Created by conductor Frederick Harris, Jr., in the fall of 1999, the MIT Wind Ensemble is comprised of MIT undergraduate and graduate students studying a wide variety of fields including Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering and related fields for which MIT is world-famous. The central mission of the MIT Wind Ensemble is the enhancement of the musical education and artistic sensitivity of its members through large and small wind ensemble performances of music of diverse styles from the 16th century to the present day. A secondary mission is the creation and nurturing of new music, such as the recent works on this disc that vary considerably in style and aesthetic ideas. Since 2001 the Ensemble has commissioned 18 original works by Boston-based and nationally recognized composers such as Gunther Schuller, John Harbison, Ran Blake (best-known as a third-stream artist) and Joe Lovano.