Calvin Band International Tour 2008
View the Calvin Band's tour photo album!
The following is an update from Calvin Band director, Dr. Tiffany Engle, about the Calvin Band's recent trip to Hungary, Romania, and Ukraine from May 19 - June 2, 2008:
As you can imagine, this trip was an amazing and life-changing experience. I really don't even know where to begin to describe all of the events of the past few weeks; words aren't enough to summarize what we experienced on this tour.
Over the course of two weeks, we learned a great deal about the history and continued struggles of the Hungarian people. We had the opportunity to visit some of the important sites, but we also got to experience firsthand how the effects of communism are still providing challenges even today. Growing up in the United States, it's hard to understand what this would have been like. It's really easy to think that this happened a long time ago, and to become rather removed and distant from the situation. However, the effects of this past life seemed to be present everywhere we went....I met several people who mentioned how things changed during this era and how they had to adapt. Hearing similar stories from different people certainly made this more real and more personal. We also had the amazing opportunity to visit a lot of ethnic Hungarian areas in Romania (Transylvania) and Ukraine (Transcarpathia). Of course, it is hard to imagine what it would be like to be rooted in a village that used to be Hungarian and then (seemingly overnight) have to adapt to a new language, new culture, new traditions, etc. Again, it's difficult for us to understand this. Yet, at the end of each concert, the band performed the Hungarian national anthem, a beautiful song that is much different than our anthem (one that is rooted in patriotism and "bombs bursting in air," etc.). The Hungarian anthem is very much a prayer, an invocation for God's blessing for strength and perseverance in times of trouble (and in Hungarian history, there have been many!). Of course, the audiences would stand and sing with us, and in those places where this display had been discouraged for so long, it is quite powerful for them and in turn, for us.
Yet, despite all of this--the economic situation, the political struggles, etc.--I have never met such warm and hospitable people. Everywhere we went, we were blessed with such gracious hospitality. Schools opened their dorms and cafeterias to us; individual families offered their homes (not to mention their overwhelming quantities of delicious food). Even though we didn't speak the same language, we all felt very comfortable there. Perhaps the most powerful interaction with the local people occurred during our visit to the Gypsy Camp in Nagydobrony, Ukraine. The gypsies are a very marginalized people--living in poverty 
on the outskirts of villages. They don't have much education, resources, etc. However, you can't imagine their faces when our bus arrived and we played a short concert for them. They were so excited and happy! The eyes of the children danced and there was much laughter, despite the fact that they were filthy from head to toe, lived in a mud hut, etc. It was such a powerful experience, and one of those that I hope we don't forget now that we are back in the land of fast food, microwaves, internet, etc.
You're probably also wondering about the music....but we soon learned that this was a small part of our trip. Of course, we had the opportunity to play in some incredible places. The 1500-seat reformed church in Cegled, Hungary (with a 4-second reverb) was certainly a highlight. We also played in a lot of old, reformed churches, cultural centers, and even participated in a high school commencement ceremony (which was 
three hours long--makes us all appreciate ours even more, doesn't it?). Yet, as I often commented to the students, our music seemed rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Here we were in the heart of Europe--with its rich history, amazing landscapes, and loving people--our gift of music seemed a rather small offering to the breadth of experiences that we were being showered with. Nonetheless, the students played well and we had some very powerful moments; the audiences were very receptive, and we often couldn't leave until we played at least 2 encores!
I close with just a word about how amazing the students of the Calvin Band are. I knew that they would be respectful and gracious, but I never imagine that they would have been as awesome as they were for the ENTIRE two weeks! I was so proud and blessed to be a part of this community, and I think that this speaks to their upbringing, their faith, and their experiences here at Calvin. I don't think I've had much to do with it, but I just want to express how very proud I am of them. They constantly demonstrated Christian love for each other and for those they just met. They looked out for each other, helped each other along, and then showed great care and concern for those of our host culture. I think that this aspect made the overall experience even more incredible.
Thank you all for the support and more importantly, all of your prayers for our recent trip. We hope that we were as much a blessing to the Hungarian people as they were to all of us.
