This summer, The Concordia Band took a May seminar trip to Panama, exploring the country, culture, and music presented by those who gathered with the Cobbers.
From learning about the history of the country to playing new instruments and meeting new friends, the trip served as a way for Cobbers to share stories of culture, personality, and identity through music, showing the world what Concordia students are capable of.
The 33 students flew out of Minneapolis before beginning their musical journey in Santiago de Veraguas. The entire community gathered for a shared concert between the Concordia band and the local school system.
After exploring Santiago de Veraguas, the band joined the northern Indigenous community Ngäbe-Buglé where a music teacher put together a festival to celebrate music amongst different cultures. The United States Peace Corps joined the festival, along with local firefighters and various bands of local students.
Following the festival, the band went to Guna Yala, where they shared time with the community. The Concordia Band members shared their instruments with the local bands and vice versa, showing how the instruments work and how to play them. There was no shared concert in Guna Yala, but the bands took turns performing for one another.
Finally, the band concluded their trip with a collaboration with the University of Panama's music program. The bands shared a large performance and received feedback from university faculty as well as community members.
Anna Kronbeck '25 has been on four study away trips through Concordia, Panama being the most recent. Of the experience, she said, "All of the communities and schools we worked with and met went absolutely above and beyond to welcome us and incorporate us into their community for the short time we were there, including making us special meals and going to great lengths to make us feel comfortable and like we belonged. I feel like I have a family in Panama now, and that is something remarkable."
Along with sharing music, the band also learned a great amount about the country's history including the Indigenous communities in the area, the history of the Panama Canal, sustainability practices, and culture as a whole. Through these experiences, students had the ability to make connections between their own cultures and histories and those of Panama.
Band director Dr. Peter Haberman reflected on the trip, sharing the same sentiment as Kronbeck. "We're more the same than different," he said. "But what's different about our different cultures is what makes us unique."
Alexandra Klein '24, who also performed with The Concordia Band and The Concordia Orchestra in Spain in 2022, said it was clear to see an impact with this experience.
"While Spain’s trip was with professional musicians, Panama’s trip was with musicians in Indigenous communities and schools, which gave all of us fulfillment and a sense that what I’m able to provide to this community will be meaningful," Klein said.
Written by Olivia Slyter '25