D’Addario Woodwinds announced their artist Rhythm X Winds as the first winner of the new WGI Sport of the Arts Winds Division. Rhythm X Winds is sponsored by D’Addario Woodwinds and exclusively uses their products, including Reserve Saxophone and Clarinet reeds as well as Select Jazz reeds.
“Our relationship with Evans and D’Addario has been pivotal to the quality and consistency of our musical success,” says Mike Scott, CEO of Rhythm X, Inc. “This year, with the start of our world-class WGI Winds ensemble, we sought to find products that would give us a jump start and an incredible quality of sound. D’Addario Woodwinds was exactly what we were looking for. Their huge line-up of woodwind products was well received by our cast and staff members and proved to be a huge asset to the ensemble.”
WGI Winds is the new extension to the indoor color guard and percussion ensemble competition hosted by one of the world’s leading marching arts organizations. As a non-profit organization providing a venue for young people to achieve the extraordinary through performance and competition, WGI is extending its opportunities to woodwind players to complete its support of the total band program.
WGI Winds is open to any performers in concert band, orchestra, color guard, or percussion in both scholastic and all-age divisions of competition for A, Open, and World Class levels. As with color guard and percussion ensembles, an advisory board of participating groups will govern the division and oversee artistic and judging policies after the inaugural season. Premiering in conjunction with this year’s WGI Percussion World Championships held in Dayton, Ohio, Rhythm X Winds was named the first WGI Winds’ Independent World Winds Champion.
Founded in 2002, Rhythm X Inc. is a non-profit music education and performance ensemble with two competitive groups in the WGI Percussion and Wind divisions. Not only did Rhythm X win the gold medal in its first year of competing, but they have won the World Championships in 2008, 2009, and 2013. They were awarded silver and bronze medals in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2010, and they remain one of only six ensembles to ever win the PIW gold medal at the WGI World Championships. While their wind ensemble won the first division championship, their percussion division took second place this year. In recent years, Rhythm X has established a percussion education program called The X Academy, as well as a non-competitive performance unit, Rhythm X Productions, that performs for private and corporate events around the world.
WGI Winds events will take place within the regular competitive season between February and April of each year in conjunction with Percussion or Winter Guard Regionals.
