The Wind Ensemble, directed by Jason Caslor, in the Herberger Institute School of Music, Dance, and Theatre at Arizona State University honors its rich history while reflecting the “state of the art” through dynamic and innovative performances. The Wind Bands at ASU have performed multiple times at national conventions of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), the American Bandmaster’s Association (ABA), the Music Educators’ National Conference (MENC), and the Midwest International Clinic.

Nicole Piunno (b. 1985) is a composer who views music as a vehicle for seeing and experiencing the realities of life. Her music often reflects the paradoxes in life and how these seeming opposites are connected as they often weave together. Her harmonic language and use of counterpoint mirror the complexity of our world by acknowledging light and dark, past and present, beauty and brokenness, confinement and freedom, chaos and order, spiritual and physical, and life and death.

Nicole holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition and a Master of Music degree in theory pedagogy from Michigan State University. Her composition teacher was Ricardo Lorenz. She earned a Master of Music degree in composition at Central Michigan University, studying with David Gillingham. Nicole earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and her emphasis was on instrumental music. Her music has been performed by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, the United States Coast Guard Band, and at many universities and conservatories around the country. Her large ensemble music has also been featured at multiple regional CBDNA conferences, the Midwest Clinic, and numerous all-state concerts.

Born and raised in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada, Jason Caslor is currently an associate professor of music and the director of bands at Arizona State University (ASU). In addition to directing the wind ensemble, he also mentors graduate conducting students and teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting courses. Recent highlights include the first commercial recordings of Kevin Day’s 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Music nominated Concerto for Wind Ensemble and Carter Pann’s Double Concerto “Baroque” with the ASU Wind Ensemble.

From 2015–2019, Caslor was an assistant professor and the associate director of bands and orchestras at ASU. Highlights of that time include founding the now firmly established ASU Philharmonia and being nominated for ASU’s Outstanding Master’s Mentor Award. From 2010-2015, Caslor was an assistant professor of instrumental conducting at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada where he conducted the wind ensemble and oversaw the undergraduate and graduate instrumental conducting programs. Prior to that, he spent three seasons as resident conductor with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra (TBSO). During his tenure with the TBSO, he conducted more than 75 concerts (including a CBC Radio national broadcast) and recorded a full-length, internationally distributed CD with Canadian blues artist Rita Chiarelli.

A Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician, Caslor has guest conducted or adjudicated in every province in Canada and throughout the United States. In addition to numerous regional engagements, Caslor has conducted the United States Army Field Band, the National Youth Band of Canada, the South Dakota All-State Band, the South Dakota Intercollegiate Band, and the Alberta Wind Symphony. He also served as a conducting clinician for the inaugural CASMEC Conducting Symposium.

A fiercely proud Canadian currently living amongst cacti, Caslor’s co-founding and leadership over the Canadian Band Association’s (CBA) Howard Cable Memorial Prize in Composition lead to him being the recipient of the CBA’s 2022 International Band Award. The award recognizes those individuals who have embraced the ideals of the CBA and have contributed to the promotion, growth and development of the musical, educational, and cultural values of Canadian bands outside of Canada.

As a researcher, he has presented his work at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the WASBE International Conference, the CBDNA National Conference, the IGEB International Conference on Wind Music, the International Society for Music Education World Conference, and the Riksförbundet Unga Musikanter Wind Band Symposium (Sweden). He has also published numerous articles, most prominently in the Canadian Winds journal.

Caslor completed his doctorate in conducting at Arizona State University. Prior to earning a master's in conducting from the University of Manitoba, he earned dual bachelor's in music and education from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.

The ASU Wind Ensemble is excited to present the first commercial release of Nicole Piunno's Sunflower Studies: Symphony for Wind Ensemble. Sunflower Studies explores a love of sunflowers and what they represent. The same delight that compelled Vincent Van Gogh to capture the sunflower on canvas has also compelled Piunno to explore the musical exploration of the beauty and meaning of the sunflower.