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Founded in 2000, the Arizona Wind Symphony (AWS) is a distinguished community-based concert ensemble dedicated to advancing and celebrating the wind band tradition through high-quality performance, thoughtful programming, and meaningful public engagement. Since 2007, AWS has served as a resident artist ensemble at the Tempe Center for the Arts, where it has become an important contributor to the cultural life of Tempe and the broader Greater Phoenix region. Established by Conductor William J. Richardson and now led by Artistic Director and Conductor Jon Gomez, the ensemble brings together accomplished professional musicians and highly skilled non-professional musicians who share a commitment to artistic excellence and lifelong music-making.
AWS regularly collaborates with distinguished guest artists, composers, educators, and community partners to present concerts that are musically compelling, accessible and enriching for audiences of all backgrounds. Its programming reflects the depth of the traditional wind band repertoire, classic orchestral transcriptions, the vitality of contemporary works, as well as music that reflects a multitude of cultural genres. Beyond the concert stage, AWS supports educational outreach and community connection, reinforcing the role of music as a source of inspiration, learning, and shared experience. Through its dedication to performance excellence, audience development, and cultural service, the Arizona Wind Symphony continues to affirm the enduring importance of wind band music within the Greater Phoenix area and beyond.
As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, AWS is supported in part by the City of Tempe, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and a generous community of donors whose contributions help sustain the ensemble’s artistic mission, public performances, and community-focused initiatives.
Jon Gomez has served as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Arizona Wind Symphony since 2023. A respected music educational leader, conductor, clinician, and producer, he previously served as Director of Bands and Department Chair at Dobson High School in Mesa, Arizona, from 2000 to 2016, and as Director of Bands at Coronado High School and District Team Leader in Scottsdale, Arizona, from 1988 to 2000.
Under Gomez’s leadership, ensembles have performed at distinguished venues and events, including Carnegie Hall, concert tours throughout China and Europe, four invitations to the Music for All National Concert Band Festival, and five invitations to the Arizona Music Educators Conference. He currently serves as a Conn Selmer clinician and a Bands of America judge.
Gomez is a Charter Member of the Kappa Zeta Chapter of Phi Beta Mu. He has received the Arizona State University School of Music Alumni Award and the Arizona Music Educators Association O.M. Hartsell Excellence in Teaching Music Award. His professional service includes appointments with The Midwest Clinic Advisory Board, Grand Canyon University, Northern Arizona University, East Valley Youth Symphony, Tempe Winds, and the Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association, where he served as President and Board Member.
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