Congratulations to the following 12 members of the Fort Mill School District Band Programs that earned seats in the 2010 Charlotte Youth Wind Ensemble (CYWE).

Fort Mill HS	Nation Ford HS
Joshua Bradley - Tuba	Dottie Grantham - Flute/Piccolo
Kate Davie - Bassoon	Claire Sibley - Horn
Paul Gannon - Tuba	Sara Tennant - Clarinet
Joshua Harris - Bassoon
Logan Herbert - Clarinet
Drew Holcomb - Trombone
Andrew Krieger - Oboe
Eric McGuirk - Trumpet
Patrick Rasmussen - Horn

Now in its 19th season, the Charlotte Youth Wind Ensemble, sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Department of Music, is composed of seventy of the finest young musicians from the greater Charlotte metropolitan region - 12 from the Fort Mill High School and Nation Ford High School. The Wind Ensemble features students from thirty different high schools in both North and South Carolina.

The Ensemble organizes in January and, following two months of Tuesday evening rehearsals (2 1/2 to 3 hours not including the drive to UNCC in north Charlotte), presents three concerts in different parts of the region. Most members of this ensemble have earned membership in the All-District and All-State high school honor bands of North and South Carolina, groups which typically function for two or three days each year and then disband. As a regional honors organization, the purpose of the Charlotte Youth Wind Ensemble is to provide young musicians with performance opportunities which supplement their excellent school band programs. A college preparatory level of music is rehearsed in the wind ensemble format; a smaller, more select instrumentation than is typically found in larger All-State symphonic bands. The Ensemble also regularly performs new repertoire, not previously presented in the region, as part of its programs.

This year's performance schedule is:

• Wednesday - February 17, 2010 at 7:30 pm - UNC-Charlotte Robinson Hall of Performing Arts in Charlotte, NC
• Monday - March 1, 2010 at 7:30 pm - Jay M. Robinson HS in Concord, NC
• Tuesday - March 9, 2010 at 7:30 pm - Audrey Kell HS in Charlotte, NC

Please congratulate each of these band students on their achievement and, to see a great performance of the area's talented young musicians, come out and show your support at one of their concerts.

For more information (including the entire 2010 roster), please visit UNCC Department of Music website at http://www.music.uncc.edu/cywe.htm.