Nomad Session is San Francisco’s premiere wind octet. Bringing wind instruments to the forefront, Nomad represents members of every woodwind and brass family (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, french horn, trumpet, trombone, and tuba) and is the first to use this instrumentation as a platform for a professional chamber ensemble. This hybrid ensemble of woodwinds and brass has caught the attention of some of the Bay Area’s most creative composers, and in the last year Nomad has commissioned seven new pieces for wind octet. Using the extreme versatility of their instruments, Nomad Session introduces audiences to a world of new musical opportunities by commissioning contemporary repertoire that further establishes the wind octet as a widely accepted chamber music genre.

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In keeping with its name, Nomad Session started a series of Pop-Up Outreach Concerts where musicians “wander” around local parks and establishments in order to bring music to the community. Drawing large audiences throughout the Bay Area, recent pop-up performances have taken place in Golden Gate Park, Lake Merritt, Winter Walk SF in Union Square, Dolores Park, Bernal Heights, Castro Art Walk, and at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival. 

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Most recently Nomad Session recorded the album VOYAGE with solo clarinetist Jeff Anderle that features Nomad Concerto by Jonathan Russell (commissioned by Nomad Session in 2020) and Black Dog by Scott McAllister (arranged for wind octet by Stephanie Rickard). 

 

Nomad is an affiliate of, and fiscally-sponsored by, InterMusic SF, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the service of chamber music in California.