St. Olaf Band to tour the Midwest and South
The St. Olaf Band, conducted by Henry L. Dorn, will perform throughout the Midwest and South in late January and early February.
The band’s 2026 national tour will feature seven concerts in Minnesota, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, and Iowa. The tour will provide students in the ensemble with opportunities to perform at leading high school programs, and beautiful church and performing arts spaces, marking the third tour led by Dorn, who joined the music faculty at St. Olaf College in the fall of 2023.
This tour’s program will feature works for concert band that center around the theme of “American Graffiti,” including music by Jodie Blackshaw, Norman Dello Joio, Henry L. Dorn, Eric Whitacre, and more. The centerpiece of the concert will be the premiere performance of Amerykahn Graffiti by Katahj Copley, which the composer describes as “a reimagining of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, painted in sound and soul, it is a journey through the Black experience — our joy, our wounds, our beauty, our rage.”
This is the St. Olaf Band’s first domestic tour following their prestigious invitational performance at the 2025 National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), held at Texas Christian University this past March.
“It would be my hope that the audience can sense the amount of pride that our ensemble members take into the work they do on stage,” Dorn says. “The St. Olaf Band works really diligently to deliver a musical experience and take our audiences on a sonic journey.”
Tickets for the St. Olaf Band tour dates are on sale now, available online or by phone at 800-363-5487. Concerts are $10 for the general public, and free for students of all ages.
“The St. Olaf Band works really diligently to deliver a musical experience and take our audiences on a sonic journey.”
— St. Olaf Band Conductor Henry L. Dorn
The St. Olaf Band’s full 2026 tour schedule:
Saturday, January 24 • 2 p.m.
Farmington High School
Farmington, Minnesota
Featuring the Farmington High School Wind Ensemble
Saturday, January 31 • 3 p.m.
Blue Valley Southwest High School
Overland Park, Kansas (Kansas City)
Featuring the Blue Valley Southwest High School Bands
Sunday, February 1 • 4 p.m.
Fayetteville High School
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Monday, February 2 • 7 p.m.
Conway High School
Conway, Arkansas
Featuring students from Conway High School, Parkview High School, and Little Rock Southwest High School.
Tuesday, February 3 • 7 p.m.
Plough Performance Hall, Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center
University of Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Thursday, February 5 • 7 p.m.
Kirkwood High School
Kirkwood, Missouri (St. Louis)
Featuring the Kirkwood High School Wind Ensemble
Friday, February 6 • 7:30 p.m.
St. Andrew Presbyterian Church
Iowa City, Iowa