The Hendrix College Wind Ensemble
Dr. Gretchen Renshaw James, Conductor  

The Wind Ensemble is composed of students from a wide variety of majors on campus. Rehearsals are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 4:15 - 5:35 p.m. Drawing from symphonic band, wind ensemble, and chamber winds repertoire, the ensemble performs a variety of traditional and contemporary works. The Wind Ensemble performs four concerts annually.

See below for audition information, including scheduling and excerpts to prepare.

Upcoming Events

FALL 2021

Wednesday, August 25, 4:15-5:15 pm
Wind Ensemble Meeting
Staples Auditorium

Wednesday-Thursday, August 25-26
Wind Ensemble Auditions
Miller Creative Quad, Rooms 124 & 125

Saturday, September 18, 10:00 am
Fall Family Weekend Concert
Staples Auditorium

Thursday, November 18, 7:30 pm
Fall Concert
With guest artists Stiletto Brass and composer Kathryn Salfelder
Staples Auditorium

SPRING 2022

Tuesday-Wednesday, January 18-19
Wind Ensemble Auditions for New Members
Miller Creative Quad 104

Wednesday, January 19, 4:15-5:15 p.m.
Wind Ensemble Meeting
Staples Auditorium

Tuesday, March 15, 7:30 p.m.
Spring Concert
With guest composer and conductor Quinn Mason
Staples Auditorium

Monday, April 18, 6:00 p.m.
Concert in the Park
Creative Quad Courtyard (rain location: Staples Auditorium)

Saturday, April 30, 7:30 p.m.
Festival of Winds Honor Band Concert
Staples Auditorium

Check out the Hendrix College Wind Ensemble page on Facebook.

For more information, contact the conductor, Dr. Gretchen Renshaw James 

Fast Facts:

• Students earn .25 academic credit for each semester. As a result, students participating in Wind Ensemble for four semesters will receive the EA learning domain credit.
• Students earn one Odyssey Artistic Creativity credit through participation in Wind Ensemble in two semesters.
• To enroll, students must perform a brief audition and attend the first informational meeting (please see above).  After this meeting, the Music Department adds Wind Ensemble to your schedule - you do not register for Wind Ensemble through your advisor.

Auditions

Each student interested in performing with the Hendrix College Wind Ensemble will meet with the conductor to play a few short excerpts from the upcoming semester's repertoire. The purpose is for the conductor to learn about each student's musical background and determine part assignments. Auditions will be held during the first week of the semester.

All students will perform an audition at the beginning of each Fall semester. Spring semester auditions are for new members and for continuing members interested in a section leader designation.

For Fall semester auditions only:
In the Google Drive folder containing the audition music, please first read the document titled “READ FIRST” so you may see which excerpts to prepare for your instrument. Then, print and practice your excerpts prior to your audition. You should bring your printed excerpts to the audition with you.

Fall 2021 Audition Materials

For Fall semester auditions only - how to schedule your audition:
1. Fill out the Wind Ensemble Sign-Up Form.
2. Sign up for an audition time on this Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.*
*PLEASE NOTE: to sign up on the Excel spreadsheet, you must be signed in to Microsoft 365 using your Hendrix ID and password.

For Spring semester auditions only:
Contact Dr. Renshaw to schedule an audition time and to request audition excerpts.

Repertoire

To view the repertoire performed by the Hendrix College Wind Ensemble since 2005, click here.