Posted by Rick Denney on March 04, 2004 at 15:24:15:
In Reply to: Best concert band in the U.S. posted by GC on March 04, 2004 at 09:47:24:
It would be awfully hard to judge, because hearing more than one or two of them is beyond the means and opportunity of most folks.
I have heard the Army Band, the Air Force Band, the Marine Band, the Dallas Wind Symphony, and an assortment of college and all-state high-school bands. Plus, I have the usual recordings of the Cleveland Symphonic Winds, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and so on. Of those, the Dallas Wind Symphony impressed me the most with their ensemble, musicianship, intonation, and sound. The military bands are following close. When I've heard them, they've always been better than any student band, and mostly because of sound. The Dallas group has an orchestral quality that many other groups lack.
The live groups have always impressed me more than the recorded groups, but that's probably the difference between live and Memorex.
Rick "who loves a concert band with an orchestral sound" Denney