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About Windiana

 Windiana is a professional-level concert band, based in Valparaiso, Indiana, USA. Windiana's mission is to perform concert band literature at the highest level and to provide a concert band opportunity for professional-level musicians. Members of Windiana have studied with some of the most notable musicians in America, and are highly recognized for their performing and teaching. With concerts designed for audience enjoyment, diversity, and cultural understanding, Windiana performs a wide variety of music. Windiana holds an Organizational Membership in the Association of Concert Bands, which includes BMI/ASCAP Blanket Licensure. Windiana is a registered trademark, and maintains 501(c)3 status.

 Founded in 2000, Windiana debuted in 2001 at Chesterton High School and at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis for the state convention of the Indiana Music Education Association (IMEA). Windiana performed again for IMEA conventions in 2004 and 2011. Windiana appeared in the concert series for the Portage Township Live Entertainment Association in 2010 and 2015, and for the Concert Association of Valparaiso in 2014 and 2019.

 In 2011, Windiana was one of five bands selected to perform at the national convention of the Association of Concert Bands. They also performed at the National Chinese Language Conference in 2009. Windiana was honored to receive the Zhiyin Award from the Confucius Institute, for outstanding achievements in promoting cross-cultural exchange through music.

 Windiana has completed ten acclaimed concert tours of China, performing more than 70 concerts in major concert halls, in schools, and on television for millions of people. Windiana also toured New Zealand and Australia in 2007, which included a performance in the Sydney Opera House. In 2016, Windiana performed at Pearl Harbor to honor the 75th anniversary of the attack. Windiana toured Italy in 2018, where the band performed in Venice, Florence, and Rome.

 One of the most exciting programs of the Indiana Bandmasters Association (IBA) is the commissioning project, where IBA contracts with prominent composers to create new works that are premiered by the All-Region, All-District, Junior All-State, and All-State bands. The project began in 1988 and is ongoing. Through 2018, IBA had commissioned 29 works, and Windiana is the only band to have performed all of these pieces. One of Windiana's ongoing commitments is to present these compositions, including detailed information about each work. These details are presented in the concert programs and on the website of the Indiana Bandmasters Association.

 Windiana is an anchor ensemble for the annual Friendship Lasts Forever gala concerts, which showcase American and Chinese music. The series began in 2017. That year, the concert took place at Millennium Park's Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago for a capacity crowd of 10,000. In 2019, the performance was held for a full house at Chicago's Orchestra Hall. The 2021 event was held virtually, and was viewed within the first 24 hours by 1.6 million people worldwide.

 On November 3, 2018, in the Valparaiso University Chapel of the Resurrection, Windiana combined with the Valparaiso University Chamber Concert Band to commission and perform the premiere of Johan de Meij's monumental fifth symphony, Return to Middle Earth, under the baton of the composer. The concert also included a 30th anniversary performance of Mr. de Meij's first symphony, Lord of the Rings. Windiana and Chamber the Concert Band have collaborated with Maestro de Meij every other year since 2013.


  Windiana has produced three CDs and one DVD:
  Live in China 2006 (CD)
  Tenth Anniversary Celebration (CD)
  New Year's Eve China Adventure (CD)
  Biblical Epics Trilogy (DVD)

  Windiana has worked with many prominent guest artists from around the world, and has performed in
  world-class venues. These artists and venues include:

Guest Conductors:
  Dr. John Boyd, Indiana State University
  Keith Brion, The New Sousa Band
  Dr. Christopher Cock, Valparaiso University
  Dr. Ray Cramer, Indiana University
  Johan de Meij
  Cao Ding
  Dr. Dennis Friesen‐Carper, Valparaiso University
  Dr. Matthew George, University of St. Thomas
  Jay Gephart, Purdue University
  Sr. Col. Yu Jianfang, People's Liberation Army Concert Band, China
  Ai Ming, Sichuan Conservatory
  Dr. Joseph Scagnoli, Ball State University
  Col. Alan Sierichs, US Air Force Band of Flight

