Wind Symphony to perform at Missouri Music Educators Conference

The 2026-27 Wind Symphony has been invited to perform at the Missouri Music Educators Association Conference in January. (Photo by Lilly Cook/Northwest Missouri State University)

The Northwest Missouri State University Wind Symphony will again perform for a state gathering of music practitioners by accepting an invitation to the Missouri Music Educators Association’s (MMEA) Conference.

The Wind Symphony will perform at the 89th annual MMEA conference in January at the Tan-Tar-A Conference Center in Osage Beach, Missouri. The invitation to MMEA is unique in that the Wind Symphony is one of the few auditioned collegiate ensembles in the state and comprises only undergraduate students, while welcoming students of all academic majors.

The Northwest community can hear the Wind Symphony perform its first concert of the 2026-27 academic year at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Ron Houston Center of the Performing Arts. It is free and open to the public.

Selection for its MMEA performance was based on the evaluation of a blind panel. Dr. Kathryn Strickland, a Northwest professor of music and director of the Wind Symphony, said the invitation came with a sense of excitement, pride and work to be done.

“For both of us, myself, the students and our music faculty, it’s a tremendous honor,” Strickland said. “It’s one of the biggest honors an ensemble can receive in any state. Our students know that and feel that, and our alumni have communicated with us quite a bit how proud they are.”

This is Strickland’s third year leading the Wind Symphony. Last year, the ensemble was selected to perform at the Nebraska Music Education Association’s Conference and In-Service Clinic.

“Several of these students have been on this journey with me since I started,” Strickland said. “It was a big leap in my career and challenge for me. It’s special for us to have been on this ride together. They stand out because this is their second invitation accepted through a blind audition, to perform at a state conference. In my opinion, it’s an indicator of some truly quality musicians and quality teaching by our music faculty as a whole, for this group to be invited in back-to-back years to play at state conferences.”

At MMEA, the ensemble will perform a variety of music that invokes introspection and reflection in audience members.

“I hope the students genuinely take away a sense of pride that creates a core memory for them, for a long time to come, because they get to perform for not only what will be a large audience, but an audience of individuals who understand what they do at a deep level,” Strickland said. “When you’re appreciated by that kind of audience, it means a lot. I hope the audience genuinely, regardless of their relationship to our school, students or ensemble, just very simply enjoy it.”

The Wind Symphony is the premier wind band at Northwest, performing the best standard selections from a variety of styles and periods, including recent repertoire. The ensemble premieres new works and regularly performs with guest soloists and conductors. In addition to its performances for the MMEA and NMEA, the Wind Symphony, in 2017, was selected by a College Band Directors National Association peer review committee as one of 10 exemplary collegiate small band programs in the United States.

Students in the Wind Symphony meet twice a week for rehearsals and for small group meetings outside of class.

To learn more about Northwest’s musical ensembles and upcoming performances, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/finearts/music/.