The Seward Municipal Band opened its 135th season May 29 at the Seward Bandshell.
At its first concert of the year, the band paid tribute to the Rev. Tim Ruegg, one of its longtime conductors, who died Sept. 12, 2021.
Ruegg led the band from 2008 to 2021, along with a rotation of other local conductors.
Under the direction of Dr. Jessica Schreiner, the band performed some of Ruegg’s favorite marches, trombone features and a couple of his original compositions, “Fanfare for Peace and Health,” which he wrote during the COVID-19 pandemic, and “Crossarms and Steel,” written in honor of Hughes Brothers’ 100th anniversary in 2021.
Ruegg earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Illinois Wesleyan University and a master’s in church music from Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College.
He served as a composer and arranger with the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command Band and the Heartland of America Band at Offutt Air Force Band. He deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield.
Ruegg also served in music ministry at colleges and churches in California, Oklahoma and Washington before becoming pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Seward in 2005.
The 56-member band drew an audience from five other states including New York, South Carolina, Louisiana, Wisconsin and Kansas and six Nebraska communities of Valparaiso, Fremont, Albion, Omaha, Lincoln and Seward.
The band performs every Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at the Bandshell, with a rain location at the Seward Civic Center. Concerts are free and open to the public.
