Fall semester is my favorite time on campus. Not only does it provide a chance for a new beginning — that ignorant bliss where you think you’ll get your life together and possibly go to the gym — but also start-of-the-year traditions, like the first weekend back on campus and the Cereal Bowl. For me, since the start of my college career, the St. Olaf Homecoming Concert has always been on my calendar, thanks to my band friends.
During Family and Homecoming Weekend, the St. Olaf Band kicks off the year’s concert season with the Homecoming Concert. The St. Olaf Band’s concert ends a Saturday filled with sporting events, inflatable games, and other family activities. It’s a fun way to get familiar with the music scene on campus if you’re a freshman — and if you’re me, build a solid foundation for friendships. As a senior sitting on the Skoglund bleachers with my friends and watching our percussionist, the annual Homecoming concert is a soft reminder of all the meaningful friendships I’ve made on the Hill.
This year’s band repertoire consisted of four pieces highlighting the work of female musicians and composers. Traditionally, the St. Olaf Band welcomes an alum to return and perform a solo piece, but this year was a little different. St. Olaf Band Conductor Henry L. Dorn welcomed Dana Maeda ’92, an instructor at the St. Olaf oboe studio, to perform “Salsa del Alma” with the band. As their finale, the group performed a thirty-minute piece called “The Symphony of Blue and Gold” by composer and conductor Erika Svanoe. The symphony consisted of four jazzy movements that not only the crowd was grooving to, but the musicians as well.
For the 2025-26 academic year, St. Olaf Band will be performing again in Skoglund Center Auditorium on Nov. 9 at 3:30 p.m. They will also be doing a short tour at the beginning of February to Kansas City, Mo., Fayetteville, Ark., Little Rock, Ark., Memphis, Tenn., St. Louis, Mo., and Iowa City, Iowa.