The Naperville Winds comprises of 70 talented musicians from across the Chicagoland area and beyond. It is the ensemble’s mission to promote the very best wind band repertoire from a diverse array of styles, time periods, and composers. Outside of multiple yearly performances within Illinois, the ensemble performed at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City in June 2025 alongside the Cincinnati Wind Band and King High School of Kings Mills, OH.
Our Mission Statement
The Naperville Winds’ mission is to serve as a national pillar of exemplary wind band performance and as a community leader of musical literature awareness and education for youth in northern Illinois. Our vision is to bring the most outstanding works of wind band repertory to our audiences. We maintain the highest musical integrity standards and expectations to foster a culture of excellence among our musician-members. We are committed to providing robust educational experiences and opportunities for youth in the Chicagoland region by sharing our stage with middle school and high school bands from a variety of communities.
The Naperville Winds rehearse weekly at Plainfield East High School from late August through early May. Membership is open to all players of standard wind band instruments with recorded audio auditions primarily occurring in late June of a given year. To learn about our audition process and current section openings, please visit our Auditions page for more details.
The Naperville Winds Board of Directors
Rudi Schwerdle, President
Barb Holland, Secretary
Nate Dickman, Treasurer
Claudia Andrews, Board Member at Large
Lori Foster, Board Member at Large
Jared Paine, Board Member at Large
IS A PROUD MEMBER OF THE ACB