In association with Sherborne Summer School of Music (UK) 2 - 9 August 2026   WASBE is proud to support the participation of two active WASBE members wishing to train at this prestigious academy with a scholarship covering up to half of their tuition fees.   Sherborne Summer School of Music https://www.sherbornesummerschoolofmusic.org/courses/wind-conducting-course/   This internationally recognised course is for conductors at intermediate and advanced levels with an interest

Joint Statement from the Japanese Band Directors Association (JBA) and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) The Japanese Band Directors Association (JBA) and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) mourn the passing of the esteemed “Father of Japanese Wind Music,”   Maestro Toshio Akiyama , who passed away on 9 December . In his youth, Maestro Akiyama travelled alone to the United States, where he diligently sought out wind m

In Memoriam Ida GOTKOVSKY (1933–2025) The Lady of the Winds is no longer with us. It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Ida GOTKOVSKY at the age of 92, during the night of October 14 to 15, 2025. She now joins the pantheon of French composers who elevated the wind orchestra to a musical means of expression equal to all others — together with her friends Désiré DONDEYNE, Serge LANCEN, Roger BOUTRY, and Frédéric ROBERT. Ida GOTKOVSKY’s work will endure and,

Founding member and first President of WASBE Trevor John Ozias Ford died at the age of 93 from cardiac arrest on 8 February 2025. When...

Contributed by James Ripley It is with a sense of tremendous loss, and great respect, that we join the world in mourning the loss of Donald Hunsberger, the illustrious conductor of the Eastman Wind Ensemble from 1965 to 2002, Don passed away on Sunday, November 5, 2023, at the age of 91. The world of wind music has lost one of its most revered pillars, and those who knew him have lost a cherished friend and mentor. As written by the Eastman School website: Don Hunsberger’s l