Wind Symphonica is the symphonic university wind orchestra of the University of Konstanz. As a symphonic wind orchestra, we differ from other, "classical" wind orchestras primarily in our line-up and the selection of the pieces of music. Through the use of additional instruments such as bassoon, oboe, piano, harp, electric bass, double bass and extensive percussion, completely different tones can be achieved in symphonic wind music.
Our work, like much at the university, is based on the semester rhythm. Our rehearsal phase always begins at the same time as the lectures. During the lecture period, we develop a concert program that we perform a few weeks before the end of the lecture period in a large semester concert.
As a university group of the University of Konstanz, we manage ourselves completely ourselves. Organizational and planning tasks are carried out by our organizational team with its two chairmpersons. Besides, we are not only supported by the university, but also by our own support association.
Already since our foundation in summer 2013, Wind Symphonica has been under the proven musical direction of Ralph Brodmann. Brodmann grew up in Konstanz and studied music at the Winterthur Music Conservatory, majoring in clarinet. Following his diploma and numerous chamber music and conducting courses, he teaches the instruments clarinet and saxophone at the music school Konstanz and at the cantonal school Kreuzlingen. From 2002 to 2022 he conducted the youth wind orchestra of the music school Konstanz. In addition, he has played and continues to play in various chamber music and band formations, numerous orchestras, and musical productions at theaters in southern Germany and Switzerland as a clarinetist and saxophonist. Ralph Brodmann is a permanent member of the saxophone quintet SAXnochmal and the clarinet quartet Vierblatt.
At the beginning of 2013, Hannah Beck founded Wind Symphonica with around 40 other musicians out of a personal emergency: the places for wind instrumentalists in the Konstanz University Orchestra were simply not enough to enable everyone who was interested to make music. So the decision was made to found a new orchestra - with a symphonic wind orchestra. With Ralph Brodmann, who as a longtime conductor of the youth wind orchestra at the music school in Konstanz already had a lot of experience in conducting symphonic wind orchestras, the right man for the conductor's position was quickly found.
The newly founded orchestra began rehearsals on Monday, 22nd April 2013 at 8:00 p.m. in room E404. Our first concert took place on 2nd July 2013 at the university – not in the main lecture hall at that time, but in a smaller lecture hall. For example, the "Overture for Harmony Music Op. 24" by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Gustav Holst's "First Suite in E flat" and Warren Barker's "Selections from Les Misérables" were played. Since then we have always invited to a concert at the university at the end of each semester.
Two semesters later, on 10th July 2014, a double concert with another ensemble was organized for the first time. Together with the Big Band of the University of Konstanz, conducted by Christian Mader, Wind Symphonica performed for the very first time in the university's main lecture hall. At the following concert we already had visitors from outside: The University of Hohenheim Concert Band was the only symphonic wind orchestra at a university in southern Germany until Wind Symphonica was founded. Now our "big brother" came to visit and presented himself, among other things, with two movements from Johan de Meij's first symphony "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Legend of Maracaibo" by José Alberto Pina, before Wind Symphonica took over the stage.
Wind Symphonica played in the open air for the first time at the 2016 open-air concert in the inner courtyard of the University. With the best weather, Latin American rhythms such as in Rafael Hernandez' "El Cumbanchero", Arturo Márquez' "Danzón No. 2" and Ernesto Lecuona's "Malagueña" created a good mood in the audience. At the following concert on 21st January 2017 we performed Naoya Wada's "Rejoice!" with guest conductor Julia Albicker, who usually played the clarinet with Wind Symphonica back then. For the first time in the history of the orchestra, Wind Symphonica performed an additional concert outside of the usual semester rhythm in early summer 2017. At the invitation of the Lions Club Konstanz, Wind Symphonica played a benefit concert in favor of the therapeutic riding school TRAB e.V. in their riding hall. On 20th Juli 2017, Benedikt Ammon swapped his euphonium for the baton for Bert Appermont's "Robinson Crusoe".
On 27th January 2018, a solo concert was performed for the first time. Attila Benkö, tubist of the Philharmonie Südwestfalen and native of Konstanz, showed his skills with Rolf Wilhelm's "Concertino For Tuba And Concert Band", Oystein Baadsvik's "Fnugg Blue" and Michael Burns' "Blues for Tuba". On the 11th July 2019 we again performed with a soloist. The clarinetist Simone Knäble originally came from Konstanz, studied orchestral music with a principal subject in clarinet in Düsseldorf and was a member of the Bundeswehr's music training corps (Ausbildungsmusikkorps der Bundeswehr). She had already taken part in the premiere concert of Wind Symphonica in 2013 and now shone with Malcolm Arnold's "Sonatina for Clarinet" and Gilbert Tinner's "Clari-Fun-Key".
For April 2020, we planned to attend the European Student Orchestra Festival in Gent (Belgium), where we wanted to present ourselves on the international stage for the first time and establish new contacts with other university orchestras. Unfortunately, this concert tour fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last Wind Symphonica concert to date took place on February 15, 2020, a few days before Baden-Württemberg went into the first lockdown. Only on July 10, 2022, a concert could take place again for the first time.
On 28th January 2023, we performed the vibraphone solo piece "St. Mountain" by Florian Poser with Weihan Zhao.
Our repertoire ranges from the most well-known pieces from film, television and musicals to arrangements of classical works for wind music, fast Latin American rhythms and impressive program music to contemporary symphonic wind music. Our musical director puts together a new program for each semester, with which he manages to challenge us musicians and also inspire the concert audience. Below we have put together a small selection of our music. You can find more audio samples on our YouTube channel.
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Fanfare - The Benefaction from Sky and Mother Earth is a contemporary original composition for symphonic wind orchestra, characterized by its fast middle section with numerous tempo changes and complex rhythms. Composer Satoshi Yagisawa is one of the world's most renowned composers of contemporary symphonic wind music.
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Candide is an operetta by Leonard Bernstein from 1956. The overture of the work, originally written for full orchestra, has been arranged here for symphonic wind orchestra.
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The 2000 ballad October by Eric Whitacre is also an original composition for symphonic wind orchestra and pays particular attention to harmonies.
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1405: Der Brand von Bern by Mario Bürki belongs to the so-called program music: By imitating sounds, associations are awakened in the listener and thus a story is told.
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The Planets is one of Gustav Holst's best-known works and was composed for full orchestra. In this suite, Holst set to music all the planets of the solar system – with the exception of Earth – and their meanings in Roman mythology. The first movement, Mars, served as inspiration for the film music for Star Wars by John Williams, for example.
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Danzón no. 2 by Arturo Márquez is one of the most popular Latin American orchestral works of our time and contains numerous solo passages.
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Godspeed! by Stephen Mellilo is also an original composition for symphonic wind orchestra and is characterized by its enormous energy.
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The Ararat Suite occupies a special place in the history of Wind Symphonica: in 2016 we were the first orchestra on the European continent and the first wind orchestra worldwide to perform the work. We received the sheet music for it directly from the composer Loris Tjeknavorian. Tjeknavorian is one of the most popular composers and conductors in his home country Armenia.
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Mambo originates from Leonard Bernstein's famous West Side Story and is known for its rousing rhythm.
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In the summer of 2022 we decided to bridge the long, rehearsal-free summer break with some light music. With that, Die Original Gießberg-Musikanten were founded! The smaller ensemble is also under the direction of our conductor Ralph Brodmann. Unfortunately we haven't managed to organize a performance for the "Gießis" this year.
Traditionally, we meet once a year at the Christmas market to play music for the market visitors. This is always a nice opportunity to maintain our community and let the past year come to an end.