Taxpayers in Nassau County aren’t being asked to foot the bill for this one. The Northwinds Symphonic Band’s spring concert on April 19, 2026 is a free public performance at the Sands Point Preserve, and that’s worth noting before anything else.
The concert starts at 3 p.m. The program is titled “Concert Band Classics and Virtuoso Artistry,” and conductors Helen P. Bauer and Concetta Stevens have lined up an afternoon that covers a lot of ground. Solo showcases. Serious ensemble literature. A polka about an elephant. Something for most tastes, frankly.
Flugelhorn player Matt Deegan opens the soloists’ portion with “Twilight in Central Park,” a jazz ballad that should land well in an outdoor April setting. That’s a smart programming call. Then piccolo player Jessica Palen and euphonium player Nicoletta Kenny pair up for “The Elephant and the Flea,” a lighthearted polka that doesn’t take itself seriously and isn’t supposed to. After that comes percussionist Ryan Mitchell on marimba for “Fiddle Faddle,” a perpetual-motion showpiece that tends to wake up any audience regardless of their music background.
Don’t overlook the tuba feature.
Tubist Dan Yankow gets a full mini-concerto: “Divertimento for Tuba and Band,” which the band describes as highlighting the instrument’s range and versatility. The tuba doesn’t get that kind of spotlight often, and when it does, it’s worth paying attention. After Yankow, the program shifts to “Satchmo!,” a tribute to Louis Armstrong with trumpet solos from Michael Palczewski and Caitlin Mallon. Armstrong’s reach across American music is hard to overstate, and a live brass tribute in an outdoor preserve setting is a specific kind of afternoon that’s hard to replicate.
The ensemble pieces are where the program gets ambitious.
“Variations on a Korean Folksong” works from the traditional melody “Arirang,” threading it through Western tonal structures while keeping percussion elements that preserve the original character. It’s a compositional balancing act, and ensembles that can pull it off earn it. Gustav Holst’s “First Suite in E-flat” is a 3-movement cornerstone of the concert band canon. It’s the kind of piece that separates ensembles that can sight-read from ones that can actually play. “The Pilgrim’s Chorus” from Wagner’s opera “Tannhäuser” adds a hymn-like gravity to the second half. Richard Strauss and Paul Murtha fill the remaining slots.
The Sands Point Preserve covers more than 200 acres on Nassau County’s North Shore. It’s one of the county’s genuinely underused public assets, the kind of place that surprises people who haven’t been there. Hosting outdoor concerts there in spring isn’t a new idea, but it’s a good one.
“We’re proud to bring this kind of repertoire to an open, accessible venue,” Bauer told the Long Island Press in coverage published April 09, 2026. The quote’s worth keeping in mind when you consider that ticket prices for comparable professional wind ensemble concerts on Long Island have climbed roughly 3% annually over the past several seasons. Free doesn’t happen much anymore.
The Northwinds Symphonic Band has built its reputation over the years on exactly this kind of programming mix: accessible enough for people who don’t read music, demanding enough that musicians in the audience aren’t bored. That’s a harder balance to strike than it sounds, and it’s not something every community ensemble can manage. Bauer and Stevens have put together a program that earns its running time.
April 19. Three o’clock. More than 200 acres of North Shore preserve. No charge at the gate.