jazz criticism lauded Schuur most for her adaptability and versatility. Indeed, the feisty and spirited vocalist is always ready for a new jazz journey.

Winston-Salem was treated to Schuur's vocal mastery on May 11, 2005 when Diane gave a concert with the Piedmont Wind Symphony at the Stevens Center. 

          Ernie Watts

Ernie Watts, saxophone, appeared with guest artists: Jeff Holmes, piano and trumpet; Jamey Staub, MIDI-Percussion; Matt Kendrick, bass; Federico Pivetta, piano; Larry Carman, drums.

Jazz great Ernie Watts studied classical music but went on to play with Buddy Rich's band. Other well-known artists with whom he has performed include Cannonball Adderley, Quincy Jones, the Rolling Stones, Whitney Houston, Frank Zappa, Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, among many others. His playing can be heard in many television and film scores: The Fabulous Baker Boys, Ghostbusters, Tootsie, Arthur, The Color Purple, Fame, night Court, Benson, and Dynasty.

Ernie was featured on the second half of our November 13, 1999 concert and performed many outstanding solos, both with the full PWS and with the jazz trio, effortlessly switching between soprano, alto and tenor saxophones. Patrick Tucker, PWS principal hornist, shared the stage with Ernie on the final piece, Frontiers.

                                                                                    Soloists

 Percussionist Birgit Blythe was typewriter soloist in The Typewriter by Leroy Anderson.

 Patrick Clark, our principal euphonium player, was featured in Aldo Rafael Forte's lyrical work, Canzonetta for Euphonium and Band.

 Patrick Tucker, our principal hornist, was the featured flugelhorn soloist on the jazz ballad Lover Man. Matt Eastling provided the typewriter bell    for Leroy Anderson's The Typewriter.

The Downtown Middle School Band (Winston-Salem) performed with PWS in the Sousa march Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

Soprano Cheryl Halver sang two songs from the hit musical, The Roar of the Greasepaint ... The Smell of the Crowd: On a Wonderful Day Like Today and Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)?

Judith Jordan, our principal flutist, was the featured soloist in the Concertino for Flute by Cecile Chaminade.

PWS principal clarinetist Linda Julian was featured in the Theme from Schindler's List by John Williams (from the Academy Award-winning film).

Dr. David Legette, the head of the Department of Fine Arts at WSSU and our long-time principal saxophonist, was the featured alto saxophone soloist in the mellow jazz ballad, It Needn't End In Tears, which also featured solos by trumpet player Jim Schulstad and principal clarinetist Linda Julian. Legette also performed the Serenade for Alto Saxophone and Band by Frank Bencriscutto.

Milorad Margitic, an accordionist, had some prominent solos in the Jazz Suite no. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich.

Robah Ogburn, Jim Schulstad and Charlie Noell showed off their talents in A Bugle's Holiday.

Danny Roberson, our principal trombonist, was the featured soloist on the song If He Walked into My Life from the hit Broadway musical Mame. This concert featured a vocal soloist, a PWS first. He also played the trombone solo in the second movement, "Recitative and Prayer," of Hector Berlioz's Grande symphonie funebre et triomphale, an original composition for band. We performed the original band version of the Grande symphonie (no strings or chorus) in its entirety.

Trumpeter David Ross was featured in A Trumpeter's Lullaby.

Ralph Vaughan Williams' Concerto for Bass Tuba in F minor spotlighted our principal tubist Michael Teague, a founding member of the PWS.