For the second time in five years, UCF’s Wind Ensemble has received a prestigious invitation to perform at the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Southern Division Conference. This year’s conference will be hosted at the University of South Florida in Tampa, February 19-21, 2026. The UCF Wind Ensemble’s performance will be at 7:00 PM on Thursday, February 19. The invitation is a high honor—UCF’s Wind Ensemble was one of six ensembles selected from what the Southern Division President called “an historically high number of applications and a robust pool of 27 applicants” in a division that includes approximately 90 member colleges and universities across 10 states. They also performed for the 2020 Southern Division Conference at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. UCF’s 2026 program will include the premiere of a new concerto for solo clarinet, entitled Barcelona Concerto by James Stephenson, featuring Rié Suzuki, UCF assistant professor of clarinet.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for the UCF Bands in further distinguishing ourselves amongst the many very accomplished programs in our profession. I am very, very proud OF our students, not only for how they consistently show that their talent and dedication puts them in the room with best in our business, but also proud FOR them that they get to have this opportunity, and experience such a rich reward for their hard work,” said Scott Lubaroff, UCF director of bands.
UCF talent will be on full display at this year’s CBDNA conference. Tremon Kizer, UCF associate director of bands, and Dave Schreier, UCF assistant director of bands, will both guest conduct on the Wind Ensemble concert, and Kizer will also co-present a peer-reviewed special topic session, entitled More than the ‘Second’ Band: Cultivating a Unique Culture in Every Ensemble. Furthermore, UCF alumnus Scott Mullen (MA, ‘23) will be a co-presenter of a session focused on conductor injuries and solutions, and the Austin Peay State University Wind Ensemble, which is conducted by UCF alumnus John Schnettler (BME, ‘98), was also selected to perform.
The College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) is a professional organization committed to uplifting the next generation of band directors and musicians, and to the teaching, performance, study, and cultivation of music, with particular focus on the wind band medium. To those ends, CBDNA sponsors division and national conferences full of concerts, workshops, and educational opportunities to their more than 700 members every year.
Congratulations to the UCF Wind Ensemble for their hard work and talent, and for representing the outstanding music programs available in UCF’s School of Performing Arts.