Another early morning brought the Wind Ensemble together at 7:30 in the Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School in Dubuque. We arrived in the auditorium to wait for the bus and heard the middle school jazz band and orchestra. And let us say, they were some of the best middle school ensembles we’ve heard!

Our amazing loading crew got the bus completely ready to go for the rest of the Ensemble to get on. Another passport check, and we were ready to go to Western Dubuque High School for a quick afternoon concert.

Upon arrival, the general music students were preparing for a concert, so there was an hour or so of “hurry up and wait” as Doc always says. This was a great opportunity for us to catch up on our tour cribbage and 500 tournaments.

We got the stage set and warmed up a little in preparation for the concert for the high schoolers. After, the school had delicious walking tacos and cookies for us to eat for a quick lunch before pre-concert activities.

During the concert, the high schoolers seemed thrilled about the tuba solo and the return of 2 of their own alumni. They were very responsive and asked questions when asked such as having the band demonstrate how many instruments we play by raising our arms. It was found that most of the band plays at least 3 instruments. This concert was also the first time on tour that we played “For Natalie” by James Barnes. Many of us got to demonstrate our abilities on the many solos in the piece and I got to play the english horn which is very exciting for me.

After the concert, we quickly packed up the bus and went on our merry way to Roland Story High School in Story City. A quick nap later, and we were there.

At Roland Story, we had time to put our luggage and instruments in our room, and then gathered for an amazing dinner provided by the booster club of roast beef sandwiches, pasta salads, fruits and veggies, and a good helping of cookies. We then got ready for the concert, which we were sharing with the Roland Story High School Jazz and Concert bands. Spencer, who went to this high school gave a short devotion followed by 2 senior devos by Abbey and Mary. Doc pepped us up and we were good to go.

The high school jazz band was amazing, and  their senior pianist/clarinet even got to join us for a piece called “Clarinet Candy” by Leroy Anderson. The crowds swooned to the sound of Garrett’s tuba and everyone seemed to enjoy the rest of the concert as well. Although is was a 3 hour concert with the high school band playing after us, everyone enjoyed the music and great company.

The Wind Ensemble departed from Charles City at 8 A.M. this morning. Our destination? Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School in Dubuque, Iowa. We eentered the school for a joint rehearsal later that morning.

The rehearsal started with the Roosevelt middle schoolers warming up and playing “March to Nowhere” by Vaclav Nelhybel. We were amazed that the confidence from the seventh and eighth graders matched ours even when playing independently. Once we combined the band, we spanned six rows of wind players with the percussion, in the words of Dr. Hancock, “eight miles back.” Their confidence didn’t change when they were sight reading our music, either. The middle school tenor sax blended near perfectly with Natalie and me, and he played most of the piece accurately despite sharing three people to a copy. HIs smile matched my own as we complimented each other’s playing, fixed each other’s mistakes, and joked around a bit when we could talk freely.

Our first concert of the day was at 1:00 this afternoon after a hasty yet tasty Domino’s Pizza lunch. Garrett, a former student of this middle school was honored to play “Fantasie and Variations,” which is based on the “Carnival of Venice,” whichis turn is based on the German song “Mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken.” However,the highlight of the concert was Garrett sight reading the piccolo part of “Stars and Stripes Forever” on his tuba after Mr. Norman, the band director at the middle school, requested that he try it.

Our original plan to go to Eagle Point Park was thwarted by a misconception from Google and a locked gate. Instead, we drove to Dubuque’s HIstoric Waterfront on the Mississippi. In the hour we spent there, I learned about the Shot Tower, a building made for making musket rounds to try breaking the monopoly held by manufacturers in St. Louis. I also learned that Dubuque has three sister cities: Dornbirn, Austria; Handan, China; and Pyatigorst, Russia. Lastly, I held Eliott’s hips a la James Cameron’s “Titanic” while he played “My Heart Will Go On” on his ocarina as we faced the Mississippi River.

Our supper toinght was, once again, Pizza Ranch, as buffets are useful for feeding fifty-five people quickly with guarentee that we won’t run out of food or break the bank. Our food was paid for by a donor, but president Robby was unable to get me the name of said donor. Whoever you are, I salute you for feeding us and God bless you.

Our evening concert had very similar music to our afternoon concert. The biggest change came at the beginning, as we added about twenty middle schoolers to play the first two songs with us. We tripled our oboe section, but none of the younger saxophones were able to join us. This was not a problem, though, as it helped to improve our balance. The two middle school oboes also blended well with Carly, an amazing feat given how difficult it is to play oboe in tune at that age. We celebrated Leah’s and Trevor’s birthdays mid-concert by singing our usual “Happy Birthday Tuba Euph” folowed by the two of them dancing in front of our audience. The night ended with a wonderful homestay where we talked about Star Wars, consumed kettle corn and other delectables, and played Fortnite. #yeet

If there’s one thing today makes me think about, it is how much things change while staying the same. The biggest constant to me is how easy it is to just have fun with people from so many walks of life. I love every one of these people, I know God loves them as well, and I’m so thankful that we are given the privilege to change lives over the next month.

Today, we finally left for Charles City to start our PRE TOUR!

We repacked some percussion stuff to start off the day. It turned out we had overpacked, but I’d take that over under-packing and being unprepared. So life for the percussion section, setup crew, and loading crew is a bit easier!

Later in the day, we were blessed by the wonderful Dr. Wendland. Her message for sending us off reminded me of what Doc has been telling us for a while. We will not be the same people we were before this trip. We will change in more ways than we can possibly imagine. We are constantly being reminded that we will become much different. I believe it every time, and I am so excited to see who I become in the next month.

The music boosters club of Charles City raised money to provide a fantastic dinner for us at Pizza Ranch. It was nice to sit down and just be with the ensemble along with wandering around to talk to others in the band.

I think my favorite part of the day was being able to use judges’ sheets for making comments about the high school’s performance. I thought it was incredibly fun because I’d like to think that one day I could possibly judge. I loved being able to see the score and making comments about real students instead of my peers pretending to not be music majors. It makes me excited for the future.

Today was a great day, and here’s why. Today, I spent time with my band family doing what we love. I cannot wait to go to Japan with this group of wonderful people.

Thanks for joining the Wartburg College Wind Ensemble as we begin our adventure in Japan! This blog will detail the daily activities and locations of the band throughout this journey. We hope you all enjoy and learn something about a new culture along with the members of the ensemble.

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