Diversity Experiences
Band/Choir Tour to Austria/Italy
- For two weeks in May 2012 the band and choir got to travel to Austria, and Italy. We had public performances in churches, various schools, and our University of Mary Rome Campus. These two weeks were the most eye opening experiences in my college career. It was so fun to see how people in these different countries lived and live in the music of their countries. A lot of the composers we study in our music history classes are from these parts of Europe so it was fun to see where these composers drew inspiration from. My favorite part of this tour was getting to perform at a Children's Hospital. You could see the light in their eyes as they heard our music and they were very excited to be able to play some of the percussion instruments we had there as well. I could even see the enjoyment from the parents seeing their children so happy.
University of Mary Steel Band at United Tribes Technical College
- In April 2012, the Steel Band at the University of Mary took a trip to United Tribes to share with the elementary students about the steel drums and where the pan originated. This was a unique experience because these students knew about drumming as it is a large part of their culture, but they did not know anything about the steel drums. It was fun to play for them and see the enjoyment on their faces. The students got a chance to come down and play the instruments after hearing a little bit about the background of the pans.
Steel Band/Jazz tour to Canada
- In February 2015 we had the opportunity to travel to Canada and share with students at different schools around the Winnipeg area. At all the schools before the start of classes in the morning they would play the Canadian national anthem. That was shocking for some of us but also a good experience to see how all the students knew their national anthem and all were quiet with full attention while the song played. The students in the schools knew some about steel drums but they did not know where they originated or how they were made. The students were able to come up after our performance to play the pans and ask us questions about the making of the instruments, how to play the instruments, and how long we had all been playing.