Our Concert Performance Groups
During the concert season, the Thousand Oaks High School Instrumental Music Department features two concert performance ensembles:
Wind Ensemble
Wind Symphony
Placement into these ensembles is determined by audition. During the marching season, all individual ensemble members participate in the Lancer Marching Band. Students receive Fine Art credit, UC credit and/or P.E. credit depending on ensemble.
Wind Ensemble
The Wind Ensemble is premier performance concert band at Thousand Oaks High School. Members of this exclusive group study and perform the most advanced literature available for band. Designed for advanced students, band members must audition during August and January each year for acceptance into this select ensemble.
Instrumentation in this ensemble is usually one per part and students are seated by performance ability. The top chair in each section is the principal player and earns the responsibility to organize the needs of their perspective section. The principle player also is the soloist for any given solo that is required for the ensemble. Wind Ensemble section members are ranked by audition and may challenge the player in the next chair through the challenge process.
The concert season for the Wind Ensemble begins with the Winter Holiday Concert in December and carries on throughout the rest of the school year. During their spring season, the Wind Ensemble participates in a number of district and regional band festivals throughout Southern California. This elite group has consistently earned "Superior" ratings at these festivals, many of which are by invitation only.
In 2001, the Wind Ensemble received the Gold Award at the Heritage Musical Festival in Southern California, and was invited to perform in the National Festival in Chicago in 2002.
In 2002, the Wind Ensemble received the Sweepstakes Award at the Hawaiian Invitational Festival. In 2003, the Wind Ensemble received an invitation after audition to be one of three concert bands in Southern California to perform in the Orange County Performing Arts Center Educational Series. The ensemble received a critique and clinic by famed composer Frank Ticheli.
The Wind Ensemble has also performed for the inauguration of the president and opening of California State University, Channel Islands in 2002 and in 2003, performed for the University's first commencement ceremony.
Wind Symphony
The Wind Symphony is designed for experienced student musicians who wish to extend their training by studying and performing a challenging musical repertoire. As their musical abilities mature through study and practice in the Wind Symphony, many of these student musicians will move on to become members of the Wind Ensemble.
Because of the high level of musical skill required, band members audition for membership in this ensemble during the months of August and January. Instrumentalists in the Wind Symphony are organized by section, with each group having a section leader called the principal player. Section members are ranked by audition and may challenge the player in the next chair through the challenge process.
The concert season for the Wind Symphony begins with the Winter Holiday Concert in December and carries on throughout the rest of the school year. During their spring season, the Wind Symphony participates in a number of district and regional band festivals throughout Southern California. This ensemble has consistently earned "Superior" ratings at these festivals.