Friends and family packed into Ozawa Hall this Sunday to hear the Young Artists Wind Ensemble’s first performance of the summer. The robust program opened with Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, the trumpets leading the way with a bold fanfare opening. After the overture, the first half of the concert was a crescendo of sound and energy starting with the subdued Hold this Boy and Listen by Pann; the soft harmonies creating an ambiance of quiet reflection. It was followed by Firefly by George, a vibrant piece which utilized the varied instrumentation of the wind ensemble to evoke a sense of child-like wonder and fantasy. The ensemble roared into the intermission with Mackey’s Aurora Awakes, a piece that moves from an area of stillness to one of brilliance. Characterized by dark chords in the clarinet section, the quiet opening gave way to beautiful shimmering figures in the mallet percussion and upper woodwinds. Intermission was followed by the March from Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber; its forward momentum picking up where Aurora Awakes left off. The penultimate piece was After a Gentle Rain by Iannaccone, another piece full of colors and imagery, which had the audience lost in the rich sounds of the ensemble. The concert concluded with the thought provoking Music for Prague 1968, a programatic work by Husa which used music to explore the turmoil surrounding the Soviet Union’s military action against the Prague Spring reform movement in 1968. The work is characterized by eerie harmonies and poignant dissonances; the musicians’ performance was exceptionally compelling and insightful, it was received with thunderous applause and a standing ovation. These young musicians have grown into a strong and capable ensemble over these past two weeks and we are looking forward to seeing their continued growth and their next concert.