Tiffany Engle, Director of the Calvin Band
Student Reflections
Samples taken from student responses further demonstrate the profound experiences of this tour:
About the Musical Performances:
“My favorite concert experience of the tour was undoubtedly our first concert. We were playing at a secondary school in Miskolc, and for the first half of the program it was fairly obvious that our audience was pretty apathetic about being there. What completely changed the mood was Psalm Tune Set, which is an arrangement of three Genevan psalm tunes, the last of which we sang in Hungarian. When it came time for us to play this piece at that first concert, we were all a bit uneasy. Nobody knew what kind of reaction we were going to get, or if they would even recognize our singing as Hungarian. However, when we finished, the whole audience erupted into shouts, whistles, and applause…It was wonderful not only to be so appreciated, but to have somehow gotten a bunch of apathetic teenagers excited about the music.”
“Thinking about the different pieces we played, I have come to conclude that the piece that spoke to me the most on this tour was the Hungarian National Anthem. This piece took on a new life as soon as I heard the Hungarians singing along in one of our first performances. Some of the people began to tear up, and I saw the power behind this song. As we continued to perform the anthem, I could tell that the whole band was putting more emotions and feeling into it. And even on the days when my lips were very sore, I always found the strength to push through and hit the high notes in the anthem, because I wanted it to be meaningful for the audience….I felt that this was the best way we could show them our respect and love—by playing their anthem and showing that we care.”
“The two concerts in the old Soviet cultural houses were the most meaningful for me. Each was build with communist malfeasance. These places, with their creaking wooden floors and paltry lighting, spoke of a power with outright contempt for God and His humans. Yet the soft evening faded just the same. As the warmth of the sun set, we filled these spaces with the warmth of our music. We were live music in a place that knew no liveliness. An overwhelming sense of rightness struck me. To play music for these people felt profoundly correct. If the Israelites will not praise God, the rocks will. If no rock band or orchestra will play for this small village, then we will.”
About Being a Part of God’s Family:
“From the different worship services, I was reminded of the connection that we have with different cultures through our faith. We may have different traditions, but we are all created by our amazing God, and our purpose in all of life is to praise Him. It is incredible that this is one of the main things that I share with people over 3,000 miles away from my home. God definitely revealed His faithfulness to me through these worship experiences.”
“The worship services that we experienced were a lot different than what I am used to. The slower-paced organ music, seating arrangements, church decorations, gothic architecture, and intricate rituals were quite a variation from guitars, gospel music, padded pews, and unexpected voices during the service. What struck me the most was the amount of people who regularly attended…They don’t need powerpoint or a loud praise team to keep people coming. The message itself suffices. I felt as though I learned, once again, that simpler truly can be better.”
“The other particularly worshipful experience that I had was saying The Lord’s Prayer. English and Hungarian words are being lifted up in common faith to God. There is so much division in church today…But there we were, two groups of people of completely different language and culture, lifting our voices in prayer together: one community, under one God. I remember thinking, ‘This is it. This is how it should be. This is how it was meant to be.’ We often get so distracted by details that simply do not matter, we get so tied down to our own ideas and traditions that we are not open to conversation with others who might hold a slightly different view, while we should be holding dearly to one another as one body, lifting each other up, helping one another, and learning from each other. That prayer was a much-needed taste of how things should be.”
“As I looked up at the thin field of stars above the courtyard, I was reassured that in spite of the differences in landscapes, cultures, histories, and languages, Hungary and the United States are simply countries, nothing more, nothing less. I may be proud of my status as a citizen of the United States, but I am more importantly a citizen of the world and citizen of the Kingdom of Christ. Flying back to the U.S. felt different; it didn’t feel like going home. I was excited to see my family again, yes, but I wasn’t going home. To me, now, my home is wherever the stars shine, wherever I have friends, and wherever Christ leads me. So, among all of the things I learned on tour, one thing stands above the rest: even on the other side of the world, I was already home.”
Release Date: 06/16/2008
