2026 International Symphony Band
The Blue Lake International Symphony Band is comprised of talented and inspired young musicians and performs a full range of traditional and contemporary wind band works. In 2026, the International Symphony Band will perform selections to include works such as: Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy, Sousa’s Hands Across the Sea, Curnow’s Where Never Lark or Eagle Flew, Jacob’s Original Suite, Reed’s El Camino Real, Horn’s Deep River, Mackey’s Let Me Be Frank With You, and more.
Each of the groups in the Blue Lake International Exchange Program will visit six host communities in 2–3 European countries with several group excursions throughout the trip. Tentative countries for the 2026 Symphony Band are France and Germany, but the tour may expand depending on invitations. Final tour schedules will not be available until the late spring
Dates
Sunday, November 9, 2025 – Rehearsal Day (8:00am – 4:00pm)
Sunday, April 19, 2026 – Rehearsal Day (8:00am – 4:00pm)
Friday, May 15 – Sunday, May 17, 2026 – Intensive Rehearsal Weekend (arrive 7pm)
Friday, June 12 – Thursday, June 18, 2026 – Intensive Rehearsal Week (arrive 7pm)
Thursday, June 18, 2026 – Depart from Blue Lake for Europe!
(Ensemble departs from either Chicago or Detroit to Paris CDG)
Thursday, July 9, 2026 – Return flight to U.S.
(Ensemble returns to same port of departure. Parents meet students at airport)
Friday, July 10, 2026 – Homecoming Celebration Day at Blue Lake!
(12pm – 9pm) (Parents bring students to Blue Lake)
Tuition
Tuition includes supervision and instruction, room and board on camp prior to departure, airfare, coach travel in Europe, and several excursions en route. The cost of 2026 tuition is $6,890, with a minimum $750 deposit due at time of enrollment. Scholarships are available for tour alumni and those who have attended Blue Lake as a camper in the 2025 season. Financial need and instrumentation scholarships may also be available in some circumstances.
Director
David A. Leach
Conductor & Tour Director
David A. Leach served for 22 years as Director of Bands at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School from 2002 until his retirement in June of 2024. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music Education at Eastern Michigan University. Mr. Leach began his teaching career at Ypsilanti High School in 1988, spending fourteen years there before moving to Ann Arbor.
Mr. Leach sustained the long tradition of quality performance and repertoire in the Pioneer Bands. Under his baton, the Pioneer Symphony Band has performed five times at Carnegie Hall, twice at the Mid-Europe Music Conference in Schladming, Austria, and performed on tour in China.
Mr. Leach has won the praise of international composers such as Michael Daugherty, John Mackey, Thomas Duffy, Alfred Reed, Jan Van der Roost, and others for his insightful conducting of their compositions. Mr. Leach studied conducting with John L. Whitwell, Michael Haithcock, and Michael Adleson. In 2019, Mr. Leach was named Fellow for the H. Robert Reynolds Conducting Institute at the Midwest Clinic.
Mr. Leach is a member of the National Band Association, serving as state representative in 2024–25; and the American School Band Director’s Association. He has been included five times in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. The University of Michigan chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia honored him in 2000 with the Pendleton Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in music education. He was a three-time MSBOA District Band Teacher of the Year and GRAMMY Museum’s Music Educator of the Year quarter-finalist. Mr. Leach is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Ann Arbor Concert Band. He is also a current member of the Conducting faculty and a scholarship representative for Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. This is his first tour with the Blue Lake International Symphony Band.
