Yale Wind Ensemble: Music by Hindemith, Contreras, Cerrone and a Tribute to America's 250th Birthday

Yale Wind Ensemble Inaugural Concert (formerly Yale Concert Band)
Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director

Since it was established in 1946, the Yale Concert Band has carried the name chosen by its first director, Professor Keith L. Wilson — “concert band” being the name of the premier band at his alma mater, the University of Illinois. At the time, “concert band” accurately described the group’s instrumentation, repertoire, and mission; now, those attributes are best associated with the title “wind ensemble.” To align its public identity with contemporary expectations, as of July 1, 2026, the Yale Concert Band was renamed the Yale Wind Ensemble. With great respect for the ensem­ble’s distinguished 80-year history, the Yale Wind Ensemble title honors Wilson’s original pioneer­ing Yale wind band by branding the ensemble’s excellence in modern terms.

Program:
● Darkening, Then Brightening by Christopher Cerrone for wind ensemble and solo soprano is based on the poetry of Kim Addonizio. Titled “Here,” “My Heart,” “Darkening, Then Brightening,” “What Do Women Want?” and “Mermaid Song,” these emotionally layered stanzas of love, loss, and motherhood mirror Addonizio’s own life. Feat. soloist Alliese P. Bonner, a senior music major in Yale College.
● Quinceañera by Juan Pablo Contreras honors the Latin American custom of celebrating a girl’s 15^th birthday, capturing the vibrant energy, emotional weight, and cultural traditions of a traditional Mexican quinceañera. The pieces weaves together moments of familial intimacy, religious reverence, and the explosive, dance-heavy energy of the reception party.
●Paul Hindemith based his Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber on works by the German romantic composer, infusing Weber’s melodies with his own 20th-century sensibilities and influences from his musical encounters. Hindemith asked his Yale music colleague Keith Wilson to score the piece for concert band, resulting in a work that has become a staple of the wind ensemble as well as orchestral repertoire.
● Reflected in the title itself, Holly Hunter’s Splinter refers to the way in which her piece is structured -- a type of mosaic or stylistic patchwork -- created by instrument sounds that simulate breaking or distorting in some way.

Triptych for America’s 250^th Birthday:

America, the Beautiful (S.A. Ward), guest conductor Janet Kim, Director of Wind Bands, University of Connecticut
Early Light (C. Bremer), guest conductor Janet Kim, Director of Wind Bands, University of Connecticut
Corpus Callosum(T. Duffy)