Caltech Bands 


Welcome!

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2019-2020 Season Flyer

Who we are

The Caltech - Occidental Wind Orchestra is comprised of select performers of wind and percussion instruments drawn from the undergraduate and graduate student population at Caltech and Occidental College, plus faculty, alumni, staff and community members from Caltech, and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL). Currently numbering at approximately 80 musicians, this group rehearses once per week and performs three programs of repertoire per academic year. The repertoire is selected from the finest traditional and contemporary music from around the world.

The ensemble (formerly known as the Concert Band) earned great acclaim under the leadership of William Bing, who directed the group for over 40 years. Drawing upon the tremendous talent base of Los Angeles, the group has featured such guest artists as Allen Vizzuti, David Shifrin, Eddie Daniels, Jim Self, Wayne Bergeron and Frank Ticheli. The group has taken on notable recording projects, and tours to such locations as Carnegie Hall and China. Appointed in 2016 as conductor of the ensemble and Director of Performing and Visual Arts, Glenn Price is building on the heritage, tradition and high standards established by Bill Bing.

 

What we do

Each ensemble rehearses only one night a week, and performs three or four concerts every year. The ensembles have played many world premieres and performed for over ten thousand people. The bands have recorded four CDs, some of which are still available at the Caltech Bookstore. Three years ago, the Caltech Jazz Bands recorded at world-famous Capitol Studios in Hollywood.

The Directors

 


Dr. Glenn D. Price has earned an international reputation as a leading conductor and educator through his experience conducting student, community and professional ensembles in over 30 countries.

He has conducted many renowned soloists, including Evelyn Glennie, Christian Lindberg, Ney Rosauro, Jens Lindemann, Alain Trudel, Roger Webster, Kenneth Tse, Adam Frey, Simone Rebello, David Campbell, John Marcellus and Michael Burritt.  Widely regarded as an authority on the field of wind music, he has appeared as featured conductor for organizations such as CBDNA, WASBE, ABA, The Midwest Clinic, MENC, and BASBWE.   His numerous recordings, most notably with the University of Calgary Wind Ensemble, are recognized for expanding the repertoire while offering a performance model of technical precision and musical artistry.

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, his profession as a noted percussionist gradually yielded to his career as a conductor, which included studies at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Japan and the Tanglewood Music Center in the U.S., as well as in Europe and Russia.

His distinguished performing, teaching and conducting career has included full-time positions in Canada, Los Angeles, as Director of Wind Studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). His dedicated service to the profession has encompassed appointments as Artistic Director of the International Youth Wind Orchestra, Founding Conductor of the Orquesta Latinoamericano de Vientos (Wind Orchestra of Latin America), and election as President of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE).

He is the Director of Performing and Visual Arts at Caltech, and conducts the Caltech-Occidental Wind Orchestra, previously led for 40 years by William Bing.

BarbCatlin

Barb Catlin, Director of Jazz Band at Caltech, has been at Caltech since 2013. Barb has held positions as the Musical Director of the acclaimed youth honor jazz program, The Young Sounds of Arizona, and was Director of Jazz Studies at Mesa Community College in Arizona. A pianist by profession, Barb received numerous accolades as a player and educator, including being named as a Downbeat “Player to Catch” and receiving the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Jazz in Arizona. Along with teaching at Caltech, Barb directs the jazz program at Pomona College.

March 2011
Caltech-Occidental Concert Band
at the Great Wall of China!