MISSION STATEMENT
“Making music matter by enhancing the North Texas cultural quality of life, promoting and performing great wind band music. These performances help to enrich, educate, and entertain the general public with a special emphasis on providing young, talented, aspiring student artists opportunities to perform as soloists with this first-class wind ensemble.”
What do accomplished wind, brass and percussion musicians do after high school or college when they want to continue playing ensemble music at a high level? Providing an answer to this conundrum is the story of the Metropolitan Winds.
The Metropolitan Winds was founded in 1993 by volunteer musicians with interests in performing classical transcriptions, contemporary wind band literature, traditional military band selections, and pops music. Over the years, the group has developed a special reputation for vivid performances of film score wind transcriptions from Hollywood greats such as John Williams and Bruce Broughton.
For many years the great arranger/composer Randol A. Bass was the music director providing the group original compositions and arrangements. In 2017, Metropolitan Winds was fortunate to retain Mr. Gregory Hustis as music director to continue the work of Mr. Bass. Mr. Hustis is the former Principal Horn for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He also holds a variety of positions as teacher, conductor, arts administrator and board member.
Met Winds plays approximately 6 to 7 concerts a year, and the main performance venues are the Moody Performance Hall in downtown Dallas and Little Elm High School. Rehearsals take place in Little Elm on Thursday nights with occasional Friday night dress rehearsals. Members include a broad array of well qualified players including band directors, students, retirees, business people, and music teachers. Membership is open to qualified musicians by audition, subject to personnel needs of the group. See our Become A Member page for openings or Contact us for additional information on membership.
Through the group’s unique repertory, community outreach and intense musical dedication, the Metropolitan Winds is ever striving to present audiences with an experience beyond the expectations of a community band.
The Metropolitan Winds is a member of the Association of Concert Bands (ACB), and in good standing with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI).
The Metropolitan Winds is a tax exempt, non-profit, 501(c)3 organization