The Wind Orchestra performed with Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler, a 2010 Carthage alumna, during her homecoming concert.In March 2012, the Wind Orchestra toured the Midwest and stopped in Hillsboro, Ill., to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Carthage's Kenosha campus.While in Hillsboro, the Wind Orchestra visited the Hillsboro Public Library, located across the street from the site of the original Hillsboro Academy.Wind Orchestra Director James Ripley with Bishop John Roth and Pastor Ken Sandlin at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Hillsboro.Music major Nathan Larsen, '12, conducted the Carthage Wind Orchestra when they performed at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Hillsboro.The Wind Orchestra performs a concert in A.F. Siebert Chapel in fall 2010.In April 2010, the Wind Orchestra performed an accompaniment for the classic film "Metropolis."They performed "Metropolis" at several historic theatres in the Midwest.In January 2011, the Wind Orchestra returns to Japan for the third time, performing in Kurashiki and Kochi.While in Japan, Carthage Band members visit important historical sites. Pictured above at a garden in Nara.Jim Ripley leads the Wind Orchestra in "Take Me Out to the Concert: Nine Innings of Baseball Music," a Patio Pops concert held in September 2010.Paul Hegland, Special Assistant to the President, narrates "Casey at the Bat" for the Fall Pops Concert.The Wind Orchestra performs an accompaniment to "Metropolis" in April 2010.

Music

Carthage Wind Orchestra & Concert Band

The Carthage College Wind Orchestra, one of the oldest college bands in the United States, was established as a brass band in 1873 under the leadership of professor J. M. Helfrich. From its humble beginnings as a six-piece brass ensemble, the group has been known subsequently as the "Concert Band," "Symphonic Band," "Symphonic Wind Ensemble," and "Wind Symphony" during its 139-year tenure. The band has a long and distinguished history of service to Carthage and the artistic life of the communities of Kenosha, Wis., and Carthage, Ill. The band also has maintained a rich tradition of touring the Midwest, with international opportunities in Japan and South America.

Recent Wind Orchestra guest conductors include James Barnes, Andrew Boysen Jr., Daniel Bukvich, Timothy Mahr, Jonathan Newman, Weston Noble, Frank Ticheli, and Dana Wilson. The Carthage band claims as one of its most outstanding alumni the composer David Uber, whose music is archived in the College's Hedberg Library. A series of important events celebrating the band's 130th anniversary in 2003 included the band's first tour to Japan, a Midwestern tour, the premiere of a commissioned work (Palimpsest by Keith Carpenter), and the band's first compact disc.

Another CD was released in 2007, Winds a la Carte, with the latest, Think on These Things, released in 2010. In addition to Palimpsest, the Carthage Bands have taken part in commissioning new works from Steven Stucky, Christopher Theofanidis, Daniel Bukvich, Charles Rochester Young, and Martin Ellerby, among others. 

The Wind Orchestra Philosophy

Simply put, a wind orchestra is a group of musicians playing wind and percussion instruments. However, the wind orchestra includes only the composer’s specified instrumentation. Moreover, the wind orchestra layers the timbres of each instrument, rather than mixing them. Finally, the wind orchestra places optimal value on the expressive contribution of each member. The primary advantage of a wind orchestra is that it can change timbre based on the style of composition. Scholarships to play in the Wind Orchestra are available for both music majors and non-majors.

The Carthage Concert Band

The Carthage Concert Band is an extension of the Wind Orchestra, and allows students additional opportunities to further their skills as musicians and teachers. The Concert Band carries on the band's long tradition of performing works of historical importance as well as a variety of outstanding new compositions. Symphonic band principles are utilized to formulate the sound of this ensemble.

A unique scheduling process allows students to enjoy dual membership in both ensembles, as well as participate in chamber wind ensembles. 

Conductor: Dr. James Ripley


Dr. James Ripley

2011-12 Repertoire

New Student Convocation
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Janissary March from Abduction from the Seraglio
Kurt Wiell — Little Threepenny Music
Franz Joseph Haydn — Prince of Wales March

Patio Pops Concert — Tell Me a Story
Scott Watson — Aesops Fables
Hayato Hirose — The Bremen Town Musicians
Keith Amos — The Steadfast Tin Soldier
Samuel R. Hazo — Japanese Fantasy

Homecoming Service
Franz Biebl/Cameron — Ave Maria
Ron Nelson — Lauds

Ronald LoPresti Festival
Elegy
Pageant Overture
Tundra
Kanza Overture
Iron Horse
Kent Kennan — Trumpet Sonata

Spring Tour Concert
Ron Nelson — Lauds
Martin Ellerby — Soliloquy for Solferino (World Premiere performances) 
Akira Ifukkube — Lauda Concertata
Oliver Waespi — Berglicht
Franz Biebl/Cameron — Ave Maria
Frank Ticheli — Blue Shades
Gunther Schuller — A Tribute to Rudy Wiedoeft
Leonard Bernstien/Grundman — A Musical Toast
Vincent Persichetti — Chorale Prelude: Turn Not Thy Face
J.S. Bach/Reed — My Jesus, Oh What Anguish
Jacques Press/Johnston — Wedding Dance
Karl L. King — Cyrus the Great

Spring Band Concert
Ralph Vaughan Williams/Houseknecht — Sine Nomine
Giuseppe Verdi/Rumbelow — Triumphal March from Aida
Paul Fauchet — Symphony for Band
Yo Goto — Prelude to a Shining Day
Ronald Nelson — Courtly Airs and Dances
Ralph Vaughan Williams/Beeler — Rhosymedre
Henry Cowell — Old American Country Set

Repertoire

News

'Songs, Soliloquies, Shades and Sunrises' Tour celebrates Carthage anniversaries

The Carthage Wind Orchestra spent Spring Break touring the Midwest to commemorate the College's 165th birthday and 50th anniversary of Carthage's Kenosha campus.  more...

 
Carthage Wind Orchestra's Latest CD Released

The Carthage Wind Orchestra would like to announce the release of their latest CD, "Sacred Space and Sound." more...