The Wind Ensemble is the audition-only section of the marching band that provides a positive community for Liberty’s musicians to learn about their instruments and challenge themselves musically.
“The Wind Ensemble in terms of its normal music provides a very kind environment to expand your musical ability on non-orchestral instruments,” junior drum major Brenden Weibel said.
The group focuses on playing more difficult pieces and students have the freedom to experiment with different genres of music.
“The music that we play in the Wind Ensemble is just astounding. Right now we’re playing a piece called ‘Fire Bird’ which is actually an orchestral piece that was transcribed for band,” Weibel said. “It’s a really grand, amazing song that you don’t normally play in a band, but the selection that we have allows us to play such great music.”
In addition to producing music, students enjoy the friendly community of peers found in the Wind Ensemble.
“My favorite part is the community aspect of it because we get to know each other so well. We don’t just get to know people on a musical level. You get to know their playing ability and who they are outside of an academic setting. It’s just a different way to meet people, and we’re all like a big family,” senior drum major Paige Balut said.
The Wind Ensemble also provides a welcomed reprieve from students’ hectic school schedules.
“Wind Ensemble is a class where you don’t have to worry about what’s due next week. It’s really refreshing to sit in class and just be able to have fun,” junior Sabrina Suen said.
Over spring break, the Wind Ensemble is hoping to travel to Los Angeles to visit the band instructor at UCLA and compete in a heritage band festival in Anaheim.
“[The trip to Los Angeles will be] a really great team-building exercise. The group of people will become better friends,” Wind Ensemble teacher Jared Tanner said. “They’ll get to know each other better and they’ll have this common memory together and that’s really important.”