Megan Bordewyk to Tour Egypt with Augustana Band; Farewell Concert Planned for Jan. 7

2010 Dec 16

Megan Bordewyk, a native of Madison, will spend 20 days in Egypt touring with the Augustana Band. During the tour, the Band will perform five concerts, many of which will be the first by a college band from the United States.

In addition to performing, members of the Band will earn academic credit during the trip by taking a course entitled A Portrait of Egypt, focusing on Egyptian culture, led by Dr. John Pennington, professor of music and professor of percussion at Augustana.This trip marks the fourth international tour taken by the Augustana Band. The three previous tours were to China.

In advance of the tour, the internationally-renowned Band will perform a special farewell concert at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 7, at the Brandon Valley Performing Arts Center.

The Farewell Concert will feature Pennington and Jason Roseth, trombone soloist and senior music major from Watertown, S.D. The Band will be performing the "Triumphal March" from Verdi's Aida, "Blue Bells of Scotland" by Pryor, "To Walk with Wings" by Giroux, "The Golden Age of the Xylophone" by Werle, "Symphonic Marches" by John Williams and "The Stars and Stripes Forever" by Sousa. The Augustana Band is under the direction of Dr. Bruce T. Ammann.

Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 274-5320 or online at www.augietickets.com. Tickets may also be purchased at the door.

Details of the Tour

• The tour's opening performance is set for Cairo University, home to more than 200,000 students. At CU, the Band will play in the same 3,500-seat hall where President Obama gave his "address to the Muslim world" in 2009. The Minister of Education, the Minister of Culture and Tourism and the Mayor of Cairo will all be in attendance.

• Stop No. 2 is Tanta University, located in the Nile delta and home to 150,000 students. Tanta is Egypt's fifth largest city and is known as the agricultural heart of the country.

• The Band's third stop will be to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a major library and cultural center located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.

• While on a four-day cruise of the Nile River, the students will visit Egypt's ancient sites and meet fellow university students during their concert at Assiut University, a school with nearly 100,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

• The Band's final concert will be held in suburban Cairo's new Mubarak Hall, built for the cultural and diplomatic needs of the Egyptian government, led by President Hosni Mubarak.

About Augustana

Founded in 1860, Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., is a selective, residential, comprehensive college of the Lutheran Church. Committed to enriching lives and fostering development, Augustana combines a foundation in the liberal arts with professional skill and advanced study, leading the Templeton Guide to include the College among those that inspire students to lead ethical and civic-minded lives. With nearly 1,800 students from 25 states and two dozen countries, Augustana was ranked the No. 6 baccalaureate college in the nation for its efforts to advance social mobility, research and service by Washington Monthly; has been named a "Best Midwestern College" by The Princeton Review; and is listed as a "Great School, Great Price" by U.S. News & World Report.

Augustana celebrates its sesquicentennial during the 2010-2011 academic year.