I’m not going to pretend that I know all that much about wind bands. What little information I do possess comes largely from friends working in that world. Nonetheless, the recent full completion of a very good experience involving large concert wind band brings to mind a few observations prompted during the project.
The modern wind band tradition remains a relatively successful “classical” musical tradition of those presently operating in the US, due largely to the simple fact that this particular tradition continues to be relatively well funded. It manages to maintain this ongoing support because a band’s typical raison d’arte derives from its relationships to various popular athletic activities – that is, it doesn't usually depend upon the whims of "artistically" interested patrons or generally underwhelming art concert ticket sales.
In addition to offering the obvious benefits of relatively consistent support, this detail also carries another positive consequence: While much of the currently practiced wind band repertoire may not be our favorite, when a spot for something truly adventurous does indeed open up there would actually seem to be far fewer compromising artistic actors directly involved in that decision-making process. (It’s also worth remembering that the typical American orchestra isn’t usually all that renowned for its experimentalism or adventurousness either.)
The modern art music composer may be attracted to wind band composition projects for a variety of good and interesting reasons. However, one obvious point worth mentioning is simply that modern concert wind ensembles are typically quite large. And while these groups admittedly don’t tend to offer an orchestra’s expansive string options, for instance, concert wind bands nonetheless boast their own endless spectrums of instrumental and timbral possibilities.
In the present climate of perpetually diminishing resources and extremely limited artist support, as US orchestras experience ongoing funding challenges and symphonic opportunities vanish, composers of inquisitive contemporary art music will need to remain as innovative as ever. Continuing to seek out fresh, more available large-scale ensemble options, it seems somehow appropriate that we might among other possibilities turn to this this classically vernacular European tradition that has now also become very American. Yes, there are indeed significant trades, and a wind band is NOT an orchestra. Nonetheless, it certainly seems like a monster worthy of our investigation.
Special thanks to Eric Hewitt and the Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble.
