♫ 2012 Southern Division Conference of the College Band Directors National Association and the National Band Association

♫ Georgia's Community Band

Welcome to the Tara Winds website. Tara Winds is one of the Southeast's premiere adult symphonic bands.

Within this site you will find information about a music organization that is nationally and internationally recognized for quality performances and dedication to music education and community support.

Tara Winds' mission is threefold:

1. To provide a performance medium for local instrumental musicians
2. To encourage school bandpersons to continue performing after completion of their formal education
3. To serve as an entertainment source for audiences of all ages

Men and women of all professions represent Tara Winds. They are committed to music as a source of life-long enjoyment which is evident by the time, energy, and talents contributed to prepare and perform quality musical presentations for their audiences.

The group is actively involved with several community service projects. We annually collect contributions during the annual Tara Winds Music of the Season concert for charities, like Rainbow House, which was established to provide assistance to children who are in need during the holiday season. Additionally, Tara Winds members participate in the American Cancer Society's annual Relay for Life and raise thousands of dollars for the event.

Tara Winds established the Tara Winds' Scholarship Foundation to help promote music education for students.

♫ About the Band

Tara Winds is an all-adult symphonic band organized in the spring of 1988 by Ed Davis, David Gregory, and Larry Volman to provide a performance medium for local instrumental musicians, to encourage school bandsmen to continue performing after completion of their formal education, and to be a source of entertainment for audiences of all ages. Under the direction of Conductor Dr. Andrea Strauss, Tara Winds is composed primarily of musicians from metropolitan Atlanta, but draws its total membership from instrumentalists throughout Georgia. Men and women of many professions are represented in Tara Winds which has as its slogan, "Music: Enjoyment For All Ages." Their commitment to music as a source of life-long enjoyment is evident through the giving of their time, energy, and talents in order to prepare and perform quality musical presentations for their audiences.

The band has gained recognition as one of the finest adult ensembles of its kind. It has presented invitational performances for numerous regional and national music conferences including the 1990 and 2004 joint conferences of the National Band Association and the College Band Directors National Association, the University of South Carolina Band Clinic and Conductor's Symposium, the 1993, 1998, 2001, 2005, and 2009 University of Georgia High School Music Festivals, the 2004 and 2010 University of Southern Mississippi All-South Band Clinic, ten Georgia Music Educators Association In-Service Conferences, the Atlanta International Band and Orchestra Conference, and the Bands of America Regional Concert Festival. The band has the distinction of having performed at two of the most prestigious musical conferences in the United States: the American Bandmasters Association National Convention in 1999 and the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in 1994 and 2001. In June 2005, members of Tara Winds performed a week of highly acclaimed concerts in Rome, Italy as part of their first international tour. Tara Winds performed at the Western International Band Conference in Seattle, Washington, in November 2006, and as part of the Reinhardt College Concert Series in February of 2007, 2008, and 2010. Members of Tara Winds performed in Italy in 2008 and in Italy and Sicily in 2009.

Our ensemble has performed under the baton of internationally-known composers Quincy Hilliard, Francis McBeth, Steven Melillo, Ron Nelson, and Robert Sheldon, and has featured guest soloists Carlo Calcagnini, Linda Cotter, Vince DiMartino, James Land, Dr. Thomas Liley, Tom (Bones) Malone, Patrick Sheridan, John Strauss, Cecil Welch, and Jay Wucher. Guest conductors of the ensemble have been Bobby Adams, Col. John Bourgeois, Kerry Bryant, Col. William Clark, Randall Coleman, James Copenhaver, Robert Cowles, Paula Crider, Dr. James Croft, Ed Davis, Maestro Fulvio Cruex, Dr. John Culvahouse, Ed Davis, Dr. Stan DeJarnett, Rodney Dorsey, Dr. Frederick Fennell, Frank Folds, Dr. Tom Fraschillo, Matt Fuller, Col. Hal Gibson, Col. Lowell Graham, Dr. W.J. Julian, Mark Kelly, Mary Land, Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser, Dr. John Locke, Dr. William J. Moody, Dr. Robert Rumbelow, Jimmie Saied (as John Philip Sousa), Dr. Dwight Satterwhite, Lt. Col. Beth Steele, Dr. Mallory Thompson, Steven Tyndall, Larry Volman, Alfred Watkins, Frank Wickes, and Dan Wilson. Julie Giroux, Sam Hazo, Robert Sheldon, and Luigi Zaninelli are listed as commissioned composers of the ensemble.

♫ 20th Anniversary

To celebrate its 20th season in 2008, Tara Winds marked the occasion by participating in several events:

• On Saturday, April 19th, 2008, Tara Winds hosted an Anniversary Celebration Banquet in Atlanta, Georgia. Several Tara Winds' former members and friends joined us for this auspicious occasion.
• On Sunday, April 20th, 2008, Tara Winds presented its 20th Anniversary Concert at the Fine Arts Center of Reinhardt College in Waleska, GA. This concert featured two inaugural events: a joint concert with the Spivey Children's Choir and the premiere performance of a Tara Winds' commissioned work, "My Father's World" by Luigi Zaninelli.

Tara Winds extends special appreciation to those in attendance who participated with us marking 20 years of national and international musical performances.