Contributed commentary by Yvonne Kendall, principal flutist with the Cumberland Winds, as part of the essay series “The Road to 250: Community Spirit in Action,” celebrating the history of unity in Clarksville ahead of America’s 250th anniversary.
Fort Campbell, with its diverse population, has been a positive influence on unity in Clarksville. One particularly vibrant example of this successful military and civilian community interaction flourishes in the Cumberland Winds.
Mike Ritter, a retired military bandsman, had traveled the world after leaving his native Pennsylvania. He settled in Clarksville with his wife, Patty, an operating room nurse and harpist. Community bands, common in the Northeast, are much less common in the South, but noting the wealth of musical talent among the broader Clarksville environment, Ritter decided to establish a group right here.
In the spirit of “justice for all” practiced in the U.S. Armed Forces starting a decade before local desegregation, Ritter welcomed all from diverse communities, based on talent alone. The diversity that characterizes the unity of the Cumberland Winds includes local elementary school music teachers, high school band directors, retired military band members, skilled amateur players, highly trained professional players, and more. The congenial ensemble of men and women embraces a span of ages from college through retirees, and among its featured soloists are members who are Black, white and Hispanic from throughout the U.S. and some foreign countries.
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Cumberland Winds launched in June 2008, with a concert featuring the most universally recognizable American music, big band jazz, in McGregor Park. The Concert Band premiered two years later on an Austin Peay State University stage. From park to stage, Cumberland Winds thrives as an umbrella organization noted for its creative variety in music and locales, from performing classical music in church concert halls, to marches at the Montgomery County Courthouse steps, to jazz in Dunbar Cave.
For those with classical tastes, there are formal wind ensemble concerts and an annual chamber music recital where the standard of performance is consistently impressive. For those with more informal tastes, the lively Dixie and German bands, serve alongside the Jazz Project big band to meet community needs. Programs often provide a touch of musical culture to accompany poetry, patriotic speeches and visual arts.
Women’s Suffrage Parade
Continuing the tradition of interactions in the broader community, Cumberland Winds has partnered with the Clarksville Arts and Heritage Council, Clarksville Community Concert Association, Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, APSU and more, as well as cities throughout the region.
Cumberland Winds ensembles have also made creative use of the Roxy Regional Theatre in downtown Clarksville. Mike Ritter and principal flutist Yvonne Kendall collaborated with Roxy staff to produce one of the first fully public celebrations of Black History Month in Clarksville. Both mayors of the city and county were in attendance for the first event in 2020. In addition to Cumberland Winds members, these annual performances regularly include APSU faculty alongside talented local luminaries. As a result, citizens of town and gown come together in fellowship each February.
Similarly, each July, Cumberland Winds fosters patriotism through annual programs in celebration of the blessings of liberty provided by American independence. In these programs, people unite to enjoy a festive atmosphere as Cumberland Winds promotes the general welfare of Clarksville through music.
Groups as varied as brass quintets, piccolo duets, and a sax and guitar jazz duo serenaded those getting vaccinations in the early days of drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination shots. Members continue to play at assisted living centers and community arts events. Performers of historic fife and drum music have marched metaphorically at Historic Collinswood and Fort Donelson, most memorably in celebration of a little-known era of Clarksville history when the first statue for US Colored Troops of the Union Army was erected at Fort Defiance.
Members of Cumberland Winds even marched literally at the head of the parade commemorating women’s suffrage in August 2020. At the end of the route, those in attendance were greeted by a brass quintet from Fort Campbell. With this, Clarksville’s historic community unity came full circle.
Yvonne Kendall
ROAD TO 250 SERIES:
- Celebration of nation’s 250th kicked off with visit from John Adams, Mercy Otis Warren
- Sons of American Revolution stands behind creation of strong, unified country
- Daughters of American Revolution keeps spirit of independence alive
- Clarksville’s NAACP voice of conscience in an American community
- The Austin Peay belt: Generations across region part of APSU family
- Churches have shaped civic life in Clarksville for more than two centuries
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