Concerts complete!!!
Following is a message from our internationally reknown director, Thom Working:
“Tonight was our final performance and another amazing experience! The band has played so well - but we’ve also had very meaningful and emotional experiences at the gravesites - like the one today at Wassenaar where many Dutch Resistance fighters were executed.
We’ve had a great time traveling but we’ve also grown so much emotionally and have such a greater appreciation for the sacrifices in WWII. It’s difficult to explain to the people at home how appreciative the people here still are 65 years later.
We’re so proud to represent our country in honoring the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for us all so many years ago.”
-Thom
With the performances behind us, all that’s left is to tour Amsterdam and travel home. Hopefully I’ll be able to upload some additional photos while traveling…
All travelers are well and I believe everyone had black socks on at the concert tonight. (Right, Jack?)
Clear your calendar and plan to attend our first summer concert in Holland, Michigan this coming Tuesday, June 16 at 7:30pm at the Henry P Vander Linde Bandshell in Kollen Park! We’ll be playing many of the songs from our Tour of Europe.
Members of the Excelsior Wassenaar “orkest” greatly enjoyed the cameraderie and music-making shared with our colleagues from HALB yesterday (Thursday 11 June). What a day it was!!!
Thom played his part admirably in ensuring that our Excelsior director was given a horn, so he could join the rest of us in a rousing rendition of “Stars and Stripes Forever”. We raised the rafters!!
A UCLA alumna, I was delighted to hear Gershwin’s “Strike Up the Band”. It took me straight back to Westwood.
My only complaint? Too little time together!!
I wish you a safe journey home and many more years of music-making.
Sarah Solberg
Clarinet
It was a great honor to meet all the members of the Holland Legion Band, listening to the concerts in France and Holland. I enjoyed the commitment and involvement of all HLB members and their escorts. I am proud that the Holland Legion Band played the world premiere for Concert Band of Killing Fields. I have warm feelings for all those people of the HLB I have spoken and hope to speak all the others. I do hope we will meet again, somewhere, some place. Many compliments to you and your conductor Thom Working
Fred
Composer of Back to Normandy (www.backtonormandy.org)
If was fun following your trip. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Hi all there,
After all these months and weeks of preparation, I was really anxious to see you in Wassenaar! During the last days before your start there as a hot-line of emails between your director Thom and I. And sudden, there were no messages anymore, so I knew that he left for the trip!
It was a very great pleasure to me to see that you enjoyed your stay over here. I wish there would have been more time to chat with all of you….
Your half of the concert was really a superb performance, congratulations! And in fact Thom, even better than playing horn duets…
As soon as possible we will attach pictures on the website of Excelsior (www.excelsiorwassenaar.nl), so that you can download them. If any people in the audiance has good pictures, please send them to secretariaatexcelsior@hotmail.com. We highly appreciate that.
I hope that your welcome home concert will be as good as your last performance in Holland, and that you can share all your memories with your relatives and friends!
And if there is any chance, we’ll keep in touch!!!
Bianca Rietman
alto saxophonist of the Excelsior band in Wassenaar
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