The Carnegie Mellon Wind Ensemble has its roots in the Carnegie Tech Kiltie Band, formed in 1908. Over the years the Kiltie Band has grown and enjoyed a long and distinguished history as a concert orchestra. For decades she was the university’s pre-eminent ensemble and performed regularly at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Today, each instrumental part is played by a single player, modeled on an orchestral wind group. This way of playing in a large ensemble allows for the tonal colors of a symphony orchestra.
Unusual and rarely performed repertoire has long been a hallmark of the ensemble. This album exemplifies this with the combination of Strauss’ 1945 wind symphony in E flat major (“The Happy Workshop”) and his 1881 Serenade for Winds in E flat major, Op. 7.
Conductor George Vosburgh has had a long and varied international career as a soloist, orchestral musician, teacher and conductor. He received a GRAMMY® for his 1985 Reference Recordings recording “L’Histoire du Soldier” with Chicago Pro Musica and is an award winner at the ARD Music Competition in Munich. From 1992-2017 he held the Martha Brooks Robinson Chair in trumpet with the Pittsburgh Symphony. He can be heard on numerous RR albums with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He has taught at Carnegie Mellon University since 1992 and has been director of the Carnegie Mellon Wind Ensemble since 2011.
