The Luther College Concert Band has enjoyed nearly 150 years of success. International tours, regional tours, concerts, service to the college and recording projects aided the success of this small college band that retained its Lutheran, liberal arts identity. Published documents exist about the Luther College band before 1948 but no comprehensive published documents are available after that time. This essay provides a more complete history of the band since 1948 based upon archival research and interviews with Weston Noble, Fredrick Nyline and Joan deAlbuquerque.
The Concert Band started as a student led activity, which set it apart from other university bands of the late nineteenth century that had military connections. The Luther band eventually became an academic area of study and performed solely for campus concerts and on tours. The band took tours to Norway and Europe long before most college bands had touring programs. Later the band toured to Japan, China and Europe and continued regional tours throughout the United States. The Concert Band conductors, particularly the tenures of Carlo Sperati, Weston Noble, Frederick Nyline and Joan deAlbuquerque, helped shape the band program and music department at Luther College. This is a study of their educational philosophies that shaped the band, and the support the program received from the college administration, students and alumni.
Also included is information about the Dorian Band Festival hosted by Luther College, works commissioned by the band, a review of works programed by conductors, a listing of recordings by the Luther College Concert Band and biographical information about each conductor.