Five students heading to Prague with WASBE's Youth Wind Orchestra
Five students have been accepted into the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles' (WASBE) Youth Wind Orchestra (WYWO), which takes place in Prague as part of the biennial WASBE Conference.
The WASBE Conference, which runs July 19-23, is a unique festival of symphonic wind music, hosting the best wind bands and ensembles, conductors, musicians and music experts from around the world.
Katie Kirkpatrick, Flute/Piccolo; Joel Robertson, Bb Clarinet; Scotia Matheson, Bb Clarinet; Orko Oyon, Bass Clarinet; and Andrew Busch, Percussion will be among about 70 WYWO participants from 17 countries. WYWO has been an important part of the WASBE Conferences held around the globe since 1983.
WYWO brings together talented young musicians from all over the world to perform wind band repertoire at the highest level. Students will have the opportunity to work with internationally renowned conductors, composers and soloists during a week of intensive music making. The mission of WYWO is to unite players through the global language of music.
WASBE is the only international organization of wind band conductors, composers, performers, publishers, teachers, instrument makers and friends of wind music. It is completely dedicated to enhancing the quality of wind bands throughout the world and exposing their members to new worlds of repertoire, musical culture, people and places.
This July, current WASBE President-Elect Colleen Richardson, Associate Professor of Music Education and Music Performance and Coordinator of Bands at Western's Don Wright Faculty of Music, will begin her two-year term as President of the international organization.
Photo: Several WYWO-bound students performed with the Western University Wind Ensemble in 2021-22, pictured here during a rehearsal in February 2022, directed by Colleen Richardson.
Related links
WASBE Conference information (including concert schedule)
Winds, Brass & Percussion Division at the Don Wright Faculty of Music
