For the first time since 2010, a New Mexico State University band has been selected to perform at the College Band Directors National Association Southwestern regional conference later this month. Every two years, college concert bands from the Southwest region are chosen to perform by peer review.
NMSU’s Wind Symphony will perform during the association’s conference in Kansas City from Feb. 28 to March 2. Colleges from New Mexico, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah also will attend.
Members of NMSU’s Wind Symphony are selected through an audition process.
“The Wind Symphony here at NMSU is the top instrumental ensemble in the music department,” said Michael Mapp, director of bands at NMSU and conductor of the Wind Symphony. “Students are selected through an audition process, and we post excerpts on our music department website that students prepare. We generally hold auditions the first two days before classes start, both in the fall and the spring semester.”
“CBDNA is an honor to perform for and how well we perform is how college directors around the country will perceive the music program here at NMSU,” said Lincoln Larsen, principal trumpet in the Wind Symphony. “I know we’re great and now it’s just about rising to the occasion.”
“The CBDNA performance really gives you something to work for,” said Angelica Chavez, music education major and flute player in the symphony. “You have to prepare your part and show that you’re wanting to be a better musician. I’m surrounded by people who want to be the best versions of themselves as musicians.”
In the fall of 2023, people of the Las Cruces community gathered in Atkinson Recital Hall for the Wind Symphony’s first performance of the academic year. The “European Hodge-Podge Concert” was a mix of European pieces all with a different sound.
Larsen, a graduate teaching assistant pursuing his master’s in trumpet performance, said the “European Hodge-Podge Concert” was the first steppingstone on the journey to the CBDNA.
“Since the fall, the ensemble has continued to grow and develop,” Mapp said. “They improve at every rehearsal and continue to learn how to come together to make music. We are on track to give a stellar performance in Kansas City.”
The Wind Symphony is a smaller ensemble, with only 45 to 50 people in the group. It consists of both music majors and non-majors. In fact, Mapp says he has a lot of non-majors in all the bands at NMSU.
“Every year, the students change in the ensemble and every year there are a new set of challenges that arise,” Mapp said. “This group is just as talented as any group in the past, but one thing that is different this year is that there are far more non-music majors in the group than in the past.”
Jason Christopherson is a creative writing major and bass clarinet player in the band. A clarinet player for the past eleven years, Christopherson auditioned for the band for the sense of community and creative activity.
“There’s something very rewarding about getting together with a group of people to make something beautiful,” Christopherson said. “To be a part of the music I listen to is really special.”
Prior to the conference, the Wind Symphony will be giving two concert performances of the music they’ve been preparing in the Atkinson Recital Hall on campus. The first performance will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17 at the annual Southwest Honor Band festival and the second performance will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26. Both performances are free and open to the public.
Visit https://music.nmsu.edu/ to stay up to date on events and performances. Email music@nmsu.edu for more information.
-30-
CUTLINE 1: The Wind Symphony at New Mexico State University has been chosen to perform at the College Band Directors National Association Southwest regional conference taking place from Feb. 28 to March 2 in Kansas City, making it the first NMSU band to do so since 2010. (NMSU photo by Chloe Dunlap)
CUTLINE 2: The New Mexico State University Wind Symphony is the top instrumental ensemble in the music department and consists of 45 to 50 students, both music majors and non-music majors, selected through an audition process. (NMSU photo by Chloe Dunlap)
CUTLINE 3: NMSU director of bands and conductor of the Wind Symphony Michael W. Mapp. (Courtesy photo by John Courtney)