2025 “Experience the Winds” Silent Auction and Fundraiser
Stumped for gift-giving ideas for the people in your life? We have the solution! A collection of unique gifts and experiences is available during the Cascade Winds’ “Experience the Winds” silent auction.
The auction will be held in conjunction with our fall concert, Sunday, November 16, at 2PM in the auditorium at Summit High School in Bend. This is our only fundraiser for the year, and we are excited to add this event to our schedule. Various items and experiences provided primarily by members of the Cascade Winds will be on the docket – another way to support the ensemble and its musicians. You may bid before the concert and during intermission, then pick up your winnings immediately after the concert.
We’ll be releasing our auction catalog soon, so stay tuned!
As you know, admission to all Cascade Winds performances is free. However, there are significant expenses each year including hall rental, music purchase, and scholarship assistance for players. We are extremely grateful for individual and corporate donations that support our work, and we would, once again, like to count you among our dedicated supporters.
All donations made to the non-profit Cascade Winds Symphonic Band Association go directly towards operating expenses for the ensemble and are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Your contribution will help ensure the long-term presence of live music in Central Oregon and will continue to provide a place for musicians to “make music” for our region. Please make a donation online.
2025 Fall Concert
The Cascade Winds Fall Concert will be on Sunday, November 16, at 2PM in the auditorium at Summit HS in Bend. We hope you will join us!
Our program this fall is sure to please. We start with David Holsinger’s Havendance, whose driving rhythms and shifting styles represent the energy of the composer’s daughter Haven, who at eight years old was constantly dancing and twirling around the house, dreaming of being a ballerina. Next is Robert Sheldon’s touching Cherished, a beautiful musical message of gratitude that alternates between moments of vulnerability and powerful passages reflecting comfort and trust.
If you’ve been to any ensemble concerts here in Central Oregon, you know that Shenandoah is a fan favorite. Frank Techeli’s arrangement is a superb rendering of the folk standard, with moods ranging from quiet reflection, through growing optimism, to profound exaltation. Paul Albrecht’s rousing Patriae Fideles march is sure to please. Joshua Hobbs’ Into The Blue was inspired by the spectrum of blue color in the Atlantic ocean and the uniquely American form of blues music, and references jazz classics such as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
Our major piece, Randall Standridge’s Symphony No. 1, A Ghost Story, is a work in four movements that follows the narrative of a composer who has passed away from the viewpoint of his widow, and explores themes of the past, life, loss, love, fear, and hope. Not to be missed.
Join us at 2:00PM in the auditorium at Summit High School in Bend. As always, our performances are free and open to the public. Donations are gratefully accepted at the performance or here on our website.
Spring 2025 Live Stream
Enjoy the recording of our Spring Concert live stream here:
About the Cascade Winds
Directed by Michael Gesme, the Cascade Winds perform a wide variety of repertoire that often spans several centuries and represents diverse musical styles.
The members of the band feel that it is important that music is accessible to all, therefore our performances are free and open to all listeners. However, we still have production costs associated with our concerts. As a result we rely on individual and corporate donations as well as fees from the musicians themselves to support our operations. We are a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization and all donations go towards our direct operating expenses. No funding goes toward administration of the band which is fully supported by volunteers from within the group and the Central Oregon community.
Your generosity is greatly appreciated and your support will help further the presence of music in Central Oregon. You can learn about support the band on our donation page.