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Cal Poly Bandfest: Over Sky and Sea
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Friday, Nov. 21, 2025
7:30 p.m., Performing Arts Center
All three Cal Poly Bands will perform for Cal Poly’s Bandfest! The Mustang Marching Band, Wind Ensemble and Wind Orchestra will present an energetic season opener.
Titled “Over Sky and Sea,” the concert is the first in a series that will culminate in summer 2026 with a tour to Europe. The music to be performed has been selected to represent compositions by composers from the U.S., and to introduce student musicians to the works from nations around the world.
The Wind Orchestra’s set will include “Second Suite in F” by Gustav Holst, a mainstay of wind band repertory; “Into the Clouds” by Richard Saucedo; and “Kentucky 1800” by Clare Grundman, a rhapsody based on three American folk songs.
The students of Wind Ensemble have chosen a program of five works, including “Aloft” by Stephen Bryant, “Danse Diabolíque” by Joseph Hellmesberger, and “Elixir” by Michael Markowsi. Jaromir Weinberger’s “Polka and Fugue from ‘Schwanda, the Bagpiper’” will incorporate the Forbes Pipe Organ played by music major Olga Arutyunyan.
The 220-member Mustang Band will close the concert with arrangements of popular music from this season’s field shows: “Marvel,” “Motown,” “Disney,” “Shrek,” as well as Cal Poly school songs that the group is performing for Cal Poly Athletics events.
The concert will be conducted by Director of Bands Christopher J. Woodruff and Associate Director of Bands Nicholas P. Waldron.
Tickets ($17 and $22 general, $12 students)
Cal Poly Mustang Band in Chinese New Year Parade
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Saturday, March 7, 2026
6 p.m, San Francisco
The Cal Poly Mustang Marching Band has been invited for the 11th time to participate in the Alaska Airlines Chinese New Year Parade — named by the International Festivals and Events Association as one of the top 10 parades in the world — on Saturday, March 7, in San Francisco.
The Mustang Band first performed along the 1.7-mile length of the Chinese New Year Parade in 2014 and was among 15 marching bands that participated. It has been awarded first place in the adult marching bands category multiple times, most recently in 2024. This year’s parade gets underway at 6 p.m.
The band’s more than 220 members, from academic disciplines across the campus and nearly all of Cal Poly’s six colleges, perform at nearly 50 campus events each year, including athletic games and university functions.
Before the parade, starting at 3 p.m., Mustang Band will continue the tradition of performing some of its favorite pep and postgame tunes in front of the landmark Ferry Building, the gateway to San Francisco, which is visited annually by millions of visitors, on The City’s Embarcadero.
The parade began in the 1860s as a means for the Chinese community to educate and share its culture with the greater community. Nothing like it had ever been done in their native China. The parade and festival have grown to be the largest celebration of Asian culture outside of Asia.
The Chinese New Year Parade will celebrate the Year of the Fire Horse with floats, dragon dancers and other festive entries. The event will be broadcast live on ABC 7 and streamed on Hulu. Search for the 2026 Chinese New Year Parade.
Cal Poly Band Festival Finale Concert: Musical Journey Around the World
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Friday, March 13, 2026
7:30 p.m., Performing Arts Center
The Cal Poly Wind Orchestra and Wind Ensemble will bring an exciting conclusion to the Band and Orchestra Festival as they continue their musical travels across the globe. Czechia, Japan and Spain will be the stops along this program, with Bin Kaneda’s "Japanese Folk Song Suite" and Gasper Cassadó’s "Toccata." Karel Husa’s monumental "Music for Prague 1968" will conclude the program.
Tickets ($17 and $22 general, $12 students)
Cal Poly Wind Bands Spring Concert: Journey Home
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Sunday, May 31, 2026
3 p.m., Performing Arts Center
The Wind Orchestra and Wind Ensemble conclude their season’s journey with a program of music by composers from here at home. The sonic landscapes of John Williams and Nicole Piunno have been student and audience favorites. The program will introduce a new work by Laura M. Kramer to honor the career of Cal Poly Director of Bands Emeritus William Johnson. The Wind Ensemble will conclude with John Mackey’s expansive tour-de-force "Wine-Dark Sea."
Tickets ($17 and $22 general, $12 students)