Desktop Version
Mission, Vision & Values
Our Vision
We envision a world that acknowledges the value and dignity of all, and we believe in the transformative power of music to positively impact people and bring communities together.
Our Mission
To provide members with a platform for musical expression and growth within a welcoming community, to preserve and promote the heritage and future of the community concert band, and to perform high quality concerts that enrich the experience of our audiences.
Our Values
Highlights
Proceeds from concert ticket sales are often shared with hosting schools, churches, or communities in support of music programs or other charitable endeavors. Beneficiaries have included:
Our History
Founded in 1978, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds has been delivering the finest symphonic concert band literature to audiences in the Twin Cities and around the world for over forty years. The ensemble consists of more than 90 musicians who rehearse weekly from September through early June. In addition to being accomplished musicians, members of the adult community band are Twin Cities area residents who represent a diversity of professions: music educators, teachers, bankers, medical professionals, technology specialists, homemakers, engineers, attorneys, and more. The Minnesota Symphonic Winds provides an opportunity for musicians, who might not otherwise have an outlet for their musical expression and talent, to participate actively and regularly in musical performance.
Originally under the direction of Miles H. “Mity” Johnson, who served for 37 years as professor of music at St. Olaf College and conductor of the St. Olaf Band, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds has been under the leadership of principal conductor and music director Timothy Mahr since 1999. William Webb served as associate conductor beginning in 1987, and Paul Kile assumed those duties in the fall of 2016.
The Minnesota Symphonic Winds presents five to six concerts each season in churches, schools, colleges, concert halls, and parks, not only locally and throughout Minnesota, but in venues around the world. In the 1980s, the band was regularly heard on Minnesota Public Radio’s “Live from Landmark” series, and in 1990, 2002, and 2020 the group appeared at the Minnesota Music Educators Association Midwinter In-Service Clinic. In 1991, MSW was one of seven American community bands invited to perform in Lucerne, Switzerland, at its 700th anniversary celebration band festival. In the summer of 1997, the band toured the Caribbean. MSW was the first U.S. concert band to perform at the world-famous Esplanade Theatres on the Bay in Singapore during its inaugural season in 2003, and in June 2006 the group completed a performance tour of Alaska. In December 2008, MSW was distinguished as one of the featured performing ensembles at the 62nd annual Midwest Clinic, an international band and orchestra conference held in Chicago, Illinois, and in 2009 the ensemble received the Sudler Silver Scroll, an international award of excellence for community bands, from the John Philip Sousa Foundation.
Active in the creation and support of new band music by Minnesota composers, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds commissioned Daniel Kallman to write Yankee Doodling–A Young Person’s Guide to the Concert Band in honor of its 20th anniversary. In 2003, the band premiered commissioned works by John Zdechlik and Carl Schroeder as part of its 25th anniversary celebration and turned to composer Carl Holmquist for its 30th in 2008.
Another highlight in the history of the band was the presentation of a Minnesota Composers Concert in 1994 featuring six of the state’s best-known composers conducting their own works. As part of the 20th anniversary celebration in 1998, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds released a compact disc of favorite works for the concert band. Minnesota composers John Paulsen, J. Robert Hanson, Daniel Kallman, and Timothy Mahr are represented on the recording.
Tablet Version
Mission, Vision & Values
Our Vision
We envision a world that acknowledges the value and dignity of all, and we believe in the transformative power of music to positively impact people and bring communities together.
Our Mission
To provide members with a platform for musical expression and growth within a welcoming community, to preserve and promote the heritage and future of the community concert band, and to perform high quality concerts that enrich the experience of our audiences.
Our Values
Highlights
Proceeds from concert ticket sales are often shared with hosting schools, churches, or communities in support of music programs or other charitable endeavors. Beneficiaries have included:
Our History
Founded in 1978, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds has been delivering the finest symphonic concert band literature to audiences in the Twin Cities and around the world for over forty years. The ensemble consists of more than 90 musicians who rehearse weekly from September through early June. In addition to being accomplished musicians, mem bers of the adult community band are Twin Cities area residents who represent a diversity of professions: music educators, teachers, bankers, medical professionals, technology specialists, homemakers, engineers, attorneys, and more. The Minnesota Symphonic Winds provides an opportunity for musicians, who might not otherwise have an outlet for their musical expression and talent, to participate actively and regularly in musical performance.
Originally under the direction of Miles H. “Mity” Johnson, who served for 37 years as professor of music at St. Olaf College and conductor of the St. Olaf Band, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds has been under the leadership of principal conductor and music director Timothy Mahr since 1999. William Webb served as associate conductor beginning in 1987, and Paul Kile assumed those duties in the fall of 2016.
