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Wartburg Wind Ensemble to perform in Des Moines, Bondurant

DES MOINES, Iowa (04/27/2022) — The Wartburg College Wind Ensemble will perform at the Iowa Bandmasters Association Conference on May 13 and in Bondurant on May 14 as part of its 2022 American Heartland Tour.

The Bandmasters conference concert begins at 5 p.m. at the Downtown Marriott Hotel, 700 Grand Ave. On Saturday, the ensemble will travel to Bondurant for a 7 p.m. concert at Bondurant-Farrar High School. Both concerts are free and open to the public.

Local performers with the Wind Ensemble are:

Dylan Feuling, a freshman alto saxophonist, from Des Moines.
Ollie Gerth, a sophomore French horn player, from Ankeny.
Brenna Hamborg, a junior trumpeter, from Bondurant.
Cassie Benge, a senior trumpeter, from West Des Moines.
Spencer Dodgen, a senior trombonist, from Story City.
Jordan Rhine, a sophomore percussionist, from Des Moines.

Under the direction of Craig Hancock, the 45-member Wind Ensemble will perform repertoire from a variety of works that includes John Philip Sousa marches and pieces from contemporary composers like Aaron Copland, Samuel Hazo, Eric Whitacre and Julie Giroux. Brian Pfaltzgraff, Wartburg music professor, will join the band as a tenor soloist for some pieces.

"Everyone will find something during the concert that will reach out and touch them," Hancock said. "Whether you want to be entertained, educated or somewhere in between, we'll get your hands clapping, your toes tapping and hopefully some appreciative smiles for the great work of these fine youngsters."

The tour will take the ensemble through Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota.

The Wind Ensemble is an auditioned group comprising the college's finest wind and percussion players. Its members are first- through fourth-years and represent nearly every academic major on campus. Most members are in multiple music ensembles and almost all are involved in other co-curricular activities. The Wind Ensemble tours each spring and schedules an international tour every third year during Wartburg's one-month May Term. The last tour took the ensemble to Japan in 2019.

Wartburg, a four-year liberal arts college internationally recognized for community engagement, enrolls 1,543 students. Wartburg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and named after the castle in Germany where Martin Luther took refuge disguised as a knight during the stormy days of the Reformation while translating the Bible from Greek into German.