Burke / Drury Joyride CD

The NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY SYMPHONIC WINDS is composed primarily of freshmen and sophomores. The group recently won the prestigious American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music. The ensemble performs at least 7 concerts per year, two of which are the extremely popular Holidays Concerts, which are a combination of the Symphonic Winds, the NEC Chamber Choir and Navy Band Northeast. The ensemble plays music from the 16th century to music of the present day. Guest artists have included Charles Schlueter, Shawn Edmonds, Marvin Stamm, Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Helen Sung, Charlie Powers, James Nova, Douglas Monroe, Will Frampton, Erica Washburn, Yukiko Takagi and Stephen Drury. WILLIAM DRURY is NEC's Associate Conductor of Wind Ensembles and directs the NEC Symphonic Winds. He also is Music Director and Conductor of the Falmouth Chamber Orchestra. Drury was conductor of the 567th USAF Band of Cape Cod and plays saxophone with the Jimmy Capone Big Band. As a conductor, Drury has premiered works by composers such as Gandolfi, Bell, Pinkham, Fletcher, Popkin, and Zorn; conducted orchestras at Harvard, Brown, and Brandeis universities, numerous Air Force bands throughout the nation, and has previously been MIT's Assistant Conductor of Orchestras, conductor of the Boston Conservatory's Wind Ensemble, assistant conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Boston, conductor of the Auros Chamber Orchestra, and conductor of orchestras and clarinet teacher at Northeastern University. As a jazz saxophonist, Drury has performed with Natalie Cole, the Coasters, Dave Stewart and MFB, and played lead tenor sax with the Bob Curnow Big Band. Before entering undergraduate studies, he worked for five years as a track laborer for the Burlington Northern Railroad.