Dorian Band Festival March 1 and 2

Luther College will host two concerts March 1 and 2 in conjunction with the 60th annual Dorian Band Festival.

Luther’s Varsity Band, Wind and Percussion Ensemble and Concert Band will perform Sunday, March 1 at 7 p.m. in the Center for Faith and Life.

The Dorian Band Festival Grand Concert will be held Monday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the Center for Faith and Life Main Hall.

A special flute choir conducted by Katherine Borst Jones, professor of flute at The Ohio State University, will appear during Chapel on the Luther campus Monday, March 2, 10:30-10:50 a.m.

Both concert performances and the Chapel performance are open to the public with no charge for admission.

Under the direction of Frederick Nyline, Luther professor of music, the Sunday night Varsity Band performance will include selections from “Hello Dolly” and “Air Force One” as well as “Sakura, Sakura” and “Star Puzzle March.”

The Wind and Percussion Ensemble will perform “National Emblem March,” “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” “Bali” and Bach’s “Fugue a la Gigue.”

The Luther Concert Band will perform a variety of selections including “Dances from the Oprichnik” by Tchaikovsky as arranged by John Bourgeois as well as a composition by Luigi Zaninelli titled “Roma Sacra.”

James Fritz, Decorah High School band director, will conduct the Concert Band in a performance of “The Little Fantasy” by David Holsinger, with Luther freshman Teresa Proctor as the vocal soloist. The composition was premiered by the DHS Wind Ensemble in 2008 and was commissioned by a foundation established in the memory of Fritz’ father, Louis Fritz.

The featured soloist for this Festival will be Katherine Borst Jones. She will perform “Silhouette” by Roger Cichy, accompanied by a chamber ensemble from the Concert Band. “Silhouette” was commissioned by the Luther Concert Band in 2002. It was conceived because of a lack of contemporary solo literature with chamber ensemble accompaniment that is accessible to both high school and college ensembles.

Monday’s Dorian Festival Grand Concert will include performances by two chosen soloists and by the three Festival bands: the Dorian Symphonic Band, conducted by Frederick Nyline; the Dorian Bachman Band, conducted by Andrew Boysen Jr., director of bands at the University of New Hampshire; and the Dorian Fillmore Band, conducted by James Ripley, director of bands at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis.

The Dorian Band Festival ensembles are composed of 616 high school students from 113 schools from the tri-state area.

Dorian students have opportunities to both play and hear music at a high level. Festival sessions include group instruction, rehearsals, individual lessons with music faculty members, auditions for solo performances, master classes and music scholarships, and social and recreational activities.