Music and dance go together

Enztaler Musikanten joined by Banat Trachtengruppe at Heritagefest

By CHANCE PRIGGE

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Behind the Edelweiss Tent Friday evening, Norbert Weber's face was submerged in a towel.

Weber was either hot from an exhaustive performance on stage or the humid weather -- or both.

Weber is the lead singer, keyboardist and accordion player for the German group Die Enztaler Musikanten, which began its series of performances yesterday and continues through this weekend.

The six-group band play more than an hour and a half on stage during its afternoon performance.

"We like it here," Weber said, "but we don't like the heat."

This year is the band's fourth appearance at Heritagefest. Its first was in '93.

"Heritagefest was the first place we were at in America," Weber said, adding that it first came here after being asked to play the fest. "Everytime we come (to America) we come to Heritagefest."

The band's other two appearances at Heritagefest were in '95 and '98.

Die Enztaler Musikanten plays a variety of German songs.

"This music is country music for us and Germany," Weber said.

The band started out doing mostly polka and waltzes, he said, though since then it's expanded to pop, rock 'n' roll and rumba, among others.

But that's not the only change the band has gone through.

The band started in '82 with eight members. Since then, it's shedded a couple players. Instead of two trombone players and two trumpet players, it now has one of each.

The band largely plays in southwest Germany, Weber said, at things such as dances, weddings and different kinds of festivals. It is originally from Pforzheim, Germany.

After Heritagefest, the band will be heading to Chicago to perform, from which it will travel back to Germany.

Weber described the band's experiences at Heritagefest as being very good.

"That's the reason we're here a fourth time," Weber said. "The audience is great and we have a lot of friends."

Other band members are: Michael Werner, trumpet; Norbert Pinczes, clarinette, saxophone, vocalist; Rudolf Miagra, tenorhorn, trombone, vocalist; Peter Fauth, percussionist, drums, vocalist; Franz Weinhardt, tuba and bass.

The group was joined in its afternoon performance by the dance group the Banat Trachtengruppe.

The group consisted of five men and five women. The men, in black and white outfits, and the women, in black and white outfits with splashes of light green, yellow and pink, performed in choreographed dances to the band's music.