LAKE HAVASU CITY – Celebrate the season while listening to classic holiday tunes performed by the Lake Havasu Symphonic Winds. The Lake Havasu Symphonic Winds was formed in 1998 by former Lake Havasu High School band director Wesley Humphrey. High school graduates urged the director to put together a band for adults.
Eventually, a band was formed and began rehearsing every Thursday in the bandroom of the high school. What started out as a group of adults performing together and sharing their love of music, transformed into live community concerts. The band’s first performance was in the Spring of 1999.
All wind players were welcome in the beginning however, the band struggled with balancing sounds due to their being more of one kind of instrument in the group than others. Which is why Humphrey came up with “wind ensemble” for the band. Musicians of the symphonic winds aren’t just adults as the age range of the band is between 16 and 90 and currently has 38 members.
Over the years, the band performs in two to eight concerts annually and has previously participated in Halloween concerts, patriotic shows, and the Concerts in the Park series. The Lake Havasu Symphonic Winds holiday concert will be bringing traditional holiday favorites written and performed by musical legends such as The Carpenters and Glen Miller inspired hits. The concert will also feature tunes from the film “A Nightmare Before Christmas” and New York Broadway themed melodies. For the first time ever, the band will be including a flute quartet.
The Sounds of the Seasons Concert will be on Sunday, December 10 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Lake Havasu Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10 for adults and admission is free for children while students with an ID get free admission. You can purchase tickets in person prior to the concert’s date at River City Music or Sound Bank.
Proceeds for ticket sales will go to academic scholarships for Lake Havasu High School students wishing to study music at a college or university. Grab your family and friends and experience the magic of holiday songs that promises to put you in the Christmas spirit.
Phaedra Veronique
