Windy City Winds

2023 Fall Concert - Lord of the Rings
2023-11-18 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard St., Chicago, IL, 60614, United States
Concert Details
Link to Streaming
Concert Program
Join Windy City Winds as we kick off our 9th formal concert season and welcome renowned Dutch composer, arranger and conductor Johan De Meij to conduct his Symphony #1 “The Lord of the Rings” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 18. The concert will mark the 35th anniversary of his composing this enormously popular five-movement symphony, inspired by the trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien – an epic piece of music, befitting an epic story. First performed in 1988, the symphony won the Sudler Composition Prize and has been recorded by top-tier ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra. De Meij and Windy City Winds will perform the new 2023 Revised Edition, reorchestrated by the composer. De Meij will also conduct his Windy City Overture and Downtown Divertimento (3rd mvt. – “Hitting the Highline”). The program will open with the Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare by Richard Strauss. The concert will be at St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N Orchard in Chicago, and admission is free. Audience members can meet the composer at a reception immediately after the concert, celebrating Johan De Meij’s 70th birthday.

Winter 2024 Concert - A European Tour
2024-03-08 19:30 - 21:00 | St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard St., Chicago, IL, 60614, United States
WINDY CITY WINDS CONCERT – FRIDAY MARCH 8 @ 7:30 pm
Livestream Link
Concert Program
Windy City Winds, “Chicago’s Community Band,” invites you to their Winter Concert, “A European Tour,” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday March 8 at St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard Ave. in Lincoln Park.
World-famous Chicago Symphony Orchestra clarinetist John Bruce Yeh will be their guest soloist, performing works by Weber and Debussy. The concert will feature music from Spain, Greece, Germany, France, Ireland and Italy. The concert program includes “Flores de Espana” (a Spanish paso doble march), “Aegean Festival Overture” (Andreas Makris), “Concertino for Clarinet” (Weber), “Premiere Rhapsodie” (Debussy), “Celtic Wedding” (Jeremy Bell) and “Italian Rhapsody” (Julie Giroux).
Admission is free, and the concert will be Livestreamed. In person audience members can participate in WCW’s annual raffle for valuable prizes.

The Great Outdoors
2024-05-17 19:30 - 21:00 | St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard St., Chicago, IL, 60614, United States
Windy City Winds, “Chicago’s Community Band”, invites you to our Spring Concert, “The Great Outdoors”, at 7:30 pm on Friday evening May 17.

Livestream Link
Concert Program

The music will include:

Aaron Copland’s “An Outdoor Overture”
Ron Nelson’s “Rocky Point Holiday”
Cait Nishimura’s “Boreal Pines”
Michael Daugherty’s “Alligator Alley”
The world premiere of a new work written for Windy City Winds by Douglas Brandt.

Admission is free, and the concert will be Livestreamed.

Make Music Chicago
2024-06-21 19:00 - 20:00 | Chicago Women’s Park, 1801 S. Indiana Ave, Chicago, IL, United States
Windy City Winds Presents
Pop Stars Through the Eras: From Sousa to Taylor Swift
What do The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon have in common? They all have songs that will be performed by Windy City Winds at our Summer concert series!
Come and hear Windy City Winds outdoors this summer performing music of POP STARS – FROM SOUSA TO TAYLOR SWIFT, plus The Beatles, Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Chicago! Each concert will feature guest stars from the St. Pauls United Church of Christ Chancel Choir!
Bring a blanket and a picnic and join us in one of Chicago’s beautiful parks this Summer as we perform the greatest pop hits from Sousa to Taylor Swift

Bucktown Garden Walk
2024-07-13 19:00 - 20:00 | Churchhill Field, 2007 W. Churchill, Chicago, IL, United States
Windy City Winds Presents
Pop Stars Through the Eras: From Sousa to Taylor Swift
What do The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon have in common? They all have songs that will be performed by Windy City Winds at our Summer concert series!
Come and hear Windy City Winds, outdoors this summer performing music of POP STARS – FROM SOUSA TO TAYLOR SWIFT, plus The Beatles, Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Chicago! Each concert will feature guest stars from the St. Pauls United Church of Christ Chancel Choir!
Bring a blanket and a picnic and join us in one of Chicago’s beautiful parks this Summer as we perform the greatest pop hits from Sousa to Taylor Swift

Washington Square Park
2024-07-20 15:00 - 16:00 | Newberry Library/Washington Square Park, 901 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL, 60610, United States

By Request - Fall 2024
2024-11-22 19:30 - 21:00 | St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard St., Chicago, IL, 60614, United States
WINDY CITY WINDS FALL 2024 CONCERT – “BY REQUEST”
LIVESTREAM Link
Concert Program Link

Celebrating the start of our 10th season, Windy City Winds will perform our Fall Concert on Friday evening, November 22, 2024, at 7:30 pm at St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.
The theme of our concert is “By Request: Music Suggested by Band Members”. Each year we ask all band members for their music recommendations. Our concert will feature music by Edward Elgar (Enigma Variations), Frank Ticheli (Vesuvius), Ryan George (Firefly), Claude T. Smith (Emperata Overture), Julius Fucik (Florentiner March), and the Midwest premiere of a new work by Aaron Perrine (To Hope).
Admission is free and the concert will be Livestreamed at www.windycitywinds.org/concerts. Come and hear “Chicago’s Community Band!”

