Each March the wind symphony supports Music In Our Schools month by performing a joint concert with an area high school band. On four occasions the band has hosted R. B. Hall Day, an annual festival of community bands that is free for all. In 2001, and again in 2015, CBWS hosted the festival in Gorham where it was attended by more than 500 tourists and area residents. These are only a few examples of the ways the Casco Bay Wind Symphony contributes to the Greater Portland community.

 

        The Metropolitan Wind Symphony of Boston recognizes top community bands in New England, and has frequently invited Casco Bay Wind Symphony to perform at the Boston Festival of Bands at Faneuil Hall.

 

         CBWS has featured such musicians as Ronald Barron (former principal trombonist, Boston Symphony Orchestra), Dr. Peter Tanner (former percussion instructor, University of Massachusetts, former marimba soloist, the United States Marine Band "The President's Own"), Randy Judkins (Visual Comedian), Kenneth Radnofsky (New England Conservatory and Boston Symphony), and the Phil Rich Big Band. The band has premiered several works, including Robert Carabia's Gershwin, Jazz a la Mode, Mark Fredericks' Songs of Garmonbozia, Aeritin and Salvation, and Terry White's Concerto for Doubles. In 1990, to commemorate the band's 10th anniversary, it commissioned and premiered Maine Vigils by the noted American composer, Daniel Bukvich.

 

         The Casco Bay Wind Symphony performs its regular season of three concerts at the McCormack Performing Arts Center at Gorham High School, and is engaged for several more concerts throughout Maine each year. Our already low admission price  is further reduced for seniors, and students of all ages are admitted free to all concerts. The performance schedule, musical selection, low cost, and accessible facility are designed to appeal to a broad audience of families, students and retirees of Greater Portland.