Heisey Wind Ensemble presents “Back to the Future – HWE 40th Anniversary!”

A concert 40 years in the making!  What started out as a gathering of 25 musicians to play great concert band music has grown over 40 years to become one of the finest musical organizations in Ohio.  And we would like to share some of our favorites with you as we continue our 40th Anniversary Season.  One of our favorite soloists, Buddy Deshler, will amaze you with his virtuoso cornet playing.  We bring back many HWE musical favorites – Blue Shades by Frank Ticheli, Symphony #3 by James Barnes, Casey at the Bat, Where Never Lark or Eagle Flew by James Curnow, and the very first piece HWE played in concert, On the Mall, the march by Edwin Franko Goldman.  The Heisey Wind Ensemble’s 40^th Anniversary Season continues Saturday, April 26, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.  The concert theme is Back to the Future – HWE 40th Anniversary! and will be held at the John W. Alford Performing Arts Hall in the John Gilbert Reese Center on the campus of The Ohio State University at Newark and Central Ohio Technical College.

Dr. Russel Mikkelson, Music Director and Principal Conductor, and the members of the Heisey Wind Ensemble look forward to reminiscing with you about our history by sharing some our favorite pieces of music from the past 40 years.  And something new as well!  Dr. Mikkelson has arranged for band Back to the Future Suite for Band by Alan Silvestri.  You may remember that the first “Back to the Future” movie was released in 1985, almost one month after the first Heisey Wind Ensemble concert that took place on June 10, 1985

Our guest artist for this celebratory concert is trumpet soloist Dr. Buddy Deshler.  Dr. Deshler previously performed with the HWE on October 23, 2016.  He will be playing Believe Me, If All Those Enduring Young Charms, a traditional Irish Folk Melody, and Grand Russian Fantasia by Jules Levy.  Dr. Deshler graduated from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, the Peabody Institute and also Arizona State University.  Since 2022 he has been the trumpet professor at Furman University.  In addition to numerous orchestras, he has performed with the Dallas Brass, the King’s Brass, Mannheim Steamroller, and many more.  You are in for a real treat to hear Dr. Deshler perform again with the HWE!

The HWE, formed in 1985, is recognized as one of Ohio’s finest adult concert bands.  Membership is by audition only and includes outstanding musicians from Licking, Franklin, Fairfield, Guernsey, Delaware, Coshocton, and Muskingum counties.  The band has been selected to perform at conventions of the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) and the American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA).  The first rehearsal for the HWE was on February 1, 1985, and the first concert was on June 10, 1985.  The group has performed 163 concerts to date.

The remaining concert in the 2024-2025 40^th Anniversary Season is by the HWE Big Band on Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 7:30 pm.

Tickets for HWE concerts are available only at the door.  Adults are $15, seniors (60+) are $10 and students are $5.  Additional information can be found at the band’s web site at www.heiseywindensemble.org