Looking Upward
2025-03-14 19:30 - 21:00 | St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard St., Chicago, IL, 60614, United States
You are cordially invited to hear Windy City Winds, “Chicago’s Community Band”, in a free concert on Friday evening March 14th at 7:30 pm in the sanctuary at St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard St. in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. The concert will also be live-streamed at spucc.org/streaming.
LIVESTREAM Link
Concert Program Link
The concert program theme will be “Looking Upward: Music Inspired by Gazing at Stars and Planets”, featuring music by Gustav Holst (“Mars” and “Jupiter” from The Planets), John Philip Sousa (“By the Light of the Polar Star” from Sousa’s Looking Upward suite), John Williams (“Adventures on Earth” from the film E.T. -The Extraterrestrial), and two contemporary composers, Kevin Day (“Rocketship!”) and Julie Giroux (“Journey Through Orion”).
Dr. Kevin Geraldi, Director of Bands at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will be the guest conductor.
The concert will also include the band’s annual raffle where audience members can win fabulous prizes – concerts, ballgames, restaurants and more!
Windy City Winds is a 60-piece symphonic band celebrating its 10th season, conducted by its founders Mark Mosley and Sarah Good Mosley.

Looking Back
2025-05-16 19:30 - 21:00 | St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard St., Chicago, IL, 60614, United States
LIVESTREAM Link
Concert Program Link
You are cordially invited to hear Windy City Winds, “Chicago’s Community Band”, in a free concert on Friday evening May 16th at 7:30 pm in the sanctuary at St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard St. in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
The concert will also be live-streamed at spucc.org/streaming.
Admission is free, but street parking is always a challenge in Lincoln Park, and the church is making major renovations which limit street parking. We recommend parking at Lincoln Commons Garage, 2316 N. Lincoln Ave., operated by SP Parking. You can reserve a spot there using SpotHero. It’s a very short walk from there to the church – just walk across Lincoln Ave. and through the Lincoln Commons, past Philz Coffee and around the corner and the children’s playlot, then cross Orchard St. to enter the church sanctuary. Enjoy the concert!
Dr. Kimberly Fleming, Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will be the guest conductor.
The concert will feature a new work composed by Ronald Hill, “The Man in the Arena” with soloist William Powers, leading bass-baritone of the Metropolitan Opera of New York.
The concert program theme will be “Looking Back: Favorite Music from our first 3 seasons”, featuring music by Joseph Wilcox Jenkins (“American Overture for Band”), Eric Whitacre (“October”), Leonard Bernstein (“Overture to Candide”), Robert Sheldon (“The Red Covered Bridge”), Howard Hanson (“Choral and Alleluia”), John Phillip Sousa (“Black Horse Troop”).
Windy City Winds is a 60-piece symphonic band celebrating its 10th season, conducted by its founders Mark Mosley and Sarah Good Mosley.
Admission is free and the concert will be Livestreamed. Come and hear “Chicago’s Community Band!”
Dr. Kimberly Fleming, Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will be the guest conductor.
The concert will feature a new work composed by Ronald Hill, “The Man in the Arena” with soloist William Powers, leading bass-baritone of the Metropolitan Opera of New York.
The concert program theme will be “Looking Back: Favorite Music from our first 3 seasons”, featuring music by Joseph Wilcox Jenkins (“American Overture for Band”), Eric Whitacre (“October”), Leonard Bernstein (“Overture to Candide”), Robert Sheldon (“The Red Covered Bridge”), Howard Hanson (“Choral and Alleluia”), John Phillip Sousa (“Black Horse Troop”).
Windy City Winds is a 60-piece symphonic band celebrating its 10th season, conducted by its founders Mark Mosley and Sarah Good Mosley.

10th Anniversary Concert
2025-11-15 19:30 - 21:00 | St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard St., Chicago, IL, 60614, United States
Windy City Winds, “Chicago’s Community Band”, will present their 10th Anniversary Concert in the gymnasium at St. Pauls UCC on Saturday evening November 15th at 7:30 pm. The concert will be LiveStreamed at www.spucc.org/streaming.
LIVESTREAM CLICK HERE

PROGRAM BOOK CLICK HERE

St. Pauls members Mark and Sarah Mosley will conduct an exciting program of music by Beethoven, John Philip Sousa, British composer Haydn Wood, and American composers Alfred Reed and Fisher Tull.
To help celebrate this milestone, 20 former WCW members will join the band in the second half of the concert.
Admission is free! Looking ahead, please save Friday evening March 13 and Friday evening May 15 for WCW concerts later this season.

The Red, White and Blue
2026-03-13 19:30 - 21:00 | St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N. Orchard St., Chicago, IL, 60614, United States
March Concert – Friday 3/13/2026, 7:30 pm St. Pauls United Church of Christ

LIVESTREAM CLICK HERE

PROGRAM BOOK CLICK HERE
This concert will also feature our annual Audience Raffle for fabulous prizes!

In 2026, Windy City Winds celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 — the birth of our nation. We celebrate the principles of our founding fathers, the leadership of our greatest citizens, and the rich cultural diversity of America and our city. Throughout our history, the American flag has served as “the emblem of the land we love”, and it continues to be an “emblem of unity.” Our March 13 concert “The Red, White and Blue”, features music inspired by the American flag, including our national march The Stars and Stripes Forever. Our program will include:

The Stars and Stripes Fanfare, by Chicago area composer James Stephenson
Redwood, by composer Ryan George (inspired by the tranquility of California’s sequoia trees)
Blue Shades, by Frank Ticheli (incorporating blues and jazz motifs)
Flag of Stars, by Gordon Jacob (captivates with its robust and patriotic melodies)
One movement from Symphony #2 by Charles Ives (America’s first great composer — this music quotes “America the Beautiful” and “Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean”)
