Newport’s annual Winter Festival serves as the setting for the Rhode Island Wind Ensemble’s annual performance in the spacious and elegant Marriott Hotel atrium. Classical music from Europe, socialite songs of The Gilded Age, and military marches will be offered alongside music of enslaved people from Africa who came through Newport and the indigenous people native to the island. Our friends in the Block Island Sound Brass Quintet will join us, too! RIWE is honored to support Historic Music of Newport, a nonprofit dedicated to telling the story of the City by the Sea through the music of the people who lived and worked here; 100% of donations collected at the concert will go to support their important cultural preservation efforts.

Making its fourth appearance at Woonsocket’s magnificent Stadium Theatre, the Rhode Island Wind Ensemble performs some of Hollywood’s greatest film and TV music of all time. Paying homage to great Hollywood composers like Harold Arlen, John Williams, Alan Menken, and Danny Elfman, RIWE will also perform two original scores to vintage silent films: a 1927 animated Felix the Cat short with a hilarious score by James Bohn, and the world premiere of a new score to the 1902 classic La Fée Printemps, composed by Emmy award winning Rhode Island resident Roger Cichy. Plus, we’ll revisit some of our favorite cartoon and TV sitcom theme songs, complete with a sing-along! Tickets available at www.stadiumtheatre.com

Celebrating its fifteenth year, our annual Chamber Recital affords RIWE members the opportunity to rehearse and perform a diversity of music written for solo instruments and small ensembles. Performed without a conductor, this recital showcases the talent of our musicians in a more intimate setting, complemented by the resonant acoustics of The Music Mansion: this gem of a space offers high wood ceiling and paneled walls, seating for about fifty people, and a small stage with two grand pianos.

For this concert, the Rhode Island Wind Ensemble poses this question: what makes some music ‘classical’? We’ll look for answers by performing some of the best-loved music from the “classical” bin, as well as some surprisingly “classical” music from other styles. We’ll find out what Mozart's music has in common with Duke Ellington, and how classical composers have influenced some of today’s most popular recording artists. Join us for a concert sure to entertain, illuminate, and inspire!

We’re honoring our veterans the best way we know how - with a concert! We’re heading back to the beautiful Rhode Island Veterans Home to perform for our local hero veterans. This concert is sponsored by the RI Veterans Home. The public is invited to this free concert.