Florida WIND SYMPHONY

The Florida Wind Symphony is a wind ensemble/band composed of 42 professional musicians from symphony orchestras and university faculty from throughout South Florida. The Wind Symphony has performed with numerous visiting artists, including Phil Smith, principal trumpet with the New York Philharmonic; Sonia Santiago, mezzo soprano with the Palm Beach Opera, Lewis Buckley, conductor of the United States Coast Guard Band, Dean Peterson of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, vocal phenomena and Nickelodeon TV star Chloe Dolandis, and Dr Heather Coltman, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters at FAU. Orchestras and Educational Institutions represented by performers in the Wind Symphony include Florida Atlantic University, The University of Miami, The Symphonia of Boca Raton, The Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, The Symphony of the Americas, the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, and The Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra.

The Wind Symphony performs several times per year at the Mizner Park Amphitheater and the University Theatre at FAU, notably in a popular Valentine's Day concert: The Winds of Romance. The Florida Wind Symphony is currently an ensemble in residence in the Department of Music, School of the Arts, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters at Florida Atlantic University. The conductor of the Wind Symphony is Dr. Kyle Prescott, Director of Bands and member of the faculty of the Department of Music.

FWS Jazz Orchestra

Formed in 2012, the FWS Jazz Orchestra is a 20-piece big band including players of the Florida Wind Symphony. Specializing in the dance music of the Swing Era, this group performs independent concerts each summer as part of the Festival Rep season, and collaborates with the Wind Symphony each February to create a distinctive concert of wide variety: The Winds of Romance. In December, the FWS:JO performs a holiday concert centered around Duke Ellington's setting of The Nutcracker Suite. Music Director of the FWS jazz Orchestra is Dr. Kyle Prescott.