My biggest excitement in January was the Gustavus Wind Orchestra’s Eastern European tour which took them right through my area. Having played in this group myself for 4 years (including my own international tour to Scandinavia 4 years ago), I still have not only a great affection for the group in general, but also a few very dear friends who play in the group. I surprised most of the group by showing up at their concert in Prague. I was immediately embraced into the warm and unique community of this Gustavus subculture – and immediately became nostalgic for my time at Gustavus! I felt like I had never left, except that now I had the opportunity to experience what happens on the other side of tour. I helped Al Behrends with CD sales, became the official photographer, and the most enthusiastic audience member (which is saying a lot, because this was also the first concert attended by the Companion Tour!). A few days after this sneak preview, the orchestra arrived in Stará Turá, a town about 20 km from my village. I took 4 of my friends home with me, acting as their host family. They met my Slovak family and “toured†Vrbovce – what a joy it was to share my life here with them, and to watch them and the rest of the orchestra fall in love with the people of Slovakia (as I realized I had been doing for the past 4 months). I was very lucky to experience the concert in Stará Turá – the concert the Gustavus Band played in this church 12 years ago was a defining one in Gustavus Band history, and the story of that concert also played a role in my desire to come to Slovakia. I watched and listened to the concert with tears in my eyes, touched by the reliving of this historical concert and by the outpouring of love of the Slovak people for the Gustavus Wind Orchestra. It’s not something I’ll soon forget.
Following their time in Slovakia the band headed for Vienna, and I went along with them. There were times I actually forgot I wasn’t still a member of this group! I was immediately myself – the self that was so defined by my time in the Gustavus Wind Orchestra – in a way I haven’t been for months. What a blessing to be with dear friends in such a beautiful city, to share music and experiences, and to rediscover a part of myself that, in all my emotional and spiritual struggles of the last 4 months, I had lost track of. After a day and a half in Vienna, I went with the orchestra back to Bratislava for a concert. The group drew much of the American population living in Bratislava, which was exciting.
After my third and final concert with the Gustavus Wind Orchestra, I bid my friends farewell and returned home, but the time I was able to spend with the group will remain dear. It reinforced the importance of my time at Gustavus, and especially my time with the Gustavus Wind Orchestra, reminded me of all the growth and discovery that took place there, and proved (to be totally sappy) that I will always be a Gustie!