Early Winds and British Influence

This free lecture by DCWE director Marsit starts in the 19^th century, when wind bands served a military role around the globe—but had begun to play too well to remain strictly utilitarian! George Dyson, composition professor at Great Britain’s Royal College of Music, pleaded with his fellow composers to write great music for the wind band. Around the same time, the musicological work of Cecil Sharpe and others uncovered a wealth of folk melodies that often found their way into those compositions.