In the fall of 2014, Dr. Nicholas Bratcher established a double-wind quintet from some of the area's leading professionals, educators, and advocates. His mission was to create a professional wind ensemble in the tradition of Frederick Fennell, with a compact group of musicians allowing for better intonation and greater clarity than a standard concert band.  The dream was partially realized on November 14, 2014 at the University of Dubuque's Blades Chapel, with a performance of several chamber works under of the name of Julien Chamber Winds.   Afterwards, with the recruitment of many other musicians from the tri-state area, a full wind ensemble was created, and thus, the Julien Winds were born!

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The first performance of the full Julien Winds ensemble occurred November 8th, 2015 in Jansen Hall of Clarke University, with a concert featuring the works of Richard Strauss, Morten Lauridsen, Dmitri Shostakovich, Paul Hindemith, Bela Bartok, Sergei Prokofiev, and Gustav Holst.

 

Since then, the Julien Winds have continued to entertain and educate the community of Dubuque, performing two concerts per year with the full ensemble, and occasional performances throughout the Tri-State region with smaller chamber groups.  On June 11, 2018, the Julien Winds performed at the world-famous Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, New York. The Julien Winds are a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, operating out of Dubuque, Iowa.