The Virginia Wind Symphony, organized in 1994 by Dennis Zeisler, is a wind ensemble made up of professional musicians, military musicians, public and private school teachers and independent music instructors. The group was created to provide a musical outlet for musicians from throughout the Hampton Roads area and is dedicated to playing the finest original and transcribed wind literature available. Members benefit from the positive musical experiences brought about by music making in the spirit of camaraderie and from the opportunity to serve the region through a life long love of music with concerts throughout the year. The Virginia Wind Symphony has been conducted by ABA members Terry Austin, Ed Lisk, Frederick Fennell, Ed Downing, Linda Moorhouse, Harry Begian, Frank Wickes, James Keene, and H. Robert Reynolds. The Virginia Wind Symphony has recorded 5 commercial compact discs that are available through the Walking Frog Catalogue.
The Virginia Wind Symphony is honored to be a recipient of the John Philip Sousa Foundation's Sudler Silver Scroll Award! The Sudler Silver Scroll is an international award to identify, recognize and honor those community bands that have demonstrated particularly high standards of excellence in concert activities over a period of several years, and which have played a significant and leading role in the cultural and musical environment in their respective communities.
North America's most prestigious award for community concert bands is named after Chicago real estate magnate Louis C. Sudler, a patron of the arts who founded the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The John Philip Sousa Foundation is a publicly supported, educational foundation established for the purpose of organizing, sponsoring and administering projects contributing to the excellence of bands and band music throughout the world by recognizing excellence in its many forms wherever it may be found.
For more information about the Sudler Silver Scroll award and to see a list of past winners, please see the John Philip Sousa Foundation website.
