OK, so the bridge between Ecuador and Northeast Oregon is longer than the Golden Gate, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Ponte Vecchio combined. By far.

But thanks to Eastern Oregon University music professor Peter Wordelman, the Fundacion Brass Band del Ecuador is crossing that bridge. The 26-member youth band — most of the kids are 7 to 14 with the oldest being 18 — will give a series of concerts in the region over the coming week, including ones especially for children and others for the whole family. Workshops are also planned to which all area brass players are invited to rehearse and perhaps play in later concerts.

The band, and its five adult chaperones, is coming to Northeast Oregon because when Wordelman was a Fulbright Scholar to Ecuador, one of his official U.S. Embassy visits took place with the band organization. Several follow-up visits and rehearsals with the band sealed the relationship.

"When I was invited by the U.S. Embassy to go on an official visit to listen to the band, I was expecting something like a fifth or seventh grade-sounding ensemble," Wordelman said. "This was not the case at all, as the students picked up their horns and played some very complicated music at a very high level. They are very good, and people will be amazed how such beautiful music can come out of such young musicians."

The band will go to New York for an Andean Music Festival in late June after the Oregon visit. An estimated 400,000 Ecuadorians live in the New York City area.

The after-school band exists to make access to music more universal, Wordelman said. Obtaining a music education in Ecuador has become a privilege available only to the elite few, he said.

Several factors contribute to the lack of access. Deteriorating economic conditions, the decision in September 2000 to peg the national currency to the U.S. dollar and the resulting high inflation rate — more than 92 percent in 2000 — has meant that the average Ecuadorian family can barely cover their living costs. Attending concerts or getting any form of music education and developing one's musical talent remain elusive ideals in Ecuador.

The brass band not only gives students opportunities to learn music, it expands their world view. The Brass Band del Ecuador was one of the few groups outside of Europe to be invited to participate in the seventh European Festival for Youth Bands in May 2002.

Host homes needed

Want to bring the world to your home?

As of Wednesday morning, more host homes were needed to put up 15 band members for the evenings of June 10-12. Obligations are mostly evenings and for food. Call Peter Wordelman as soon as possible at 962-3352 or 963-4943.

Most homes already signed up are putting up three kids, and it is generally two to three kids per home.

Concert Schedule

June 9 — 7:30 pm, OK Theatre, Enterprise. $4 individual/$10 family

June 11 — 11 a.m., McKenzie Theatre, EOU campus, concert for children, admission by donation

June 12 — 7:30 p.m., McKenzie, an Ecuadorian celebration. Admission $5 at the door.

All local brass players invited to rehearse with and perhaps play in concert later. Rehearsals are:

• June 9 — 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. - Brass Festival, OK Theatre, Enterprise

• June 11 — 3 to 5 p.m., Afternoon Brass Festival, McKenzie Theatre

Additional concerts for the group include a performance for the La Grande Rotary Club and a special performance for the EOU graduation concert on June 13.