The wind band offers considerable variety and color to composers, as demonstrated by these three disparate works. Jennifer Higdon’s Soprano Saxophone Concerto brings to the instrument an unerring warmth and sizzling dexterity perfectly suited to its plangent beauty. Kurt Weill’s 1924 Violin Concerto exudes neo-classicism, Mahlerian influence and a pungent dynamism that account for its popularity. Chen Yi’s Dragon Rhyme employs musical intervals familiar from Beijing Opera, in a work rich in textual color and vivid intensity.