Band tour spreads Waldorf name

Keri Ladigo practices in preparation for Waldorf Band Tour. Photo by Darien Walsh

By Darien Walsh

Next week, the Waldorf College Concert Band will be touring regional Iowa and Minnesota from Feb. 25-29.

The concert band, under the direction of C. David Rutt, Interim Director of Instrumenal Activities and Assistant Professor of Music, has been hard at work preparing for their tour at the end of the month. The band touring regional schools is important for a number of reasons, one being it benefits both Waldorf and the band students.

“It’s a great recruitment tool,” said Rutt, “and the big focus of this tour. It’s good to get Waldorf out there.” Touring is a great way to get not only the band but the college’s name out to people who have never heard about Waldorf. It starts to get parents and students thinking about coming here.

The band’s five day tour locations are mainly focused on north-central Iowa and southern Minnesota, with  stops in places including Algona, Charles City, West Des Moines, Pocahontas and Minneapolis. They will mainly perform for schools, with audience sizes ranging from other band students to school-wide assemblies. They also plan on performing for a church service as well as a concert for the church.

“It gives students an opportunity to see the world, or in this case the region,” Rutt said “Some get to go to places they’ve never gone before.”

Besides performing, the band will also get to spend some free time at the Mall of America, swim at the Water Park of America and go to a dinner theater. The band students will stay overnight in hotels as well as with church families.

“It’s a great experience,” said Rutt, “It should be fun. I’m excited – a lot of work has been done in a small time frame. It’s great especially since the band hasn’t traveled in a while.”