The award-winning Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts Wind Ensemble will hold its spring concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, in the Creativity and Innovation Complex on the school’s campus.
The Wind Ensemble earned top honors at the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association 2026 Class 3A State Concert Contest that was held at Searcy High School on April 15. Fifteen bands competed at the state contest. ASMSA earned First Division (Superior) ratings from all three judges.
By scoring top honors at the state contest, ASMSA will serve as the Honor Ensemble at the 2027 state contest. It will be the second time in three years that ASMSA will have that privilege. ASMSA won top honors at the 2024 contest, which qualified it to serve as the Honor Ensemble in 2025. ASMSA scored First Division (Superior) ratings at the 2025 contest, but ASBOA rules prevent schools from serving as the honor band in consecutive years.
Tuesday’s spring concert will feature Arkansas Composer Laureate Dr. W. Francis McBeth’s seminal work “Of Sailors and Whales” with narration by Dr. Dan Kostopulos, an ASMSA humanities Instructor of Excellence. The performance of Philip Sparke’s “Wind in the Reeds” will feature Dr. Thomas Dempter, ASMSA’s Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities, on solo bassoon.
The concert is free and open to the public. It will be held in the Oaklawn Foundation Community Center in the Creativity and Innovation Complex, located at 200 Whittington Ave.