Music

CWU Bands

Bands at CWU

Consisting of the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Wildcat Marching Band, and Pep Band, the Central Washington University Band program has a long history of musical excellence and is recognized throughout the Pacific Northwest as one of the region’s finest band programs. 

Wind Ensemble

The Central Washington University Wind Ensemble is the preeminent wind band at CWU. Over the past three decades, the group has distinguished itself as a leader in musical performance with invitations to state, regional, and national conferences. Most recently, the ensemble was a featured performer at the 2022 College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Western/Northwestern Division Conference (USA) and will perform at the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) International Conference in Gwangju, South Korea in 2024. With a goal of developing and refining large ensemble musicianship skills, the Wind Ensemble is comprised of the finest wind and percussion students from the department of music and throughout the CWU community.  

The CWU Wind Ensemble strives to deliver engaging performances that are musical, artistic, and polished. Repertoire selected for study and performance span a wide variety of time periods and genres and include works from the standard band repertoire, transcriptions, chamber music, contemporary works for winds/percussion, and works by underrepresented composers. As an advocate for the advancement of quality literature for winds, the ensemble consistently engages in consortium projects from composers to include, David Maslanka, Roger Cichy, Gregory Youtz, Thomas Sleeper, Shelley Hanson, David Gillingham, Mark Camphouse, Kevin Day, Angelica Negron, and Joel Puckett. 

Participation is open to all CWU students regardless of academic concentration through auditions held at the beginning of each academic quarter. The ensemble meets during the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters and is under the musical and artistic direction of director of bands, Dr. T. André Feagin.

Symphonic Band

Recognized throughout the Pacific Northwest for excellence in musical performance, the Symphonic Band has received invitations at local and regional events to include a performance at the National Association for Music Education Northwest Division Conference (NAfME). The Symphonic Winds seeks to broaden performance and teaching skills through the programming of exemplary literature to include works for winds and percussion.  

Participation is open to all CWU students regardless of academic concentration through auditions held at the beginning of each academic quarter. The ensemble meets during the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters and is under the musical and artistic direction of director of bands, Dr. T. André Feagin.

Concert Band

The Concert Band provides an excellent musical and performance experience for participants and includes both music majors and non-music majors. The ensemble studies and performs repertoire from standard wind band literature to contemporary works for winds and percussion. 

Participation is open to all CWU students regardless of academic concentration through auditions held at the beginning of each academic quarter. The ensemble meets during the winter and spring quarters. 

Athletic Bands

Wildcat Marching Band

The Central Washington University Wildcat Marching Band is the largest and most visible music ensemble at CWU. Housed within the department of music, the group maintains an annual enrollment of approximately 200 members representing a wide variety of colleges and departments throughout CWU. The ensemble performs annually for nearly 30,000 spectators including performances at home football games, special university events, exhibitions, and community events.

Consisting of sections of brass, woodwinds, percussion, and color guard, the Wildcat Marching Band strives for musical excellence coupled with an exciting and innovative visual presentation. In addition, the group serves as a spirit leader and musical ambassador for the CWU athletic community. Membership is open to all brass, woodwind and color guard performers regardless of academic major. There is no formal audition required for brass and woodwind participants. Although experience in marching band is preferred for members, it is not a requirement. However, an audition is required for those interested in participating in the percussion and color guard sections. Auditions for these sections typically take place during early summer following the conclusion of the spring quarter each year.

The Wildcat Marching Band meets during the fall quarter only and rehearses M/W/F from 4:30pm- 6:00pm. The group is under the musical and organizational leadership of director of bands, Dr. T. André Feagin.

CWU Pep Band

The Central Washington University Pep Band is an auditioned group of up 30-40 members that support the men and women’s basketball teams and other special university events. Consisting of marching brass, woodwinds, drum set, guitar/electric bass, the group serves as a spirit leader for the university and musical ambassador for the department of music and CWU athletic community. Membership is open to all students, regardless of academic major, by audition. Auditions take place in November of each academic year. Members selected for the ensemble receive a performance stipend for participation.

Pep Band Auditions

Pep band will be beginning the audition process very soon! For more information, and to submit your audition, visit the Pep Band page.

Master of Music - Wind Band Conducting

The goal of the graduate wind band conducting program (MM) at Central Washington University places strong emphasis on the training of the 21st century artist/conductor who is flexible and capable of succeeding in an evolving field of music education. The program offers candidates a diverse, collaborative, comprehensive, and inclusive approach to the art of conducting and teaching.

Over the course of a two-year residency, program candidates are involved in rigorous academic coursework, attend weekly private lessons with the director of bands, engage in monthly seminars on special topics in conducting and education, serve as a guest conductor for all of the band program’s concert bands, and assist with the organization and operation of the athletic bands. Graduate students in conducting are eligible to receive graduate teaching assistantships.

Interested applicants for the wind band conducting program should hold a bachelor’s degree in music. Although not a requirement, it is preferred that the applicants have at least two years of public-school teaching experience. The conducting studio is designed to be small and selective to maximize student growth. Interested applicants are encouraged to send initial contacts to Dr. T. André Feagin as well as consulting our Graduate Admissions for Music page for further information.

Wind Conducting Requirements

The wind band conducting program at Central Washington University requires a pre-screening process before a formal invitation to audition is offered. Interested applicants should make initial contact with Dr. T. André Feagin, director of bands by December 1 the fall before expected academic study to indicate their intent to audition.

For pre-screening, candidates are required to submit a conducting video. The recording should be no longer than 25 minutes in length and include both rehearsal and performance footage if possible. The video should capture the conductor facing the camera and be in full frontal or partial profile view. Video footage should be uploaded to YouTube (set to unlisted) and the link sent directly to the director of bands for review. It is recommended that this step be completed by February 1.

After materials are reviewed, the most qualified candidates will be invited to Ellensburg, WA for a formal audition and interview (during the winter quarter) if possible. At this time, candidates should also review the Graduate Admissions for Music page for details on graduate school admissions. It is expected that by the time of the formal audition outlined below that candidates have applied for both admission and graduate assistantships.

Formal Audition | In Person

The live audition/interview will consist of the following:

• An interview with Dr. T. André Feagin discussing the applicant’s personal and professional goals, teaching philosophy, and musical experience.
• A diagnostic examination in aural skills, score identification, transposition, musical terminology, wind band repertoire, and conducting technique.
• A twenty-minute audition with the Central Washington University Wind Ensemble. Candidates will be notified in advanced of the repertoire for this portion of the audition process.

For more information contact Dr. T. André Feagin, director of bands.
(509) 963-1916 (office)