Concordia's Wind Symphony to Embark on 2024 Spring Tour

by Hope Nelson

Seward, NE (03/22/2024) — Concordia's Wind Symphony will perform their home concert on Saturday, April 20, at Messiah Lutheran Church and School in Lincoln, Nebraska, after returning from their six-day long spring tour, during which they will travel to and perform at several churches and schools in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.

The concert will feature selections from the group's tour program and feature composers like David Maslanka, Alfred Reed, and Frank Ticheli, representing a wide variety of styles and genres from across the musical spectrum. The ensemble will also perform Benjamin Culli's "Bless the Lord, O My Soul!", a piece commissioned for the Wind Symphony and debuted at their first tour concert.

The Wind Symphony has a rich performance and touring history that extends more than 100 years into the past. The group's first director was Karl Hasse, who established the first instrumental ensemble in 1906, beginning Concordia's legacy of excellence in instrumental music that continues today.

The Wind Symphony is currently under the direction of Professor Robert Cody, a Concordia alum and recent addition to the music faculty. Cody graduated from Concordia in 2014 with a degree in K-12 music education and served as the Director of Music at Living Word Lutheran High School in Jackson, Wisconsin, and the worship arts director at St. Lorenz Lutheran Church and School in Frankenmuth, Michigan, before returning to his alma mater.

Members of the Wind Symphony include:

FLUTE:

Sadie Henson, junior, Herrin, Ill.

Abby Kandt, senior, Wake Forest, N.C.

Karalynn Pingel, freshman, Janesville, Wis.

Psalm Richters, junior, Utica, Neb.

Sarah Stepp, freshman, Lincoln, Neb.

OBOE:

Walker Ranada, senior, McKinney, Texas

CLARINET:

Bailey Bianco, freshman, Loveland, Colo.

Arabella Blakeley, freshman, Havana, Ill.

Ellie Lehr, sophomore, Omaha, Neb.

Katheryn Rice, junior, Bellevue, Neb.

Caleb Zeckzer, senior, New Haven, Ind.

BASS CLARINET:

Hannah Ethridge, sophomore, Fulda, Minn.

Isabella Schmid, junior, Rockford, Ill.

ALTO SAXOPHONE:

Grace Donnelly, sophomore, Three Forks, Mont.

Nathan Hoft, senior, Eldridge, Iowa

Nathan Sollberger, freshman, Louisville, Neb.

TENOR SAXOPHONE:

Jonah Carter, freshman, McKinney, Texas

Megan Endorf, sophomore, Columbus, Neb.

Taylor Rogers, freshman, Plainville, Kan.

BARITONE SAXOPHONE:

Logan Walgate, junior, St. Charles, Mo.

TRUMPET:

Taylor Beal, freshman, Wichita, Kan.

Samuel Dunbar, junior, Lambertville, N.J.

Matthew Feusse, senior, Clearwater, Neb.

Bailey Hidy, freshman, Trenton, Neb.

Abbey Kudrna, freshman, Omaha, Neb.

Madeline Peters, junior, Sioux Falls, S.D.

HORN:

Nathan Feusse, sophomore, Clearwater, Neb.

Kayla Kisker, senior, Platte City, Mo.

Alannah Stahl, senior, Saginaw, Mich.

TROMBONE:

Nathaniel Demlow, senior, St. Paul, Minn.

Miriam Ganoung, sophomore, Halsey, Neb.

Matthew Guilford, sophomore, Lincoln, Neb.

Jackson Munter, junior, Ithaca, Neb.

EUPHONIUM:

Joshua Jurchen, sophomore, Seward, Neb.

Lydia Schultz, senior, Bay City, Mich.

Micah Scott, freshman, El Lago, Texas

TUBA:

Caleb Schlichting, freshman, Lyons, Neb.

Colin Thuringer, junior, Sioux Falls, S.D.

PERCUSSION:

Aleksa Chambers, freshman, Wilber, Neb.

Ethan Gillespie, junior, Random Lake, Wis.

Timothy Mars, junior, Cody, Wyo.

Shasta Tonniges, sophomore, York, Neb.

Aaron Wulff, sophomore, St. Charles, Mo.

About Concordia University, Nebraska

Concordia University, Nebraska, founded in 1894, is a fully accredited, coeducational university of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod located in Seward, Nebraska, which currently serves more than 2,500 students. Concordia offers more than 100 undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in an excellent academic and Christ-centered community that equips men and women for lives of learning, service and leadership in the church and world. For more information, visit cune.edu.

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