Concordia University’s Wind Ensemble will perform Sunday, April 6, in the Seward High School auditorium at 3 p.m. This free concert will act as the kickoff to their spring tour through Nebraska and Iowa April 10-14. The band is under the direction of Dr. William Kuhn, associate professor of music at Concordia. Kuhn has taken the ensemble on tours to 29 different states and on a three-week tour of China last May. The repertoire of the band includes both classic wind ensemble pieces as well as recently composed pieces.
Highlights of this year’s program include an original piece composed specifically for this tour by Rev. Tim Ruegg, a Seward resident and one-time trombonist and arranger for the United States Air Force Band at Offutt Air Base. Ruegg has written and arranged music for internationally known stars such as John Denver and Mannheim Steamroller. Another selection in the program, “Dies Natalis,” was written by Nebraska-born composer Howard Hanson, former director of the Eastman School of Music.
Recent Concordia alumna Stephanie Rohrig Effken will rejoin the ensemble to perform a flute classic, “The Carnival of Venice” by Giulio Briccialdi.