David Campo

Original Music for Wind Band in the Latter Half of the 1950s David Campo

Two of the three most important dates in the modern history of the wind band are easily identified. The first was Bernard Sarrette?s 1789 formation of the Garde Républicaine Band in Paris, an organization Richard Franko Goldman refers to as a ?group of 45 players incontestably the first modern wind band, in terms of size, of function, and of repertoire.? The second was the creation of the Eastman Wind Ensemble by Frederick Fennell in 1952. The former marks the creation of the first modern wind band, the latter the creation of ?another wind instrument organization which combines the appropriate features of the symphony orchestra, military band and concert band with regard to performance, composition and music education.? Although prior to the formation of the Eastman Wind Ensemble there had been a marked increase in the number of original pieces written for wind band, the latter half of the 1950s qualifies as the next milestone in wind band history due to a significant increase in the amount of original music written for the wind band.