WASBE Youth Wind Orchestra
WYWO
The WASBE Youth Wind Orchestra – WYWO has been an important part of WASBE Conferences held around the world since 1983. WYWO brings together talented young musicians from across the globe to perform wind band repertoire at the highest level. Participants will have the opportunity to work with internationally renowned conductors, composers, and soloists during an intensive week of musical practice in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July 2026. The primary goal of the WASBE Youth Wind Orchestra is to create lasting connections among young musicians from all corners of the world, build their confidence, and inspire them to continue striving for excellence in their musical journeys. It embodies the values of cultural exchange, artistic development, and the joy of collaboration, leaving participants with invaluable memories and skills that will shape their futures in the world of music.
Throughout a week of intensive rehearsals, masterclasses, and performances, participants have the opportunity to refine their artistic abilities in a high-level professional environment. The culmination of this week-long experience is a performance at the WASBE Conference, where the orchestra showcases its work to an international audience of peers, educators, and industry leaders. This performance serves both as a celebration of the participants’ hard work and as an opportunity to propel their individual and collective careers to new heights.
Conductors
Brian Messier
Dr. Brian Messier is Director of Bands and Senior Ensembles Coordinator at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble and the Marching Band, and teaches courses in conducting, musical leadership, and arts entrepreneurship. Since joining Dartmouth in 2019, Messier has founded and led the Dartmouth Mexican Repertoire Initiative — a musical, cultural, and diplomatic project sponsored by the Hopkins Center. The initiative promotes works by Mexican composers, advances equity in the arts, and fosters international collaboration through commissions, exchanges, tours, and annual symposia.
In the spring of 2023, Messier led the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble on a tour of Mexico as part of the Bicentennial celebrations of U.S.–Mexico diplomatic relations, with support from the ministries of culture of both countries. More recently, the ensemble was selected through a blind audition process to present a full program of Mexican repertoire at the 2024 Eastern Division Conference of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA). Next year, Messier will conduct the world premiere of a new Symphony for Band by renowned Mexican composer Arturo Márquez — a landmark event in the wind band repertoire and a major milestone for the Mexican Repertoire Initiative.
In addition to his work at Dartmouth, Messier is the founder and artistic director of The Valley Winds, a professional wind ensemble based in Massachusetts and a recipient of The American Prize in 2016 and 2023. His conducting has received national recognition, including The American Prize in Conducting (Community Division), and he is in high demand as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the United States and Mexico.
Messier’s broader artistic work includes transcriptions and premieres of significant works, such as Pivot by Anna Clyne — performed by the United States Marine Band, “The President’s Own” — and the upcoming transcription and premiere of Antrópolis by Gabriela Ortiz. He also founded Valley Winds Publishing to promote new repertoire, with plans to launch a Mexican Repertoire Series in partnership with a major publisher.
Messier earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Minnesota, where he studied with Craig Kirchhoff. He also holds degrees from the University of Massachusetts (master’s) and Ithaca College (bachelor’s) in Wind Conducting and Music Education, respectively.
Tobias Volkmann
Brazilian conductor Tobias Volkmann has built a distinguished career across South America and has appeared as a guest conductor with more than 30 orchestras in Europe and the Americas. In Brazil, he served as Music Director of the Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro (2016–2018) and as Principal Guest Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of UFF (2016–2019). In 2022, he launched a new personal project in Rio de Janeiro: the Rio Villarmônica Orchestra. Since 2023, Volkmann has been Artistic Director of the National University of Cuyo Symphony Orchestra in Mendoza, Argentina. In 2024, he assumed the position of Music Director of the University of São Paulo Symphony Orchestra.
A prizewinner of the 2012 Jorma Panula International Conducting Competition in Finland and the 2013 Saint Petersburg Musical Olympus Festival, Volkmann is recognized for his consistent and compelling interpretations of both symphonic and operatic repertoire. With versatility and refinement, he performs across a wide range of styles, from historically informed interpretations of 18th-century music to the most challenging contemporary works, as well as the core Romantic repertoire. A true ambassador of Brazilian music, Volkmann regularly includes it in his programs during international engagements.
Volkmann has performed in major concert halls such as the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Saint Petersburg Academic Capella, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Sala São Paulo, the Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, and the SODRE National Auditorium in Montevideo. He has appeared as a guest conductor with numerous European and South American orchestras, including the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir, the Saint Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, the Hermitage State Symphony Orchestra, the Pilsen Philharmonic, the Brandenburg Philharmonic, the Porto Casa da Música Symphony Orchestra, the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile, the SODRE National Symphony Orchestra of Uruguay, the Montevideo Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru, the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, the Minas Gerais Philharmonic, the Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra, among many others.
As an essential part of his artistic and social commitment, Volkmann dedicates part of his time to Ação Social pela Música do Brasil, a nonprofit organization focused on music education for young people from underserved communities in Rio de Janeiro. He regularly conducts concerts with ASM’s principal ensemble, the Rio de Janeiro Youth Orchestra, and actively supports the development of its young musicians, guiding and encouraging their first steps in music.
Fees
Price: USD 347 per person
The fees include:
- 6 nights of accommodation in shared rooms (July 19–25, 2026)
- Full meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
- 6 days of rehearsal activities
- 1 ticket to the Gala Concert
- Official WASBE Rio 2026 T-shirt
- Free access for WYWO members to all WASBE concerts (subject to seat availability)
Not included:
- Travel costs to Rio de Janeiro
- Local transportation in Rio de Janeiro for personal activities
- Individual travel insurance
- Visa costs for international participants (when applicable)
How to subscribe
Age: 18 to 25 years old (Date of birth between July 2001 and July 2008)
- Video recording of 2 contrasting pieces on your instrument (recorded within the last 6 months)
- Videos must be submitted via YouTube (unlisted links are acceptable)
- Curriculum Vitae (CV / résumé)
- Letter of recommendation from your primary instrument teacher or conductor
- Passport-style photo (preferably in JPEG format) – for international participants
- A video recording of you performing 2 contrasting pieces on your instrument (recorded within the last 6 months) (YouTube videos – unlisted links are acceptable)
- Curriculum Vitae / Professional résumé
- One letter of recommendation from your primary instrument teacher or conductor
- A passport-sized photo (preferably in JPEG format) will be requested at a later stage
Partial and full scholarships are available, covering 100%, 75%, 50%, and 25% of the participation fee.
- Applicants interested in applying for scholarships must submit a motivation letter addressing the following aspects:
- Financial situation, explaining why support is important to enable your participation
- Motivation to participate in the WASBE Youth Wind Orchestra 2026
- Musical and academic background
- Musical groups you are currently involved in or have recently participated in
- Repertoire experience and relevant musical activities
- Contribution and impact: how participation in WYWO, if selected, may contribute to your development and to the musical, educational, or community activities you are involved in
Important:
Submitting an application does not guarantee the awarding of a scholarship. The selection of scholarship recipients will be carried out by the WASBE 2026 Local Organizing Committee, based on the information provided by the applicants.
After acceptance in the selection process, a participation fee of USD 347.00 will be charged, to be paid to the WASBE Local Organizing Committee by April 30, 2026.
For applicants awarded scholarships (100%, 75%, 50%, or 25%), the corresponding discount will be applied to the participation fee after the selection results are announced.
Contact us
If you have any questions, please contact us at the email below: wasbe2026@gmail.com
Apply
Click here to apply for a position in WYWO, and good luck!