Lakeshore Wind Ensemble To Be Fully Private In June; Conductor Search Is Underway

Starting in June 2020, the Lakeshore Wind Ensemble and Lakeshore Big Band will become fully private. The announcement was made today, April 13, 2020.

The Lakeshore Wind Ensemble Association (LWEA) will become the governing body of both the wind ensemble and big band. Since the ensembles will no longer be part of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Manitowoc Campus, participation in the band will no longer be offered for credit to University students and the campus will no longer provide a music faculty member as the conductor/music director.

The Lakeshore Wind Ensemble is made up of talented musicians from across the lakeshore, several of these community members have played with the wind ensemble since its inception 37 years ago, and numerous former students have "come home" to the wind ensemble after completing their degrees at a four-year university. The common bonds of this diverse group are the love of good music and the joy of sharing that music with others.

The Lakeshore Wind Ensemble (LWE) was founded in the fall of 1983 by Professor Michael J. Arendt as part of the University of Wisconsin Center-Manitowoc County Community Outreach Program. Beginning with a membership of 35 student and community members, the LWE performed its first concert in March of 1984. Since that time, the Ensemble has grown to a current membership of more than 70 musicians, and encompasses a wide age span from students to retired persons, in a blend of youthful exuberance and musical maturity.

Professor Marc Sackman has served as the conductor and music director of the UW-Green Bay, Manitowoc Campus Lakeshore Wind Ensemble since January 2016. Full-time registered University students participating in the band for credit are also eligible for scholarships called "Talentships," which are dispersed by the LWEA and the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc Foundation. Beginning with the 2020-2021 LWE season, full-time University students participating in Wind Ensemble will continue to be eligible for Talentships, despite the class not being offered for credit.

The Lakeshore Big Band was founded by Michael J. Arendt in 1990. The band was an outgrowth of the University of Wisconsin Center-Manitowoc County Lakeshore Wind Ensemble in response to the immense popularity of the "big band" music that the wind ensemble performed at its concerts. The big band is conducted by Paul Sucherman, a UW-Green Bay, Sheboygan Campus music professor and includes Manitowoc and Sheboygan campus University students as well as community members who bring a wide range of musical experiences to the organization.

The ensemble will continue making music to delight audiences and also continue to honor exemplary community members who substantially contribute to the arts with the Wes Teply Community Service Award in the Arts and also host the biennial LWEA Young Artist Competition which provides financial scholarships to college students and an opportunity to perform with the band at the March concert.

The LWEA is undergoing a conductor search for the 2020-2021 season which begins in September 2020. The LWE performs five concerts per year: October, December, January, March and May, at the Capitol Civic Centre in Manitowoc, WI. Generally, there are between 6 and 8 rehearsals per concert, with the final two rehearsals held at the Capitol Civic Centre. The rehearsals for the LWE are on Tuesday evenings, from 6 to 8 p.m. Paul Sucherman will continue to be the conductor of the LBB which presents two concerts, one in November and the other in April, also at the Capitol Civic Centre.

All qualified candidates are invited to submit a letter of interest and a resume by May 1, 2020 to: LWEA.MJA83@gmail.com. Visit the "News" page on www.lakeshorewindensemble.org to view a full job description of the LWE conductor search. For questions, please contact David Scherer, LWEA Board President, 920-684-0870.

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