SFCB presents an evening of music performed by two local high school bands and the Santa Fe Concert Band with the 2026 Festival of Concert Bands II
April 21, 2026 at 7:00pm, Lensic Performing Arts Center
Reserve your FREE tickets here:
https://tickets.lensic.org/11305/11306
Santa Fe High: Band Director Cameron Wilson states, “We will be playing Kalos Eidos by Carol Brittin Chambers; October by Eric Whitacre; and Midnight Ride by Rossano Galante.”
Capital High: Band Director Ricardo Hernandez announces, “Our selections will include Homeward Bound March, by John Phillip Sousa, arr. Tyler Arcari; 3, 2, 1 by Brian Balmages; Through Purple Mists Ascending by Santa Fe Composer and trombonist, Ted Allen.”
These works will also be presented at the State’s Music Performance Assessment in late March as well as at the State High School Bands’ Competition in early April.
Event Details:
Tickets are free, but you need a ticket to attend the event. Tickets will be available soon from the Lensic. We will post a link to tickets when it is available.
And more info from the latest press release:
Each band will present a short program on its own and later return to the stage for a grand finale in which the high school bands will join the Santa Fe Concert Band in a mass ensemble totaling more than 120 musicians. Gregory W. Heltman, Music Director of the Santa Fe Concert Band, will lead his players and the high school musicians in the finale performance of Vaughan Williams’ Flourish for Band and Standridge’s The Great Rubber Chicken Galop.
Organizing a Festival of Concert Bands has long been Heltman’s dream. The motivation for this effort, he explains, was rooted in his experience as a band member at Santa Fe High School in the early 1970s. With the enthusiasm of Project Manager Ned Snow, this dream has come to fruition. Heltman shares the following about his vision:
“As the son of career music educators, I was encouraged to have music as a central part of my life. Trumpet was my chosen instrument. When I was in 9th grade, (and through my senior year), I was selected to the All-State Band and then Symphony Orchestra, and we performed on the Popejoy Hall stage at UNM. I had never played anywhere larger than the St. Francis Auditorium, so for me it was amazing … a truly inspirational experience. I wanted band students from every high school band in the city to have a similar opportunity in their hometown, performing at our premier venue — The Lensic Performing Arts Center– in addition to their regular concerts in their high-school gyms or cafetoriums.”
“With the support of the Santa Fe Concert Band members, its board of directors, as well Project Manager, Ned Snow, and our local high school band directors Cameron Wilson (SFHS), and Ricardo A. Hernandez (CHS), our second Festival of Concert Bands is coming to fruition … and with plans for this to become a biennial event. We also wish to thank our principal event sponsors, Zella and Larry Cox, Cervantes “Buddy” & Irene Roybal, Dr. Steven & Susan Goldstein, and Century Bank.”