Concert Band travels to Japan for series of performances

The Luther College Concert Band, under the direction of Cory Near, will embark on a tour of Japan from May 28 through June 9 — the ensemble’s first international tour since 2017.

The Concert Band last toured Japan in 2010 under the late Fred Nyline, its longtime director, and this year’s trip builds on that history.

“When discussing locations, we decided returning to a country that the ensemble has traveled to in the past would be a great opportunity for our students, and also pay tribute to the years of history and planning this ensemble has with Japan,” Near said. “I was fortunate to have many conversations with Professor Nyline about those experiences. Professor Nyline spoke highly of not only the musical opportunities our students can and will experience, but also the culture of Japan, which will undoubtedly shape our students for years to come.”

The Luther College Concert Band will embark on a tour of Japan from May 28 through June 9 — the ensemble’s first international tour since 2017.

Nyline served as guest conductor for the Musashino Academia Wind Ensemble in Tokyo for five semesters, explained Susan Potvin, director of programming and outreach at Luther College. Because of Nyline’s connection, the Concert Band traveled to Japan five times between 1993 and 2010.

“It’s significant and special to have the band return to Japan on its first international tour since Mr. Nyline’s passing,” Potvin said. Nyline died on Nov. 16, 2022.

The band, which is made up of 60 Luther students, will perform in Kyoto, Hakone, Nagoya and Tokyo. The ensemble will perform in several exchange concerts with musicians from four high school bands and one university band. This tour includes many culturally significant stops, including Mount Fuji, Lake Ashi and the Fushimi Inari Shrine.

The tour’s performance program, titled “Friends: Old, New, and Remembered” opens with Nicole Piunno’s “Bright Shadow Fanfare,” a piece that the Concert Band performed in the fall and was selected by peer review to be included in a showcase at the College Band Directors National Association’s National Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, in March.

The band will also perform “Furusato,” a well-known Japanese children’s song, and Catherine Likhuta’s powerful “Bury and Rise,” which was the composer’s response to her mother’s passing in Ukraine during the Russian invasion. Switching gears, the Concert Band will perform the energetic “In Living Color” by Katahj Copley, and Carter Pann’s brilliant “The Three Embraces.” The band will close with James Barnes’ epic “Finale” from Symphony No. 3.

“This piece was Professor Fred Nyline’s favorite composition, so it felt fitting to travel across the world and bring ‘Finale’ to life in his honor in a country that meant so much to him,” Near said.

Seventeen Luther alumni, friends and Concert Band family members will tour Japan along with the band by attending performances and taking in scenery and architecture of the country.

Concert Band was formed in 1878, laying the foundation of what would become the college’s long-standing tradition of musical excellence. Concert Band is now one of the oldest touring organizations in the nation and ranks among the country’s outstanding undergraduate college bands. Concert Band is Luther College’s principal band ensemble.

From its beginnings as a student-directed brass and percussion ensemble formed with instruments from a discontinued community band, Concert Band rose to its current position of prestige through the influential directorships of Carlo Sperati (1905–1943), Weston Noble (1948–1973), Nyline (1973–2011) and Joan deAlbuquerque (2011–2020).

Since 2020, the Concert Band has been under Near’s direction. Near earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He holds a master’s degree from Temple University. His undergraduate degrees are from Ohio State University, where Near studied music education and tuba performance.