By Elyse Heineman
The Frederick Community College Wind Ensemble will be performing its annual spring concert on May 7th, 2025 at 7:30 pm. This concert is one of two that occur during each year, and will take place in FCC’s JBK Theatre.
The Wind Ensemble is one of many music ensembles on campus and is directed by Dr. Kimberly Hirschmann.
Dr. Hirschmann holds a Bachelor’s Degree and Doctorate in music education, as well as a Master’s degree in conducting. She has been teaching in FCPS in both elementary and high school music classes for her entire career, and has been directing at FCC since Spring of 2022.
For those who may be unaware of what the wind ensemble itself is, the group is an all-age performing group, which has both a spring and fall section available each year.
“We use the definition of wind ensemble to describe a seated concert band,” Dr. Hirschmann says. “In a wind ensemble, we would traditionally have instruments from the woodwind family, the brass family, the percussion family, and some others in between.”
The Spring 2025 wind ensemble has 55 members, a number that, according to Dr Hirschmann, is on par with typical spring semester numbers.
“Historically a wind ensemble is actually a smaller ensemble with essentially one or two people per part,” Dr. Hirschmann states, “We are a much larger ensemble so we’re actually truly a concert band.”
This Spring, the wind ensemble will be performing six pieces: “Chorale and Shaker Dance;” “Mambo Perro Loco;” “Mischievous Behavior;” “The Immovable Do;” “Loch Lomond;” and “Selections from Wicked” to top it all off.
In order to choose the pieces each semester, Dr. Hirschmann considers both the numbers of each instrument present in the group, as well as what will perform well to the audience.
“[I] pick something that’s gonna make the audience think, so maybe something a little bit more contemporary or funky that they’re not expecting, something for the heart— so your lyrical piece, and then something for the feet, so a march or something that moves more quickly,” Dr. Hirschmann states.
This concert will also have one of the pieces conducted by Cora Preda, a senior at Governor Thomas Johnson High School (GTJHS), who has performed in the wind ensemble multiple years.
Cora is a third year Academy for the Fine Arts (AFA) student who plays flute and piccolo in many ensembles. She has conducted during the marching band season as drum major, but this is her first time doing concert-style conducting.
“I was working on my AFA capstone project for my third year and that involved working with music teachers from elementary to middle school to high school,” says Cora when asked about how she ended up conducting. “So I came in and I conducted two pieces in rehearsal, and after she saw me conducting ‘Mambo Perro Loco,’ she was like, you can do that in the concert.”
The spring wind ensemble concert is free; however, reserving tickets online before the show helps the program prepare for the number of guests expected. Tickets can be reserved at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fcc-wind-ensemble-registration.
For those interested in joining the wind ensemble for its fall semester, Dr. Hirschmann has very few limitations as to who should join.
“I think someone has to be comfortable with most of the range of their instrument and have the technical facility, but usually somebody who’s played in high school at any point in time is ready,” says Dr. Hirschmann. “Even if they’re coming back after a long break, they usually can pick it up and practice to the point where they’d be successful.”
If the Wind Ensemble doesn’t stand out as an option, FCC also offers Jazz Ensembles at varying levels and sizes, string ensembles and orchestra, handbell choir, flute choir, clarinet groups, and private and group lessons.
Many music groups at FCC cater to meeting players at their own level, as well as allowing for groups to practice and perform together.
“We definitely encourage anyone who has ever played an instrument to come out so you know music can always be a part of your life and this ensemble is a great testament to that.” says Dr. Hirschmann. “We have students who are currently in high school as well as college and then beyond. I encourage anyone who ever played in their high school ensemble, who’s looking to pick up an instrument, to contact Dr. [Michael] Gersten about joining an ensemble.”
Dr. Gersten can be reached about any questions at: mgersten@frederick.edu
