Minnesota Winds is setting a new tone in the music community

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Like many Minnesotans, Meagan Bachmayer and Katherine Bergman fell in love with band when they first picked up their instruments in fifth grade.

What started in those band classrooms turned into a lifelong love of music. The two would go on to pursue music in college, where they became friends. Katherine would even end up in a career as a professional composer.

“In band, there were a lot of opportunities for making great music, but also to make really great friends and challenge yourself,” Meagan said. “For all of those reasons, I loved it.”

But these two former band kids noticed something was missing in their community. They wanted opportunities to hear the music they had played and enjoyed for so long performed at the highest level and celebrated on the main stage. In other words, by a professional concert band.

Finding inspiration

Minnesota has long had a rich music tradition. Katherine notes that audiences can hear world-class orchestra music in concert halls across the Twin Cities. Still, the same opportunities didn’t exist when it came to concert bands.

While they were in school, Meagan and Katherine never imagined they’d be the ones to bring a professional concert band to Minnesota. But a chance encounter while attending a local college band concert brought the two together again years later.

It was then that they hatched the idea of filling that gap themselves, giving back to this art form and community that had shaped them, and starting Minnesota Winds.

Getting off the ground 

After a few years of sitting on the idea, Meagan and Katherine decided it was time to make it a reality. The two took the first steps toward getting Minnesota Winds off the ground, including setting up a nonprofit and forming a leadership team.

“I remember that feeling of, ‘Okay, we’re starting our state’s first professional concert band. We’re stepping out on a limb, and we’re really going to do this,’” Katherine said. “There isn’t a roadmap for how to do this as so few professional concert bands exist.”

“The response was overwhelming,” Bachmayer said. “It was just above and beyond what we would have hoped for. There was a lot of excitement and encouragement.”

Engaging young musicians 

Outside of its concerts, Minnesota Winds aims to give back to the place so many people get their start in music: the classroom. During the school year, musicians from Minnesota Winds travel to schools across the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota for educational performances.

“For students just getting started, listening to professional performers gives them something to aspire to,” Katherine said.

“They’re in awe a lot of times. “They realize, ‘Oh, my instrument can sound like that if I keeping working at it.’”

Today, Meagan and Katherine are reflecting on Minnesota Winds’ first year and eagerly preparing for the next one.

This fall, Minnesota Winds will host its first season which will include more chamber music as well as the first full concert band performance.

The two also plan to continue to grow their relationships within Minnesota’s music community and focus on education and engagement.

“We want to be intentional about how we grow the organization,” Meagan said. “And that means deepening relationships with the vibrant band communities throughout the state, listening to them, and learning how a professional band could best serve them. We also think a lot about how to build a sustainable organization that grows not just in the short-term but is here for this community into the future.

Join the sneak peek list for the debut concert season of Minnesota Winds by visiting https://www.minnesotawinds.org/first-look.