Wind Symphony Tour travel log, spring 2024
Photo design: Hope Nelson
By Maddy Peters, Sports Editor
Day One: Thursday, April 11
Wind Symphony member Colin Thuringer receives a cake for his 21st birthday.
The Concordia University Nebraska wind symphony started its annual spring tour on Thursday, leaving campus at 7 a.m. to head to Wichita, Kansas. The band drove for four hours to Holy Cross Lutheran Church and School for a 2 p.m. assembly and a 7 p.m. concert. Holy Cross’ middle school band joined the main ensemble in the assembly and concert to play selections from Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
During the concert, the band was joined by high school senior Danielle Turner. Turner, a Kansas All State Orchestra piccolo player, played the opening solo for one of the pieces Thursday night. Turner attends Derby High School in Wichita and plans to attend Concordia Nebraska in the fall.
The band also celebrated the 21st birthday of its principal tuba player, junior Colin Thuringer. Thuringer received a birthday cake at his host home that evening.
Day Two: Friday, April 12
Immanuel Lutheran Church, St. Charles, Mo. Photo credit: Maddy Peters.
The Wind Symphony continued its tour traveling from Wichita, Kansas to Saint Charles, Missouri, a six-hour drive to Immanuel Lutheran Church. The bus originally overshot the church and arrived at another Immanuel Lutheran in Olivet but was able to find the correct church with plenty of time to set up. During the concert, the band was joined by St. Louis Lutheran North senior Jake Leasch on the euphonium. Leasch joined the symphony for a song not on the program called “Nettleton.” He plans on going to a pre-seminary program and doing music but has not committed to a college yet.
Day Three: Saturday, April 13
Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Rockford, Ill. Photo credit: Marika Mertz.
The Concordia University Wind Symphony continued with a drive from Saint Charles, Missouri, to Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Rockford, Illinois. The band arrived at the church at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday. During the concert, the band was accompanied by four music students taught by John Schmid, music director at Mt. Olive and the father of principal bass clarinetist Bella Schmid. The students played the unprogrammed song “Nettleton.”
Day Four: Sunday, April 14
Band members setting up equipment at the front of Trinity Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa. Photo credit: Maddy Peters.
The Concordia University Nebraska wind symphony began its fourth day of tour with a service at Mount Olive Lutheran Church. A brass group made up of juniors Samuel Dunbar, Jackson Munter and Colin Thuringer, senior Matthew Feusse and sophomore Nathan Feusse played at the 8 a.m. service. The band went to Bible study and ate breakfast with the study’s attendees. At the 11 a.m. service, the praise band was made up of Dunbar, senior Alannah Stahl, juniors Logan Walgate and Katheryn Rice, sophomore Aaron Wulf and freshman Bailey Bianco. The band was treated to a potluck lunch with the congregation. The bus left at 1:15 p.m. to drive to Trinity Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa. No high schoolers joined the band in the concert, but the church requested that the band and congregation sing the doxology following the concert accompanied by the biggest pipe organ in the state.
Day Five: Monday, April 15
Band members set up equipment in the gym at Concordia Lutheran High School, Omaha, Neb. Photo credit: Maddy Peters
The Concordia University Nebraska Wind Symphony concluded its spring tour with a stop in Omaha at Concordia Lutheran High School. The band performed “Nettleton” with the school’s band. Everything was cleaned up shortly after the performance, and the bus drove home to Seward. The symphony’s performing days are not yet done for this school year. The band’s home performance at Messiah Lutheran Church and School in Lincoln is set for 7 p.m. on April 20.
