• Wind Ensemble Plays the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., 2019

    Kennedy Center performance

    The Big Sky Wind Ensemble received an invitation to the 2019 Washington, DC International Music Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Four ensembles from around the world, including one from Sydney, Australia, were invited to participate in the festival on April 18-22, 2019. It was an an incredible opportunity for our Missoula musicians to perform on stage in the prestigious Kennedy Center. In addition, Big Sky was selected to premiere a brand new composition at the Kennedy Center by Dutch composer, Carl Wittrock. It was an exciting, engaging, and very personal touch to the student's trip to DC; having a high caliber, international composer write a piece of music for them, and then collaborate with that composer in person while in DC. In addition to giving two performances, the Wind Ensemble visited major sites of our capitol city including the Washington Mall, Arlington Cemetery, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, a cruise on the Potomac River, and several Smithsonian Museums. Big Sky attended a National Symphony Orchestra concert at the Kennedy Center. Before returning to Missoula, Big Sky students gave back to the community by volunteering at the D.C. Central Kitchen.

    Big Sky Band Photo Album

    DC International Festival Website

     

    Big Sky Bands Tour New Orleans, 2017

    Photos and videos of New Orleans 2017

    A quick note of thanks from our NOLA trip: 

    Our guides, bus driver, hosts, and clinicians consistently expressed gratitude and congratulations to the NOLA band members and chaperones for being excellent citizens! You were all immensely kind, courteous, enthusiastic, open minded, self-directed, smart, safe, and curious in every situation we were handed. I know we all learned a great deal about NO's people, culture, ecology, music, food, and so much more from this experiential adventure. Thank you for sharing this incredible week. It was a pleasure to take you to New Orleans and show you off!
    I want to extend a special thanks to our chaperones for their tireless care and support during the entire tour. We couldn't have done it without you. Thank you Rae, Colin, Sara, Cheri, Lisa, and Kyle.
    -Mr. Dochnahl