Concert band to tour Midwest and Southeast

Tue, February 9, 2010 |

The Valparaiso University Chamber Concert Band will perform at churches, high schools and universities in the Midwest and Southeast during a spring break tour sponsored by Valpo's Confucius Institute.

Dr. Jeffrey Scott Doebler, associate professor of music, says support from the Confucius Institute adds exciting elements to this year's tour, including three virtuoso Chinese soloists who will perform with the band. The soloists are accomplished erhu (traditional Chinese two-stringed fiddle), pipa (lute) and tenor performers.

"The tour repertoire will include a variety of traditional and contemporary band music, Chinese band compositions and special arrangements of Chinese and American music that feature our soloists with the band," Dr. Doebler said.

During the tour – Feb. 27 to March 7 – the ensemble will perform at high schools in Portage and North Judson, Ind., and Lemont and Burbank, Ill.; churches in Palatine, Ill., and West Bend, Wis.; and Confucius Institutes at Purdue University, North Carolina State University and the University of Memphis.

The Chamber Concert Band will perform works including "Charm of the Pentatonic" by Hesheng Wang, "Rikudim" by Jan van der Roost, "First Suite" by Gustav Holst, "The Hounds of Spring" by Alfred Reed, "Golden Jubilee March" by John Philip Sousa, "Dragon Boat Festival" by Michael Boo and "Big Band Signatures," an arrangement of famous jazz music.

The Chamber Concert Band is Valpo's premier concert band, and students enrolled in a variety of academic programs participate in the auditioned symphonic ensemble.

The Chamber Concert Band has toured throughout the United States and internationally to Canada and to Malta, where last year the ensemble performed in the Mediterranean nation's historic churches.

Live performances from the Chamber Concert Band's authentic Sousa concerts are featured on the 2006 Valpo ArtsMedia recording "The Spirit of the March King." The band also has recorded the albums "and they gathered on Mount Carmel," "One Nation" and "Yankee Doodling," and was featured on a broadcast of Valpo's 2007 Christmas Concert that was aired by public television stations throughout the country. The Chamber Concert Band's albums and Christmas Concert DVD are available online at http://www.valpoarts.com.

Dr. Doebler received the 2006 Outstanding University Music Educator Award from the Indiana Music Educators Association in honor of his outstanding achievements in the field of music education. He is a past president of the IMEA, is editor of the association's quarterly magazine and frequently serves as a guest conductor and clinician. Dr. Doebler led a band tour in China for the fourth consecutive summer in 2009, and a performance at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.