Wind Ensemble 101
What do you mean by
“wind ensemble?”
Why don’t you call yourselves
the Charles River Concert Band
or something like that?
Short Answer: “Band” is a more general term, “wind ensemble” is more specific:
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In the wind ensemble many players are the only ones playing a certain part.
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Wind ensemble instrumentation is fairly precisely defined, usually with fewer than about 50 players.
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Bands range from “pep bands” that play at sports events, to marching bands like those you might see at Big 10 halftime shows, to military bands with largely ceremonial duties, to high school and community bands of every shape and size ...
So a wind ensemble is a specific kind of wind band.
Purpose: You see that we already made some note of the purpose of different kinds of bands. The wind ensemble is dedicated to the concert stage. You will not find us in parades, or in football stadiums, or basketball courts ... not that there’s anything wrong with those purposes: a great band is a great band, no matter what it does or where it plays. CRWE aspires to be a great wind ensemble.
There’s a lot more to be said on this subject — so check back here from time to time as we explain ourselves a bit more.