PRIZEWORTHY
Winners of The American Prize in BAND/WIND ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE and CONDUCTING, 2012
Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competiations may be found on our blog.
Band/Wind Ensemble Performances Prizes
Band/Wind Ensemble Conducting Prizes
Band/Wind Ensemble Performances Prizes
The American Prize in Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—College/University Division, 2012
The American Prize Winner:
THE MESSIAH COLLEGE WIND ENSEMBLE
Bradley Genevro, conductor
Mechanicsburg, PA
The Messiah College Bands represent a cross-section of the campus community. Participation in the groups is decided by auditions held each semester. The Wind Ensemble has performed at the Pennsylvania Music Educators State Convention, several District 7 In-service events and a variety of venues on the East Coast including the International Trumpet Guild Convention in 2009 and the 2010 College Band Directors National Association Eastern Division Conference. The Wind Ensemble maintains an active recording schedule with several releases under the Mark Custom Record label.
2nd place:
THE UNIVERSITY of GEORGIA WIND ENSEMBLE
John P. Lynch, conductor
Athens, GA
The UGA Wind Ensemble has earned an international reputation for its artistry. It is committed to presenting passionate performances of a broad range of high quality repertoire from around the globe while preparing America’s future musical leaders. The ensemble embraces new music and frequently commissions new works, especially those by talented young composers new to the wind band medium. Recent achievements include invitations to perform at the American Bandmasters Association and College Band Directors National Association national conventions, a tour of Argentina as part of their Bicentennial Celebration, and two releases on the Naxos recording label.
3rd place:
CORNELL UNIVERSITY BAND ENSEMBLE
Cynthia Johnston Turner, conductor
Ithaca, NY
The Cornell University Wind Ensemble is made up of undergraduate and graduate students who represent a variety of majors and most of the colleges on the Ithaca campus, including Engineering, Agriculture and Life Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Human Ecology, Veterinary Medicine, Hotel Administration, Law, and Industrial and Labor Relations. The majority of CU Winds (Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, and Chamber Winds) are non-music majors. These students bring a special dedication, intelligence, and joy to their music-making that I have found inspiring.
The Wind Ensemble is one of the premiere ensembles on campus regularly performing for annual commencement ceremonies (with an audience of more than 40,000), as well as performing several concerts on and off campus each semester, and undertaking biennial performing and service-learning tours to Costa Rica. While members of CU Winds rehearse and perform traditional and contemporary wind music as well as transcriptions of other musical genres, we are very interested in experimentation, forging new paths in wind literature, and maintaining Cornell’s dedication to innovation and outreach.
SPECIAL CITATION for COMMITMENT to CONTEMPORARY MUSIC & NEW COMPOSERS: CORNELL UNIVERSITY WIND ENSEMBLE, Cynthia Johnston Turner, conductor, Ithaca, NY
"Since 2004, the Cornell University Wind Ensemble has commissioned and premiered music from nationally and internationally renowned composers and has asked the university's talented D.M.A. candidates in composition (who study with Roberto Sierra, Steven Stucky and Kevin Ernste) to compose music that "pushes boundaries." These exceptional young composers have produced significant contributions to the wind band repertoire."
***
The American Prize in Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—Community Division, 2012
The American Prize Winner:
QUAD CITY WIND ENSEMBLE
Brian Hughes, conductor
Davenport, IA
Founded in 1987 by Dr. Charles B. DCamp of St. Ambrose University, the Quad City Wind Ensemble (QCWE) has become one of the finest adult bands in the nation. With an annual series of full ensemble and chamber music concerts, the QCWE has also performed at the annual conventions of the Iowa Bandmasters Association and the Illinois Music Educators Association. Brian Hughes of Dubuque, Iowa, was appointed as the first non-resident conductor of the ensemble and has grown the ensemble's repertoire to include band "classics," and contemporary music, including two world premiere performances.
2nd Place:
LOS ALAMOS COMMUNITY WINDS
Ted Vives, music director
Los Alamos, NM
The Los Alamos Community Winds is a wind ensemble made up of members of the Los Alamos, NM community. We comprise both amateur and professional musicians of all ages and backgrounds from middle and high school students to retirees. We perform 4-5 formal concerts each season with repertoire ranging from orchestral transcriptions to original band works, marches, film music, and Broadway. We also perform at civic functions such as the 4th of July fireworks celebrations.