The Minnesota Symphonic Winds presents five to six concerts each season in churches, schools, colleges, concert halls, and parks, not only locally and throughout Minnesota, but in venues around the world. In the 1980s, the band was regularly heard on Minnesota Public Radio’s “Live from Landmark” series, and in 1990, 2002, and 2020 the group appeared at the Minnesota Music Educators Association Midwinter In-Service Clinic. In 1991, MSW was one of seven American community bands invited to perform in Lucerne, Switzerland, at its 700th anniversary celebration band festival. In the summer of 1997, the band toured the Caribbean. MSW was the first U.S. concert band to perform at the world-famous Esplanade Theatres on the Bay in Singapore during its inaugural season in 2003, and in June 2006 the group completed a performance tour of Alaska. In December 2008, MSW was distinguished as one of the featured performing ensembles at the 62nd annual Midwest Clinic, an international band and orchestra conference held in Chicago, Illinois, and in 2009 the ensemble received the Sudler Silver Scroll, an international award of excellence for community bands, from the John Philip Sousa Foundation.
Active in the creation and support of new band music by Minnesota composers, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds commissioned Daniel Kallman to write Yankee Doodling–A Young Person’s Guide to the Concert Band in honor of its 20th anniversary. In 2003, the band premiered commissioned works by John Zdechlik and Carl Schroeder as part of its 25th anniversary celebration and turned to composer Carl Holmquist for its 30th in 2008.
Another highlight in the history of the band was the presentation of a Minnesota Composers Concert in 1994 featuring six of the state’s best-known composers conducting their own works. As part of the 20th anniversary celebration in 1998, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds released a compact disc of favorite works for the concert band. Minnesota composers John Paulsen, J. Robert Hanson, Daniel Kallman, and Timothy Mahr are represented on the recording.
Mobile Version
Mission, Vision & Values
Our Vision
We envision a world that acknowledges the value and dignity of all, and we believe in the transformative power of music to positively impact people and bring communities together.
Our Mission
To provide members with a platform for musical expression and growth within a welcoming community, to preserve and promote the heritage and future of the community concert band, and to perform high quality concerts that enrich the experience of our audiences.
Our Values
Highlights
Proceeds from concert ticket sales are often shared with hosting schools, churches, or communities in support of music programs or other charitable endeavors. Beneficiaries have included:
Our History
Founded in 1978, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds has been delivering the finest symphonic concert band literature to audiences in the Twin Cities and around the world for over forty years. The ensemble consists of more than 90 musicians who rehearse weekly from September through early June. In addition to being accomplished musicians, mem bers of the adult community band are Twin Cities area residents who represent a diversity of professions: music educators, teachers, bankers, medical professionals, technology specialists, homemakers, engineers, attorneys, and more. The Minnesota Symphonic Winds provides an opportunity for musicians, who might not otherwise have an outlet for their musical expression and talent, to participate actively and regularly in musical performance.
Originally under the direction of Miles H. “Mity” Johnson, who served for 37 years as professor of music at St. Olaf College and conductor of the St. Olaf Band, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds has been under the leadership of principal conductor and music director Timothy Mahr since 1999. William Webb served as associate conductor beginning in 1987, and Paul Kile assumed those duties in the fall of 2016.
The Minnesota Symphonic Winds presents five to six concerts each season in churches, schools, colleges, concert halls, and parks, not only locally and throughout Minnesota, but in venues around the world. In the 1980s, the band was regularly heard on Minnesota Public Radio’s “Live from Landmark” series, and in 1990, 2002, and 2020 the group appeared at the Minnesota Music Educators Association Midwinter In-Service Clinic. In 1991, MSW was one of seven American community bands invited to perform in Lucerne, Switzerland, at its 700th anniversary celebration band festival. In the summer of 1997, the band toured the Caribbean. MSW was the first U.S. concert band to perform at the world-famous Esplanade Theatres on the Bay in Singapore during its inaugural season in 2003, and in June 2006 the group completed a performance tour of Alaska. In December 2008, MSW was distinguished as one of the featured performing ensembles at the 62nd annual Midwest Clinic, an international band and orchestra conference held in Chicago, Illinois, and in 2009 the ensemble received the Sudler Silver Scroll, an international award of excellence for community bands, from the John Philip Sousa Foundation.
Active in the creation and support of new band music by Minnesota composers, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds commissioned Daniel Kallman to write Yankee Doodling–A Young Person’s Guide to the Concert Band in honor of its 20th anniversary. In 2003, the band premiered commissioned works by John Zdechlik and Carl Schroeder as part of its 25th anniversary celebration and turned to composer Carl Holmquist for its 30th in 2008.
Another highlight in the history of the band was the presentation of a Minnesota Composers Concert in 1994 featuring six of the state’s best-known composers conducting their own works. As part of the 20th anniversary celebration in 1998, the Minnesota Symphonic Winds released a compact disc of favorite works for the concert band. Minnesota composers John Paulsen, J. Robert Hanson, Daniel Kallman, and Timothy Mahr are represented on the recording.