Southwest Washington is blessed with many talented musicians and now has a professional quality symphonic band with the Southwest Washington Wind Symphony (SWWS). Begun in March 2005 by Richard Carr, Gayle Beacock, Scott Barnes, and David Kinch, the group has grown to over 50 musicians, 80% of whom are local music educators. SWWS facilitates the ongoing personal growth and musical maturation of its adult members. Musicians hone their skills while modeling musical excellence to their students and the community.

The group provides its audience opportunities to explore different musical genres for wind symphony which complement and contrast those provided by the local symphony groups. The May 2006 concert featured a vocal soloist and SWWS plans future collaborations with vocal and instrumental soloists to highlight the breadth of symphonic band music. The wind symphony hopes to increase the community’s awareness of and appreciation for high quality symphonic band music which, in turn, will reinforce the music education programs in SW Washington. SWWS is an auxiliary organization of The New Blue Parrot Productions