Wrapping up: the unsung heroes of band tour

There's more to a successful tour than the people you see on stage each night and we'd like to introduce them to you.

We would have been lost without our intrepid bus drivers, Dennis and Ben, who not only drove us from place to place, but cheered us on at concerts and even tolerated disco bus.
Representing the admissions department was Dave Wagner, aided by St. Olaf Orchestra members Isaac Chaput '10 and Katie Chatelaine '09, and bandies Danielle Lovaas '10 and Nathan Bishop '12.
We also owe a great debt to our beloved truck driver Dave Legvold, who transported all of the equipment we used each night half way across the country. And finally, the tour would never have even been possible without the planning and hard work of our diligent manager, Rich Erickson.

We hope to see you at home concert 7:30 February 12 in Skoglund Auditorium. Thanks for following the Ole Band Tour 2009 Blog!

Seventh Concert: El Camino High School, Oceanside

Today we spent a few hours at the beach in Oceanside, where the sun mercifully emerged after several overcast and rainy days.

Several bandies took a dip in the ocean, while others were content to wander the pier.

Melanie Paulsen '11 says that although the water was cold, she still enjoyed swimming in the Pacific. "I was totally uplifted, and my tour experience was complete, because I got to see the ocean in the sunlight," she says.

Then we fired up for our final concert in California, at El Camino High School, which was both fulfilling and bittersweet.
Tomorrow we head home, saddened by the end of tour but in need of rejuvenation before our home concert, scheduled for 7:30 Thursday in Skoglund Auditorium.

Sixth Concert: Ascension Lutheran Church, Thousand Oaks

Tonight's concert was a homecoming for several Ole alums who came to the show at Ascension Lutheran Church. From being involved in the first-year student's skit, to sitting in on rehearsal, it was clear that once you're a bandie you're a bandie for life. (Pictured below Brieanna Lise Carlson '09, Luke Varland '08, Jonathon Bartz '08, Kirsten Young '11, and Erin Fulton '09)

The church provided another wonderful place to play, especially for our choral efforts on Adoramus te Christe.


Bandies also figured out how to deal with our rainy weather. (Below: President Lauren Cook keeps her hair clear of the weather before her solo performance at the concert.)

Fifth Concert: San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara

Despite the rainy, cold weather, the band explored the waterfront of Santa Barbara during some free time before the concert today. We then headed to San Marcos High School where we performed gave our fifth concert of the tour.

Dr. Mahr also received word from Clovis High School North, where we played Tuesday, that some of their senior students expressed disappointment that they hadn't known about St. Olaf before they completed their applications. Next we head to Thousand Oaks, for our sixth and penultimate concert.

Fourth Concert: El Segundo, CA

Before our concert at El Segundo High School we were treated to a wonderful meal at First Lutheran Church, where another Ole band alum, Christian Johnson, is pastor. Normally with church dinners we have good food and company, but at this dinner we had live music from the church's gospel choir.

After a couple of rousing numbers from the choir we said goodbye, but not before answering with the traditional bandie thank-you song.

Third Concert: Clovis High School North, Fresno

There was no shortage of oohs and aahs as the bus filled with Oles arrived at Clovis High School North today where we had the privilege of playing at the new Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall. It's probably safe to say that it was one of the most beautiful concert halls we've every played in at a high school.

We were lucky enough to share the stage with the California State University Fresno Wind Orchestra for a rehearsal before our combined concert, where they performed four works in the opening half, followed by a shorter version of our program, and concluding with a joint performance of Pavel Tchesnokov's Salvation is Created and John Philip Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever.

It was great to be able to sit and listen to a concert after all of our days on the road, and we had a great time performing in such an amazing hall. After another round of homestays tonight we hit the road tomorrow for the four hour drive to El Segundo.

Second Concert: St. Mark's Lutheran Church, San Francisco

After a restful night with host families in Palo Alto, we toured the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped at Golden Gate Park for a picnic lunch and some Frisbee.

We performed this evening at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in downtown San Francisco. Our host was a former Oboe player in the Ole Band and a member of the church.



But before we took the stage, the church provided us with a delicious gourmet dinner which we shared with Ole alums, President David Anderson and Vice President Mike Stitsworth. Tomorrow we head to Fresno to perform a joint concert with the California State University Fresno band.