Spring music tour includes Oregon, Washington and Idaho
 Music Tour group members warm up for a Saturday evening concert at First Baptist Church in Richland, Washington on March 8, 2008. |
March 13 , 2008
Representing every musical ensemble of the College, “Corban Music on Tour” spent March 5-10 on the road in eastern Oregon and Washington, and western Idaho. Music department chair, Dr. Virginia Cross, called it “a very successful trip” the Tuesday after their return.
“The value of our tour for the college is to make new friends for Corban, strengthen our relationships with existing friends, encourage teenage students to consider attending Corban, and spread the news about the good things God is doing here,” Cross noted.
The tour group left campus Wednesday afternoon, March 5, in two chartered buses, bound for eastern Oregon. Members of the concert band, jazz band, concert choir, chamber choir, and string orchestra, together with music faculty, made for a total of eighty-four on tour.
Their first event was a band and choir exchange on Thursday morning at Burns High School, going on to a set of two concerts in Ontario later in the day. One was a performance for Ontario High School, then a community concert, both at the Four Rivers Cultural Center. A high school band exchange took place in Fruitland, Idaho on Friday morning while the choir presented a concert that afternoon for the Cole Valley Christian Choir.
Saturday found the tour group traveling to Richland, Washington for an evening concert at the First Baptist Church of Richland. A full day on Sunday began with the morning service at First Baptist of Richland and travel to White Salmon, Washington for an evening performance at Grace Baptist Church. Two school performances filled the final tour day on Monday—one at Horizon Christian School in Hood River, Oregon and another at Portland Christian School that included choir and band exchanges.
“We received very positive feedback at some of our performances,” Cross indicated. “One audience member in Richland told me he could see remarkable improvement in our music groups compared to our last performance there, which I think was five years ago. People in Ontario and White Salmon told me they don’t get many live performances of the quality we brought them, and they were quite appreciative.”
Choir member Charlie Cheney reflected on performance during the Tour: “When we perform, we do it for the audience, and if they go away from the concert blessed, then we’ve done our job. I think that was done on this trip. We also were able to perform for other choirs and bands who I think were encouraged to continue in music.”
Karen Wright, a student organizer of the trip, also mentioned times when encouragement and ministry took place. “It Is Well with My Soul” played by the band touched a concert-goer experiencing a difficult situation. An afternoon stop at a Boise mall found Corban students ministering to shoppers in the crowd. Wright described times when the tour group was blessed by the hospitality of their hosts at the various churches and energized by students in the high schools they visited.
“Prayer was a major part of this trip,” Wright stressed. “It is what helped us stay strong through our last performance.”
To view the Music Department's event schedule for 2008, click here.
