The Pittsburg State Wind ensemble opened its 2025-26 season Wednesday night, Oct. 1 at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts with a free concert that embraced connections across cultures, generations, and genres.
The hour-long program featured five pieces that the Wind Ensemble performed, while two other pieces were performed by the PSU Alumni Band, along with a closing piece that brought both the groups together for the traditional Gorilla fight song.
The free event, themed “intersections,” filled the Bicknell Center with an audience of family members, friends, and regular listeners who were eager to hear how director Dr. Andrew Chybowski and his group would create such intriguing sounds.
Audience members received a booklet that told them information on each piece, details of the ensemble’s upcoming season, and a look ahead to the group’s scheduled performance at the Kansas Music educators Association Conference in Wichita this spring. The program also included a roster of musicians, recognizing the instruments they played as well.
For Chybowski, who teaches music education in addition to leading the ensemble, the concert was a showcase of musical skills. It was a reminder that inspiration comes from intersections between genres and traditions.
“The idea is that music isn’t just about one style or culture,” Chybowski said. “It’s about the ways those influences overlap and shape who we are as musicians.”
“Everything in the concert is about some kind of connection a musician has made in their lives,” Chybowski explained before the performance. “The idea is that we’re all totally inspired and influenced by different culture and styles of music.”
The ensemble opened the evening with a trumpet performance of “Celestial Dance,” an upbeat work by Erik Morales. As they took the spotlight, they set an energetic tone that reflected the excited nature for the first concert of the season.
One of the more interesting works was Scott McAllister’s “Death and Disfiguration,” which Chybowski compared to the sound of Radiohead. “It’s kind of that dystopian, post-apocalyptic sound,” he said, noting how rock influences have increasingly found their way into the world of wind music.
Another highlight was “Rusty Air in Carolina by Mason Bates,” a piece that really layers technology into the wind instrumentation. Chybowski explained that the piece was designed to mimic the song of locusts. “More and more musicians have begun to incorporate technology into their pieces,” Chybowski said. “For this one, we’re going to use a computer to kind of help with the sound of the locusts. It’s supposed to be a chaotic sound, and then come back together, and split up again.”
Adding a new layer to the night, special guest and PSU music graduate Andrea Dinkel performed on the accordion for a piece, displaying how different instruments can expand the reach of ensemble performances.
The PSU Alumni Band, made up of former members returning to the stage, performed their two pieces before joining in for the finale. The combined sound brought an excitement as people clapped along to the university’s fight song, closing the evening on a spirited note.