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The St. Olaf Band, conducted by Henry L. Dorn, will perform at the 2025 National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) in Fort Worth, Texas.

This is the third time the St. Olaf Band has received this prestigious invitation, and marks the first invitation since Dorn took the helm of the ensemble in 2023. The band previously performed at the CBDNA national conference in 1987 and 2013.

The St. Olaf Band’s CBDNA performance will take place on Thursday, March 27 at 4 p.m. at the Van Cliburn Concert Hall at Texas Christian University. Following that, the band will perform in Mansfield, Texas, and Euless, Texas, March 28–29.

“The CBDNA is one of the largest band organizations we have in our country, and there’s a very high standard set to be selected to perform at their national conference,” Dorn says. “It’s a pretty big honor to be included in this year’s conference selection. One thing that makes us incredibly different in this space is that we’re a four-year institution with no graduate students, and at least half of our ensemble is made up of non-music majors. That’s almost unheard of at this level.” 

Ensembles are selected for the CBDNA conference through a competitive, blind audition application process with a panel of distinguished collegiate band conductors from across the country. The St. Olaf Band was one of only eight college and university programs selected to perform at the conference, which also include ensembles from Baylor University, Texas Christian University, Texas State University,  the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the University of North Texas, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and the University of Texas at Austin.

“It’s a pretty big honor to be included in this year’s conference selection. One thing that makes us incredibly different in this space is that we’re a four-year institution with no graduate students, and at least half of our ensemble is made up of non-music majors. That’s almost unheard of at this level.”

— St. Olaf Band Conductor Henry L. Dorn

“I’m really, really proud of the work the students in the Band have done, and the trust they showed in allowing me to push them to reach this point,” Dorn says. “The St. Olaf Band has a historical precedent for being a group that performs at a certain level, with a national profile. It’s important to me that we establish that’s where we still are, and that we’re charting a course for the future of this ensemble.”

Following the conclusion of the St. Olaf Band’s 2024 domestic tour of Illinois and Michigan, Dorn submitted audio recordings from the tour home concert to CBDNA for review. At the time, he was mainly hoping to receive feedback from the association’s judging panel in order to evaluate the St. Olaf Band’s performance during his first year of conducting and note areas to work on going forward. Instead, they received an official invitation to the 2025 CBDNA National Conference.

“I was surprised to see we were accepted after our first submission — not because I don’t think that we have the capability, just that it’s so competitive to make it to the national level,” Dorn says. “This conference is an iron-sharpens-iron opportunity — we’re playing alongside some of the best ensembles in the country, and that exposure will push us to grow and evolve. We’ll be able to take these learnings and experiences back to audiences here in the Minnesota community, which is important to me.”

Two of the pieces included in the St. Olaf Band’s CBDNA application were performances of “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story” by Leonard Bernstein, and the 2024 premiere of “Enigma“ by David Biedenbender — which is also programmed for their upcoming performance at the 2025 CBDNA National Conference. The piece will also be guest conducted by Michigan State University Director of Bands Kevin L. Sedatole, who Dorn studied under while earning his doctorate degrees.

The St. Olaf Band will also premiere a new wind band arrangement of Carlos Simon’s Troubled Water, and will take the stage alongside Kenneth Thompkins, former principal trombonist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. This moving trombone concerto originated as an orchestral work premiered by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Thompkins in 2023. It highlights the Underground Railroad and is inspired by the many stories, accounts, and experiences told by enslaved people and abolitionists. The band will also perform music composed by Dorn himself, along with compositions by Travis Cross ’99, Shuying Li, and Ron Nelson. 

“This conference is an iron-sharpens-iron opportunity — we’re playing alongside some of the best ensembles in the country, and that exposure will push us to grow and evolve.”

— St. Olaf Band Conductor Henry L. Dorn

The St. Olaf Band’s trip to Texas will also serve as an additional touring opportunity. The band will perform concerts at the Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts in Mansfield, Texas, on March 28, and at Trinity High School Auditorium in Euless, Texas, on March 29. Members of the St. Olaf Band will also have an opportunity to attend additional performances at the CBDNA conference, and learn from other students, conductors, and leaders in the industry. 

“I think this will be a highlight for our students. Any time we have these types of journeys or touring experiences, it becomes a core memory earned,” Dorn says. “I’m just really proud. To be on this journey with them and pull off this invitation with them in my first year — it’s beyond comprehension.” 

See the St. Olaf Band’s complete 2025 Texas Tour schedule below, and reserve your tickets today. All performances are free and open to the public:

Thursday, March 27 • 4 p.m. 
2025 CBDNA National Conference 
Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU
Fort Worth, Texas

Friday, March 28 • 7:30 p.m. 
Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts
Mansfield, Texas

Saturday, March 29 • 2 p.m. 
Trinity High School Auditorium
Euless, Texas