Albuquerque Concert Band
P.O. Box 11205
Albuquerque, NM 87192-1205
Rehearsals
The Albuquerque Concert Band rehearses in the band room at Eldorado High School at 11300 Montgomery Blvd NE each Monday from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. Thanks to Jordan Sayre and APS for allowing us to use this facility.
About Us
The Albuquerque Concert Band is an all-volunteer ensemble of adult musicians rehearsing and performing throughout the year. In existence for seventy-five years, the band has been enriching the culture of the Albuquerque community in performance of the great heritage of band music. Over eighty players of a wide range of age and ability meet each week and represent an enormous variety of backgrounds with vocations ranging from music educator to engineer, from doctor to lawyer.
During the summer season the band is sponsored by the City of Albuquerque and presents concerts on the East lawn of the Albuquerque International Balloon Museum and at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial ampitheater, giving families the opportunity to enjoy an evening of wonderful music in a fun and casual setting. The ensemble continues through the Fall/Winter/Spring presenting a full formal concert on the first Sunday of each month October through April.
Our Conductor
Brett Penshorn
Brett Penshorn currently serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Professor Penshorn assists with the UNM Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony, co-directs the Spirit Marching Band and Soundpack Basketball Band, Saxophone Ensemble, coaches saxophone quartets, and teaches an undergraduate course in Music Appreciation. Before coming to New Mexico, Prof. Penshorn served as Visiting Director of Bands at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he conducted the Wind Ensemble and taught undergraduate music education courses in conducting, woodwind techniques, and music technology. While in Charlotte, he also served as Conductor of the Charlotte Youth Wind Ensemble and the Charlotte High School Invitational Honor Band. He was also recently one of twenty-four finalists (one of eight Americans) selected to compete in the 2023 Warsaw Wind Band Conducting Competition in Warsaw, Poland.
Penshorn is finishing the final stage of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting at the University of North Texas, where he studies with Eugene Migliaro Corporon. While in residency at North Texas as a graduate teaching fellow, he was involved with all aspects of the Wind Studies area. As the Graduate Student Coordinator and Library Manager, he oversaw the logistics and personnel management necessary to successfully operate six collegiate concert bands and a 400-member marching band. He served as an instructor for the Concert and University Bands and undergraduate conducting courses, and guest conducted the North Texas Wind Symphony, Wind Orchestra, and Wind Ensemble. He earned his undergraduate degree in Music Education, also from North Texas, and Master’s degree from Penn State University where he held a similar position as a graduate assistant. He has taught instrumental music at every level in Texas public schools and strongly advocates for an accessible and equitable musical education for all students.
Prof. Penshorn is committed to advancing new, original repertoire for the wind band. While at North Texas, he was the Coordinator of Research Assistants and a contributing author for Volume 12 of the Teaching Music through Performance in Band series, available through GIA Publications. He also performed as a member of the UNT Symphonic Band for the reference recordings accompanying Teaching Music through Performance in Beginning Band, Volume 2.
In addition to his work at the university level, Prof. Penshorn firmly believed in the power of music to meaningfully connect and engage with the musical community in which he resides. He has performed with the Heart of Texas Concert Band in San Antonio and guest conducted numerous performances with the group. While living in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, Penshorn served as Assistant Conductor for the Lone Star Wind Orchestra. He also worked as their Personnel and Artistic Manager, coordinating a guest residency with the Barcelona Clarinet Players.
