What does it mean to direct a successful band program? Because success in any human activity is an outgrowth of the aims of the activity in question, defining success first requires clarifying the purposes that success fulfills. In this philosophical paper, I will examine various definitions for success for large instrumental ensembles such as the wind band within the context of formal institutions of education. The purpose of the paper is to illustrate that conflicts related to the aims of instrumental music education are effectively arguments regarding the social goods that large ensembles generate, and that a robust approach to music education should include a broad and flexible rather than narrowly tailored set of ends. I begin by defining four terms used within the argument within the context of an Aristotelian view of music as a human activity: music education, large ensembles (such as the wind band), inclusion, and success. With these terms clarified, I turn to three primary approaches to defining success within the human practice of instrumental music education within a large ensemble setting. First, I examine the goal of artistry and its components such as professional training, quality performances, and depth of repertoire. I next tern to the goal of community and its components of shared experience and life-long music-making. I finally examine the goal of socio-political action and its components of political activism, social justice, and cultural change. This analysis will reveal several emergent themes relevant to collegiate band directors as a profession. Significantly, many of the conflicts regarding the continued relevance of the large ensemble emerge from what might be considered a reverse-engineering approach to music education that begins with the elevation of external ends rather than working organically within existing pedagogical structures. Finally, there is no single set of professional aims towards which band directors can or should aspire, as such aims are invariably institution-dependent based on local conditions; instead we value and elevate a pluralistic approach to excellence within the profession. Questions regarding the implication for future analysis and professional practice in light of these emergent themes will then be examined.