***
The American Prize in Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—High School Division, 2012
The American Prize Winner:
METEA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL WIND ENSEMBLE
Don Devany, conductor
Aurora, IL
Metea Valley High School, located in Aurora, Illinois, is the newest of three high schools in Indian Prairie School District #204. Since the opening of the school in 2009 the music program has quickly built a strong sense of traditions and musical excellence. The music department prepares its students to become lifelong patrons and practitioners of the arts by fostering creativity, promoting critical thinking, and increasing aesthetic awareness. This year's inaugural Wind Ensemble is Metea Valley's premier band (one of five curricular bands). Students enrolled in Wind Ensemble also perform in year-long chamber ensembles and in the Chamber Strings orchestra.
2nd Place:
.jpg)
ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL of the ARTS FREDERICK FENNELL WIND ENSEMBLE
Teren Shaffer, conductor
Santa Ana, CA
The Frederick Fennell Wind Studies Program was created in 2003 by a generous contribution in honor of legendary wind conductor Frederick Fennell. The Frederick Fennell Wind Studies Program, offers a comprehensive wind studies education that allows students to enroll in masterclasses, work with an inspiring caliber of guest artists, and attend festivals and field trips. The program also provides students with the opportunity to perform in various ensembles, including the Frederick Fennell Wind Ensemble and the Symphonic Band, as well as several individual ensembles for flutes, double reeds, clarinets, brass, saxophones and percussion. The Frederick Fennell Wind Studies Program provides a focused, high-level, quality education to instrumental music students.
3rd Place:
STROUDSBURG 9TH GRADE CONCERT BAND
Ben Pritchard, conductor
Stroudsburg, PA
The 55 members of the Ninth Grade Concert Band attend Stroudsburg Junior High School in Stroudsburg, PA. The students rehearse daily for 42 minutes and prepare for three performances each year. This is the student's third year under the direction of Mr. Ben Pritchard. They make up the largest ensemble that Mr. Pritchard has taught in his 10 years at Stroudsburg. They are a dedicated, talented, hard working group of young musicians who have a great deal of pride in their ensemble. Stroudsburg has a rich concert band tradition beginning with it's inception in 1935.
*****
Band/Wind Ensemble Conducting Prizes:
The American Prize in Conducting, 2012—Band/Wind Ensemble Division, College/University
The American Prize Winner:
H. Carl Hess
Associate Conductor, Duquense Wind Symphony
Director, Symphony Band
Pittsburgh, PA
H. Carl Hess is currently Assistant Professor of Music, Chair of Brass, and Director of Athletic Bands at Duquesne University's Mary Pappert School of Music. In the spring of 2011, Hess served as interim Director of Orchestral Activities. In this capacity he led performances of Respighi's Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome, Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, and Puccini's Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. After his successful operatic debut, Hess was named Music Director of the Opera Workshop at Duquesne University, and will lead a groundbreaking performance of Mark Adamo's Little Women in the spring of 2012.
2nd place:
David Wacyk
University of Maryland Wind Orchestra
College Park, MD
David Wacyk is a graduate conducting student at the University of Maryland, where he studies conducting with Michael Votta and James Ross. Prior to his graduate studies at University of Maryland, Wacyk directed bands and orchestras in the Maryland public schools from 2007-2010, during which time he also served as the founder and conductor of the Upper Chesapeake Wind Ensemble. In 2009, Wacyk was selected as a participant in the Canford School's Wind Conductor's Course, and in 2011 he was invited to the conducting symposium at the New England Conservatory. Recently, Wacyk has become director of the Falls Church Concert Band.
3rd Place:
Richard Kazuhiko Henebry
New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble
Boston, MA
Richard Kazuhiko Henebry biography: Holding degrees in trombone performance and wind conducting, Richard Kazuhiko Henebry is currently assistant conductor of the Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble and is equally at home conducting repertoire as varied as orchestral works, musical theatre classics and 20th century literature for wind instruments, Mr. Henebry's area of expertise. Recent appointments include cover conductor of the New Haven Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Henebry has participated in several conducting masterclasses, including the Second Annual Frederick Fennell Memorial Masterclass and the West Point Conducting Workshop. His principal mentors are Charles Peltz, Scott Hartman, and Mark Kellogg.