The Shenandoah Conservatory Wind Ensemble has been invited to perform at the 2027 College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) National Conference being held Wednesday, Feb. 24, through Saturday, Feb. 27, 2027, at the University of Maryland (UMD) in College Park, Maryland. 

As the most important organization of College Band Conductors in North America, CBDNA was established with 40 members in 1941, and now boasts more than 700 members dedicated to the advancement of wind band music in higher education. Members include performers, leaders and educators devoted to the teaching, performance, study and cultivation of music, with particular focus on the wind band medium.

The Wind Ensemble will perform at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26, in the Dekelboum Concert Hall of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. This will be the first CBDNA performance by Shenandoah Conservatory bands, led by Director of Bands and Professor of Conducting Tim Robblee, Ph.D.

Selected by anonymous peer review from a pool of 37 applicants, the Shenandoah University (SU) Wind Ensemble is one of eight collegiate ensembles to perform at the conference. Other performers include the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Indiana University, Frost Wind Ensemble (University of Miami), University of Illinois and Florida State University. Conference attendees include notable conductors and educators from around the world.

“This invitation is a great honor to the students and faculty at SU,” said Dr. Robblee. “The recordings we submitted with performances from Spring 2025 and Spring 2026 were of really high quality and reflect the great work of our students and faculty.”

The Wind Ensemble will feature “Pi‘ilani and Ko‘olau” by Director of Composition, Coordinator of New Music and Professor of Composition Jonathan Newman, M.M., as part of its performance. Inspired by Hawaiian landscapes and mythology, the work combines vivid musical storytelling with expansive textures and rhythmic energy.

“I am thrilled that our students will present ‘Pi‘ilani and Ko‘olau’ at the CBDNA National Conference in February,” said Newman. “This work is particularly meaningful to me, so to perform it at the country’s premier venue for wind ensemble repertoire, and share that experience with our students and with my colleagues will be an incredibly special event.”