Guest Soloists‐Voice:
  Rick amRhein, baritone and narrator
  Kimberly Beasley, soprano, Jacksonville University
  Matthew Byerly, narrator
  Rev. Michael Cobbler, narrator
  Maura Janton Cock, soprano, Valparaiso University
  Gao Ding, bass-baritone
  Jingma Fan, tenor
  Tara Gruszkiewicz, mezzo soprano
  Lu Ji, baritone
  Dan Liao, soprano
  Dr. Roger Luekens, narrator
  Shuping Ma, soprano
  Julia Metzler, soprano
  Yan Shengmin, tenor
  Tao Tong, tenor
  Beth Ray Westlund, mezzo-soprano, Luther College
  Yongjian Yu, tenor

Guest Soloists‐Woodwinds
  James Barkow, saxophone, Northshore Concert Band
  MUC Russell Gross, clarinet, US Navy Band
  Dr. Hannah Leffler, flute, University of Texas Arlington
  Dr. Stacy Maugans, saxophone, Valparaiso University
  Dr. Otis Murphy, saxophone, Indiana University
  Shelly Sager, clarinet, Valparaiso Schools
  Paul Wagner, bassoon, Hammond Schools
  Dr. George Wolfe, saxophone, Indiana State University

Guest Soloists‐Brass
  Dr. Stephanie Frye‐Clarke, tuba, East Tennessee State University
  GySgt. Hiram Diaz, US Marine Band “The President's Own”
  Dr. Paul Morton, trumpet, University of Louisiana-Lafayette
  Dr. John Pursell, trumpet, US Air Force Band
  Charles Steck, trumpet, Valparaiso University
  Allen Vizzutti, trumpet
  Dr. Matthew van Emmerik, euphonium, Monash University
  Dennis Miller, O.D., euphonium

Guest Soloists‐Theremin
  Dan Schreiber, theremin, Windiana Concert Band

Guest Soloists‐Percussion
  Jared Coller, marimba, Rensselaer Schools
  John Coller, marimba, Jasper Schools
  Adam Cowger, marimba, Joliet Junior College
  Dr. Christopher Fashun, marimba, Hope College
  Dr. Mark Ford, marimba, University of North Texas
  Ben Runkel, marimba, Goshen College

Guest Soloist‐Strings
  Dr. Jeffrey George, guitar, University of Louisiana‐Lafayette

Guest Soloist‐Keyboard
  Dr. Joseph Bognar, piano, Valparaiso University
  Billy Foster, piano, Valparaiso University

Guest Soloists‐Chinese Traditional Instruments
  Zhu Changyao, erhu, Nanjing, China
  Chen Jia, erhu, Hangzhou, China
  Wang Jia, pipa, Shanghai, China
  Meng Jianyun, erhu, Valparaiso University
  Ma Lin, erhu, Hangzhou, China
  Li Ting, erhu, Nanjing, China
  Gao Wenwen, sheng, Nanjing, China
  Liu Xiangyun, ruan, Nanjing, China

Guest Composers
  Dr. Jesse Ayers, Malone University
  Sr. Col. Yu Jianfang, People's Liberation Army Concert Band, China
  Michael Boo, Chesterton, Indiana
  Dr. Kirk O'Riordan, Lafayette College
  Dr. Tom Davoren, Benedictine College
  Roger Cichy, Providence College
  Cao Guanyu, Wuhan Conservatory

Guest Ensembles
  Butterfly Troupe, Hangzhou, China
  Gaudete Brass Ensemble, Chicago
  Musashino Academy of Music Wind Ensemble, Tokyo, Japan
  Northern Indiana Saxophone Quartet
  Shanghai Conservatory Women's Percussion Ensemble
  Southern China Normal University Choir
  Symphonic Band of Hubei, China
  Zoulo Traditional Chinese Ceremonial Performing Ensemble, Shandong, China

Commissions and Premieres (composers and arrangers)
  Jesse Ayers
  Michael Boo
  Keith Brion
  Roger Cichy
  Tom Davoren
  Johan de Meij
  Dennis Friesen-Carper
  Cao Guanyu
  Yu Jianfang
  Kirk O'Riordan

Performance Venues
  Grand Opera Theatre, Hangzhou
  Grand Wayne Convention Center, Fort Wayne, Indiana
  Indiana Convention Center Sagamore Ballroom, Indianapolis
  Memorial Opera House, Valparaiso, Indiana
  Orchestra Hall, Chicago
  Oriental Performance Hall, Shanghai
  Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Chicago
  Shanghai Conservatory
  Sydney Opera House, Australia
  Valparaiso University Chapel of the Resurrection, Indiana