What We're About

We have always dedicated ourselves to excellence in music performance.

The Piedmont Wind Symphony gave its first performance April 10, 1990. At the time we called ourselves the Piedmont Symphonic Wind Ensemble. We formed with the intent of giving outstanding performances of works from the standard band repertory in the style of Dr. Frederick Fennell and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. This style of playing involves having basically one player per part (with a few exceptions), which gives a cleaner, tighter sound than is possible with larger groups having many more players. We perform music of all types and styles, from Renaissance to Contemporary, including Baroque, Classical, Romantic, ‘Pops,’ and Jazz. We have performed many of the band repertory’s most challenging works, as well as classics for woodwind ensemble and brass choir.

Our members come from all over the Piedmont Triad area of northwest North Carolina, some of us commuting from neighboring counties for our rehearsals and performances in Winston-Salem. We come from many different professions and ways of life: corporate vice presidents, school teachers, instrument repair technicians, private music instructors, free-lance musicians, college professors and not a few school band directors. A few of us are managers and some of us are in sales. To view a list of our personnel, click here.

Many of us majored in music in college and went on to careers in other fields. Some of us played in military bands stationed here or abroad. Some members of PWS have played with the Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Salisbury, Western Carolina and Charlotte Symphony orchestras. Many of us play in or lead other local bands and chamber ensembles. While most members of PWS are adults, a few of us are high school students who take music seriously and aspire to a career in music.

We all share one love: making good music.

We now give four performances a year: three indoor concerts (fall, winter, spring) and our Labor Day ‘Pops’ Concert outdoors in Tanglewood Park. Many of our members have been featured in concertos or other solo works. We have recorded five compact discs. To see a list of our CDs and place an order, click here.

We try to have at least one guest artist each year, as we believe preparing for our guests challenges us to perform at our highest level and feel that our audiences enjoy the special performances. Our guests have included noted conductor Dr. Frederick Fennell, jazz saxophonist Ernie Watts, pianist William Deschamps, composer Dr. Roger Hannay, composer Aldo Forte, narrator Glenn Scott, classical saxophonist James Houlik, and clarinetist Robert Listokin. During the 2000-2001 season Earl Myers performed "Rhapsody in Blue" and our spring concert 2001 featured the noted jazz trumpet player Arturo Sandoval as our guest artist. The 2002 season has featured Alfred Reed, world renowned composer and conductor, in March and Maynard Ferguson, jazz legend and big band leader headlined in May. In 2003, PWS was fortunate to host Paul Anka in a one-of-a-kind concert held in the newly renovated Reynolds Auditorium. For our Spring 2004 concert we were fortunate enough to once again host Arturo Sandoval as our Spring guest artist. We hosted Dianne Schurr in 2005. Our 2006 guest artist was Ronnie Milsap. Our 2007 guest artist was the legendary Dionne Warwick. On May 22, 2008, we are very excited to have guest artists Arturo Sandoval and Three Dog Night.

In 2001, PWS initiated a Concerto Competition for public school students in grades 10-12 who live in the Triad area. The Competition is generously sponsored by Pauline G. Chapman, a leader in supporting the arts in our community. Applications are accepted from students who play woodwind, brass or melodic percussion instruments and auditions are held in the fall of each year to select the winners. The first place winner receives $1000 and an invitation to perform with PWS at the March concert. Second and third place winners receive $300 and $100 respectively and are recognized at the concert as well. For more information, click here.

Over the years we have grown and matured. In the early days, like many young people, we got by on our enthusiasm and good intentions. Our current goal is to increase our professionalism – while retaining our good intentions and enthusiasm. In the future we hope to become known to wider audiences across the country and to continue performing for you at higher levels of excellence. What changes will you see in us ten years from now? Will we be performing nationally on cable television or giving live webcasts? We don’t know. But no matter how much we grow, no matter how widely we are known, the Piedmont will always be our home and you our first and most important audience.