(U-M Symphony) Band on the run; first tour since 1990s
ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan's Symphony Band is hitting the road for the first time in decades.
Kicking off a week-long tour May 6, the band will travel around the state of Michigan leading interactive, side-by-side clinics at regional high schools in Belleville, Troy, Fenton, Grand Blanc, Flint, Midland, Interlochen, Traverse City, Muskegon and Allendale. Each visit will conclude with a performance that is free and open to the public.
Led by Jason Fettig, director of bands and professor of music at the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance, 58 student musicians will perform music mostly written or arranged by composers from Michigan.
"We take the opportunity and obligation to serve the state of Michigan very seriously here at U-M," Fettig said. "We are putting on very high-level concerts that will resonate with people who may or may not be musicians, and with music that really celebrates our state."
Fettig, former conductor of "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band, has experienced the power of performing for audiences outside one's hometown firsthand.
"One of the traditions we had since 1891 was to tour the country, to get the band out of Washington away from the White House, and to play concerts for communities all over the country," he said. "Other than in times of war, we've had that tradition for over 100 years and it was such a moving part of my career, to get out and meet people, and just be a community of Americans sharing music together."
So when he joined the faculty at U-M in 2024, getting the band off campus and sharing the university with the entire state, or as much of it as they could reach, was a priority.
"I mentioned this to Mark Clague, who is the executive director of the Arts Initiative, and he immediately jumped on it. He actually remembered when he was a student here, going on tours with the Michigan Symphony Band, and it was one of the most impactful parts of his education," Fettig said.
The U-M Arts Initiative set out to revive the band's long-defunct tradition of annual tours as part of their State of the Arts program by bringing together a set of new partners: School of Music, Theatre & Dance; Office of Enrollment Management; Office of Government Relations; and the state's U-M Alumni Association chapters.
The clinics that the Symphony Band will participate in with high school band students will serve as an education unto itself, outside of the classroom, Fettig says. Whether U-M students go on to teach in the classroom, or perform with professional orchestras and bands, educational outreach and the practice of mentorship will be a part of their future careers, he says.
For many of the students, this will be their first experience in a clinical setting. Ahead of their tour, students will learn from U-M's Colleen Conway, professor of music education, about student mentorship: from preferred language to areas that would be most useful to focus on during their hour of time together.
"But I'm also going to be running a big portion of these clinics from the podium," Fettig said. "So part of this is me shepherding our students through that educational experience where I'm doing some teaching, I'm inviting them to do some teaching in a curated environment, and then we're also doing some modeling."
Fettig hopes the high school students are inspired to pursue higher education and that these visits might spark a greater commitment to their instrument. Local band directors share that vision.
"I believe any time that high school students can listen to, learn from and perform next to musicians on the level of a collegiate ensemble is incredibly beneficial," said Chad Mielens, director of bands at West Senior High in Traverse City, one of the stops on the U-M Symphony Band's tour.
"We always try to promote lifelong involvement in music, and performing in a college ensemble is an excellent way for students to continue their artistic journey."
More than 400 U-M alumni are now at the helm of hundreds of elementary, middle and high school music classrooms across the state of Michigan. And their expertise has a ripple effect across the country.
"The state of Michigan has had a tremendous influence on school bands in America," Mielens said. "Between the Interlochen Band Camp's founding in 1928 and conductors like William Revelli and H. Robert Reynolds at the University of Michigan, our state has shaped the way high school and collegiate bands are structured around the country.
"School band programs contribute significantly to society by fostering a range of valuable skills, boosting student engagement and promoting community involvement. They enhance creativity, teamwork and self-expression, while improving academic performance and overall well-being. School music programs don't just develop performers, but our next generation of concertgoers and music appreciation."
Fettig says one of the most important things a musician can do is share their music through live performance.
"If our students come back having had a good time, having had a community experience, and feeling really inspired about their own work, then that, as a teacher here, is my main mission for them."
