On June 26, Madison College Big Band flew across the Atlantic Ocean to our sister city, Freiburg, Germany. The trip was led by Jamie Kember, band director, and Tammy Gibbs, manager of the Center for International Education.
The band was invited to perform at five venues across Southern Germany. They played at Wittelsbacher Castle in Friedberg im Breisgau, the Orpheum in Nürnberg, Ganter Hausbiergarten in Freiburg, the Sababurg Zoo located near Kassel, and lastly, the Baunatal Town Festival.
The band is close knit, with members ranging in age from 18-80. The tour was complete with backstage parties and tours of the city.
The members stayed with families which gave a “better feel for the people, community, and culture” and fosters “lifelong connections and friendships,” says Kember. This past summer was the second time the band toured Germany, the first being in 2017.
The photographer that came along to document the trip, Alex Cook, described his favorite memory: “When we were in Freiburg the group leader pulled us aside and said, ‘We are going to do something we don’t normally do, you have the next 12 hours to do what you want.’ So, I grabbed my camera, and I explored every nook and cranny of the city.”
Kember describes his favorite memory in Ganter Hausbiergarten in Freiburg on the Fourth of July. Madison College band played, followed by a German high school honors band.
After both performances, the bands joined together on an overcrowded stage. The German band director opened a drum solo.
Since it’s jazz, improvisation is to be expected. The German drummer motioned for the Madison drummer to come across the stage. They kept time, passed the drumsticks, and our Madison drummer played an impromptu solo on their drum kit. The crowd ate it up.
Kember recalls having an out of body experience that night.
“When you meet another musician and all of a sudden you’re on stage with them and you’re performing with them, it deepens the connection immediately,” he said. “It takes the relationship to a whole other level, and that’s what the art form allows us to do.”
Their travel agent said that he had never seen as rich of connections made on this trip throughout his entire career.
