Director: Dr. Wayne Jeffrey
Since its inception in 1997, the Kwantlen University College Wind Symphony, under the direction of Dr. Wayne Jeffrey, has grown in size and stature, throughout Western Canada and abroad. The Wind Symphony is comprised of wind, brass, percussion and piano students in the Department of Music, non-music majors and community members. A wide variety of repertoire from the Renaissance to the Contemporary is included on each concert representing chamber ensembles, transcriptions, concerti and original full ensemble compositions.
Each year, touring has been part of the ‘Share the Gift of Music’ philosophy and includes several joint concerts with regional High School bands and invitations to provincial music festivals such as Music under the K in the Okanagan and the Whistler Music Festival. In 1999, the Wind Symphony participated in the XIth Internazionale Bandistico in Besana, Italy and, in June 2004, had the privilege of performing in the 29th Annual Shrewsbury International Music Festival in Shropshire, England. In celebration of Kwantlen’s 25th Anniversary, in 2006 the Wind Symphony toured the Emerald Isle, featuring joint concerts with the Cork School of Music Wind Ensemble and with Dublin’s Rathfarnham Concert Band.
Members of the Wind Symphony also share their instrumental expertise with younger students as part of a yearly mentoring program at various Music Retreats throughout the province of British Columbia. In addition, B.C. composers are invited annually to write for the Wind Symphony’s New Music Series, Premieres and Finales. We have featured new works by Canadian composers Michael Conway Baker, Lloyd Burritt, Christopher Nickel, Alain Mayrand and Rejean Marois, and our very own tubist, Aaron Warbinek. A promo CD will be released in 2008, featuring the work of six B.C. composers.