2024 Convention, January 9-14
Venice, FL
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2022 Summer Convention, July 12-17 Springfield, MO
The 2022 Summer Convention was held Tuesday, July 12 to Sunday, July 17, starting with
registration on Tuesday evening and playing sessions from Wednesday morning through Friday.
Saturday’s schedule will include a morning rehearsal, afternoon concert, and evening banquet.
Three evening performances were also scheduled out in the Springfield community to promote
the organization, share a concert of our favorite kind of music, and build a return audience for
the Saturday finale concert. The rehearsals and finale events were held at the Oasis
Convention Center.
Rehearsal/recording sessions and concert performance: : We formed one large band, and played in a double meeting room in the Oasis Convention Center. The concert performance took place Saturday afternoon in the Oasis’ Grand Ballroom.
Evening Concerts: Two 7:30 pm outdoor concerts were planned for Wednesday (Park Central Square) and Friday (Springfield Art Museum greenspace), and also a 5:30 pm Circus/German band on Thursday at Mother’s Brewing Company. The Thursday event is a social hour at the brewery that follows an afternoon set aside to invite area band directors to sit in and play with the group, to promote WJU and share the music we enjoy. We hope to introduce the organization to a wide sample of our region’s band directors and grow the membership.
Friday Outing: While Springfield offers a wide variety of sightseeing options within an easy distance of the Oasis, we offered an afternoon tour of the “Cave State’s” local attractions, Fantastic Caverns. This venue is only a few miles north of the city and offers a unique backstory to the region’s history. The entire tour is provided by Jeep-drawn trams.
Questions? Please contact local event chairperson Marvin Manring at marvin.manring@gmail.com or (417) 276-9456.
Download PDF of Final 2022 Summer Convention Schedule 7-13-2022
Windjammers Board COVID Policy Your Windjammers Board of Directors is pleased to welcome everyone back to our Summer Meet in Springfield! Each of us has missed performing together for two summers, and we are all excited to play music again – TOGETHER! One of the major challenges the Board faces, however, is to keep our Windjammers band family healthy, safe, and secure during the current state of COVID in our respective areas. Whatever your position, from either perspective, we must play with the cards we are dealt. Yes, we hear the phrase often, “Covid will be with us from now on … get used to it” but many Windjammers must choose safety due to their age and underlying medical issues that are not divulged publicly. Their health conditions make it very important that they do not become infected with COVID.
The absence of a COVID policy is not responsible, so for the above reasons and based on what we know today, the WJU Board has adopted a COVID policy that all Windjammers musicians be vaccinated. This vaccination policy is not about choosing sides; rather it is about respecting all of the members of the Windjammers band family in this uncertain and ever-changing environment. Also, each band member is asked to monitor his or her own health situation and skip attendance or events if sick, for the care and concern of our members and audience. Members can continue to wear face masks and practice distancing at the summer meet … that’s their personal choice. In the end, we ask for your cooperation about being vaccinated. We want to keep everyone safe and to play music together in Springfield! Hope to see you there!