St. Olaf Band to tour California
The St. Olaf Band will perform throughout California in late January and early February as part of its 2023 national tour. This will be the St. Olaf Band’s second time in three years performing in California, and the ensemble will present concerts in San Diego, Santa Monica, Arcadia, Fresno, Saratoga, and Union City. The band will also perform a pre-tour concert in Minneapolis on January 22.
This journey across California marks the final tour for St. Olaf Band Conductor Timothy Mahr ’78, who is set to retire from St. Olaf College this spring after 29 years. Since taking the helm, Mahr has led the St. Olaf Band to new heights, embarking on tours around the world and winning the prestigious American Prize in Band Performance in 2021 in the college/university division.
Tickets for the St. Olaf Band tour dates are on sale now, available online or by phone at 800-363-5487. Three of the performances are free concerts, and the others are $10 for the general public, and free for students of all ages.
This tour’s program, Urgent Voices, will feature works for concert band that includes music by John Heins, Amilcare Ponchielli, Aaron Copland, Jodie Blackshaw, David Maslanka, and Timothy Mahr. The program will also feature student soloists and conductors, and narration from retired St. Olaf Pastor Bruce Benson.
“A striking aspect of our world today is the urgency heard in the strong voices and observed in the determined actions of the young as they boldly confront critical issues of our time,” Mahr says. “They’ve picked up the yoke of past leaders who also challenged us with their oratory and activism. All have worked to improve their worlds — they rose up to become reluctant figureheads for fledgling movements bent on change. Hopefully our audiences will perceive the confusion, frustration, and anger, as well as the energy, strength, and pressing demand for change found depicted in the music we share. We need to listen. We must heed these urgent voices.”
A striking aspect of our world today is the urgency heard in the strong voices and observed in the determined actions of the young as they boldly confront critical issues of our time. … Hopefully our audiences will perceive the confusion, frustration, and anger, as well as the energy, strength, and pressing demand for change found depicted in the music we share. We need to listen. We must heed these urgent voices.St. Olaf Band Conductor Timothy Mahr ’78
The St. Olaf Band has toured nationally since 1904 and internationally since 1906, when they performed a four-week, 30-concert tour of Norway, making them the first American collegiate band to tour Europe. The band has subsequently toured several times in Norway, Great Britain, Japan, central Europe, and most recently in Australia and New Zealand in 2018. They are also set to tour Japan this June, following commencement.