Photo courtesy of WGI Sport of the Arts/Sid and Linda Unser.
WGI Sport of the Arts is bringing outdoor marching band inside with the addition of a new Winds category of competition in 2015. The term “winds” is flexible; ensembles may range from simple brass and woodwind groups to full marching productions with brass, woodwinds, percussion, color guard and pit.
“Obviously, [band directors] have a lot going on in the spring, with concerts, jazz ensembles, pep bands and all of that,” says Bart Woodley, WGI’s director of operations and sponsor relations. “But they’re finding places for [winter guard and percussion] to rehearse, so if there’s a want and a need for [indoor winds], then let’s do it.”
To garner excitement for the new genre, competitions in the 2014 season included exhibiting winds groups, such as Northglenn (Colo.) High School and Aimachi from Nagoya, Japan.
WGI Winds will be added to several regional competitions in 2015 as well a championship held alongside WGI Percussion from April 9 to 11 in Dayton, Ohio.
