Poster Sessions

Celebrating Women’s Voices: A Look at New Works for Chamber Winds by Women Composers

Rose Craig Tyler - DMA Candidate, Wind Conducting, University of Minnesota

The Women in Harmoniemusik Consortium celebrates and elevates the voices of women composers through new commissions for chamber winds with conductor—an ensemble central to the wind band medium yet historically limited in diverse representation. This session explores the artistic impact of the consortium’s commissioned works, introducing participants to the composers, their creative processes, and their newly finished works. Attendees will hear excerpts, examine scores, and discuss how these new works both honor the classical harmoniemusik tradition and expand it through contemporary expression. The presentation emphasizes the importance of commissions, representation, and visibility in shaping the evolution of wind chamber music.

Interpreting the Organ Through Bach Wind Band Transcriptions

Wes King - Director of Bands, University of Findlay

The performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s organ music in the wind band medium presents unique challenges and opportunities for expressive interpretation. This study examines how the core elements of organ technique—articulation, phrasing, and the shaping of musical line—can be effectively translated to wind band performance practice. Drawing on the process of transcribing Bach’s Fantasia in G Major, BWV 572, the research explores how timbral color, ensemble balance, and airflow across instrumental choirs can mirror the nuances of organ registration and touch. These principles extend beyond a single transcription, offering conductors a framework for achieving stylistic clarity, contrapuntal transparency, and expressive depth in any Bach adaptation for winds. Through historically informed yet creatively applied interpretation, the wind band can serve not merely as an imitator of the organ but as a vibrant extension of its expressive and structural possibilities.

Ce Fils Fidèle: Joseph Willcox Jenkins' Lost Work for Band

Alex Mondragon - DMA Student, Wind Conducting, University of Illinois

This poster presents information regarding Joseph Willcox Jenkins’ work entitled Ce Fils Fidèle. Composed in 1982 in memoriam of Dr. Thomas J. Harris, Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Illinois from 1978–1981, Jenkins’ work was premiered in April 1983 by the University of Illinois Symphonic Band II conducted by James Curnow. Beyond the premiere, no records exist of further performances and the work has remained overlooked in the Bands Library at the University of Illinois until this author’s rediscovery in 2024. The poster includes biographical information on Jenkins and Harris, archival information about the initial commission of the work, led by Dr. Harry Begian, and examples of the source material and the original score. 

The 1984 Michigan Symphony Band Tour

Rachel Zephir - DMA Candidate, Wind Conducting, University of Michigan

A poster dedicated to the performances from the 1984 University of Michigan Symphony Band Tour including all the programs from each performance, recordings of the pieces, and pictures from their various concert locations such as The Concertgebouw, The Tonhalle, and La Scala.