The Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony is an instrumental performing ensemble based in Cleveland, Ohio. The ensemble is selected regularly to perform on the international level. Their latest international tour was in June 2018, when the wind ensemble travelled to Italy to perform in the Florence Festival of Youth Orchestras. In Summer 2020, the group will be traveling to Ireland. The group has also traveled to Australia where they performed in the Sydney Opera House, combining with three other ensembles to premier a new David Gillingham piece, "The Sails of Time." This ensemble has become one of Ohio's top performing youth ensembles playing a wide variety of challenging pieces at a professional level.
Origins
Founding
The Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony was founded in 1989 by Dr. Gary M. Ciepluch and Robert McAllister. The group was created as a joint venture between Case Western Reserve University and The Cleveland Institute of Music. In 1995, the group became too large, and was thus split into upper and lower parts, The Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony Group I and II, respectively. Both groups are full ensembles, the former being conducted by Dr. Ciepluch, and the latter by Melissa Lichter. As of November 1, 2009 another group has been added to CYWS. According to the announcement by Dr. Ciepluch at the concert on November 1, 2009, there are so many talented young people in the area schools, he and the other directors decided to start this third group. While there are three groups, there are only two levels, as both Group II Symphonic Winds and Concert Winds play the same level of music. The groups are intended to provide talented high school students the opportunity to play exceptionally difficult high school pieces, college literature, and "Grade 6" professional works. Members come from about 75 area high schools. Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony, both groups I and II, is based in the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Directors
Dr. Gary Ciepluch is an internationally recognized expert on contemporary band literature. A talented clarinetist himself, Dr. Ciepluch takes it upon himself to find the group the most challenging and interesting band literature available for his ensembles. This often means premiering new pieces, such as Christopher Tucker's "A Light in the Deep." Under his leadership, CYWS has taken seven international concert tours, one of the most recent of which culminating in a performance in the Sydney Opera House. After Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony's 2016 European tour, Dr. Ciepluch retired from his post as director of Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony. Melissa Lichtler, Dan Crain, and Darren Allen became co-directors of the group, with Crain directing Group I, Lichtler directing Group II Symphonic Winds, and Allen directing Group II Concert Winds.
Repertoire and orchestration
Repertoire
The Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony is noted for the outstanding quality of works performed by the ensemble. CYWS, both group I and II, constantly strives to play the most advanced literature for band. The advanced abilities of the member musicians enables the group to play extraordinarily difficult music for the age of the members. For example, Group I performed David Holsinger's "Ballet Sacre" during the 2006-2007 and 2010-2011 seasons. Other literature performed by the group includes Grainger's "Lincolnshire Posy," James Barnes's "Third Symphony, Op. 89," Ralph Hultgren's "Bushdance", and Alfred Reed's " Armenian Dances "
Orchestration
Both Group I and II are standard large wind symphonies. This orchestration includes flutes, piccolos, clarinets, bass clarinets, oboes, bassoons, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, horns in F, trumpets, trombones, euphoniums, tubas, and a myriad of percussion. However, the advanced literature that both groups perform often calls for a more diverse orchestration. Thus, an English Horn is not uncommon, nor is a soprano sax during solo sections. More uncommonly, Group I required a member to play contrabassoon while premiering Christopher Tucker's "A Light in the Deep." Piano accompaniments to pieces are fairly common, and the group membership almost certainly contains an accomplished pianist.
