Wind Ensemble

The UNCG Wind Ensemble welcomes the GRAMMY® Award-winning Akropolis Reed Quintet for a dynamic collaboration showcasing the quintet’s remarkable virtuosity, expressive range, and distinctive sound. At the center of the program is Johann de Meij’s Un momento dado, which brings the two ensembles together in an expansive work filled with color, energy, and vivid musical contrasts.

The concert also explores the breadth of the wind repertoire through works by three compelling American and European voices. Ida Gotkovsky’s Poème du feu evokes the intensity and transformative power of fire, while Charles Ives’s “The Alcotts” offers a reflective musical portrait inspired by the transcendentalist world of Concord, Massachusetts. Matt Browne’s Keep It Up brings the program to an energetic close with rhythmic drive and infectious momentum.

Together, these works move from fiery brilliance and contemplative lyricism to sweeping musical storytelling, highlighting the rich colors and expressive possibilities of winds.

Akropolis Reed Quintet

Founded in 2009, the Billboard-charting, 7-time national prize-winning Akropolis Reed Quintet is “a sonically daring ensemble who specializes in performing new works with charisma and integrity” (BBC Music Magazine). In 2025, the ensemble made history as the lead ensemble on the GRAMMY® Award-winning recording of Strands by Pascal Le Boeuf, which won Best Instrumental Composition at the 67th Annual GRAMMY® Awards. Comprising five reed players and entrepreneurs unbounded by limits or categorization, Akropolis has graced the Classical Billboard Charts with each of their last three albums, including #2 in April, 2024, and has won seven national chamber music prizes including the 2014 Fischoff Gold Medal. Having premiered and commissioned more than 200 works by living artists and composers, they are pioneers and champions of a new genre of classical music—the reed quintet.

Composed of the same five members that brought about its founding over 15 years ago at the University of Michigan, they are the first ensemble to receive the University’s Paul M. Boylan Alumni Award. Akropolis delivers 120 concerts and educational events worldwide each year at luminary series including Tanglewood, Bravo! Vail, University Musical Society, Chamber Music Northwest, and more. Akropolis became the first reed quintet associated with a GRAMMY®-winning recording through its 2024 album, Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?, a collaboration with Pascal Le Boeuf and drummer Christian Euman. The album features “Strands,” which earned the 2025 GRAMMY® Award for Best Instrumental Composition.

Utilizing their “sheer musical imagination” (Gramophone), the quintet is also known for powerful collaborations with youth and others within its Southeast Michigan community. Certified as a 510(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Akropolis runs a Detroit-based summer festival called Together We Sound, holds an annual, school year-long music composition residencies at Cass Tech, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Detroit School of Arts high schools, and produces a 10-day Chamber Music Institute focused on artist training in partnership with Interlochen Center for the Arts.  

Described as “pure gold” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Akropolis Reed Quintet performs worldwide and is represented exclusively by Ariel Artists.

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The UNCG Wind Ensemble is the premier wind band of the UNCG School of Music, uniting fifty outstanding musicians from across the United States and around the world. Its members—ranging from first‑year undergraduates to master’s and doctoral students in performance and music education—are selected through a highly competitive audition process. Ensemble musicians regularly earn top solo and chamber awards, competitive scholarships and fellowships, and professional positions in orchestras, military bands, teaching, and arts leadership. Current students represent seventeen states, Slovenia, and Hong Kong.

For decades, the ensemble has built a distinguished record of artistic excellence, with acclaimed performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center, and leading venues throughout the eastern United States. Its catalog of more than twenty commercial recordings has received national recognition and helped position UNCG as a leader in wind band performance, commissioning, and recording.

The Wind Ensemble has been featured at major national and regional conferences of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), National Band Association (NBA), American Bandmasters Association (ABA), and Music Educators National Conference (MENC). The ensemble has also collaborated with prominent composers and performers, including Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Karel Husa and other influential figures in the field.

Recent highlights include performances at the Music Center at Strathmore; a joint concert with the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own”; a twelve‑day international tour through the Czech Republic, Austria, and Italy, culminating in a featured performance at Prague’s renowned Dvořák Hall; and a tour of the Southern United States that concluded with an appearance at the national conference of the College Band Directors National Association.

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The UNCG Bands are devoted to the performance, study, and advancement of wind band music at the highest artistic level. Recognized as one of the nation’s premier collegiate band programs, the UNCG Bands maintain an active and distinguished record of excellence through performances, recordings, tours, and appearances at major conventions.

Through exemplary organization, training, and presentation, the UNCG Bands offer exceptional musical experiences for our members and share outstanding performances throughout the year. Together, we enrich the cultural life, spirit, and character of UNCG.

The UNCG Bands also proudly support music education across North Carolina and throughout the region by providing leadership, mentorship, and sponsorship to secondary school band programs and other musical organizations.

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