The Big Band Luisenschule from Mülheim, Germany will present two concerts in Fond du Lac during a 3-day visit to the community under the auspices of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp International Touring Program. The first concert is at Holy Family Church on Tuesday, July 7 at 6:45 p.m. followed by an outdoor performance at Buttermilk Creek Park on Wednesday, July 8 at 7:15 p.m. Both concerts are free and open to the public; a free-will offering will be received. The Big Band Luisenschule is comprised of some 31 teenaged musicians, along with seven instructor-musicians. They will perform an eclectic mixture of American “big band” jazz including charts by Count Basie, Gene Krupa, Blues Brothers, Chick Corea, Chuck Magione, Stevie Wonder, Tito Puente, and many others. The Big Band Luisenschule comes from Mülheim, a community of some 170,000 located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. Their tour arrives and departs from Chicago, with visits to Grand Rapids MI, the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Ontario WI, Fond du Lac, and Carthage IL before returning home on July 16. The BBL’s leader, Regina Coupette, was educated in Germany, France and Scotland. Beside instructional duties in the gifted program, she teaches languages and music at Luisenschule, and is an active member of the Mülheim Jazz Club. The concert at Holy Family will open. with a short set by the Disciples of Dixieland, a traditional six-piece Dixieland band led by Ray Wifler of Fond du Lac and Ben Reehl of Mayville. The Disciples will also present a short demonstration and concert for the Luisenschule musicians during their afternoon rehearsal at Holy Family. Dale Shipe, who led the Fond du Lac High School Jazz I ensemble to many state and regional awards, will also spend some time rehearsing and critiquing the Luisenschule group. Dedicated to promoting peace and understanding through the universal language of the arts, the Blue Lake International Exchange Program began in 1969 when a 90-voice choir toured England, Belgium, and Germany. Since then, over 10,000 high school musicians have been hosted and housed in 650 communities in England, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Hungary, and Liechtenstein. In return nearly 10,000 members of 550 European bands, orchestras, choirs and dance groups have toured in communities throughout Michigan and the Midwest. The Luisenschule Big Band is the sixth Blue Lake group to visit Fond du Lac since 2008. Sponsored by the Fond du Lac Symphonic Band and co-hosted by Holy Family Congregation, Fond du Lac Music Parents and the Fond du Lac Children’s Chorale, the guests are being housed in private homes during their 3-night visit.
