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Alexis I. duPont Tiger Marching Band
"I had never done anything with the band that was more exciting than the Rome New Years Parade. We were literally under the apartment window of the Pope. It was just an emotional roller coaster all the way."
Paul Parets, Director of Bands
Wilmington, DE
Testimonials
Two Rivers Chorale
"Our music tour to England, Ireland & Scotland was our most memorable music tour ever. Performances were fun and well received, the sites were fantastic and the choir had the time of their life."
Bruce Phelps, Choral Director
Minnesota
Featured Destinations
TOURNAMENT OF ROSES
When the invitation arrives, make Gateway YOUR second call!
We're ready to help make the most of your trip to the Rose Bowl.
INTERNATIONAL BOWL GAMES
Bowl Games in foreign countries generate the same enthusiastic crowds as in the U.S. For many, the only ingredient missing to complete this "American football experience" has been American bands.
» more destinations
About the Gateway Staff
With over 180 combined years of travel, education and musical experience, our staff provides an incredible range of knowledge of the performance tour industry. And more than that, our clients love working with us because our pride for what we do comes from unbridled enthusiasm for what you do.
(click the images below to read more about our staff)
Dave Thielman
Stacy Thielman Jost
Lauren VanScoy
Cliff DeLyser
Charles Hemeon
Angela Voll
Kate Pearce
Margie Riley
Marcy Fawver
Mark Hoffman
Tammy Jo Sutton
Melissa Morey
Kelly Sweeney
David Thielman, Founder & CEO
Dave is our beloved founder & owner. A former band director of 23 years, Dave retired from teaching shortly after his marching band, Monticello High School, appeared in the 1983 Tournament of Roses Parade. Dave decided to try something new and we’re sure glad he did! Starting Gateway Music Festivals & Tours in 1985, the company blossomed over the decades from operating competitive regional music festivals to managing major performance events and music tours world wide. Dave is still active in music, directing and performing in the Great River Community Band.
Stacy Thielman-Jost, President
Stacy began working with her dad in 1994 as the Director of Marketing for Gateway. With an industrial design degree from University of Wisconsin-Stout in tow, Stacy created a new look & feel for Gateway, establishing the personal style & classy character for which Gateway’s work is now known. Having grown up the child of a band director, Stacy spent countless hours in musical rehearsals, marching band practices, going to parades, performances as well as participating herself, and truly has a sense for the needs, goals and challenges of music educators. As President, Stacy now has her hands in all facets of the business. From client interaction to product development, Stacy enjoys being an integral part of the daily routine at Gateway.
Lauren VanScoy, Chief Operating Officer
You’d never know it from her fun-loving nature, but Lauren knows how to get down to business. Soon after graduating from St. Olaf College in 2001, she kicked off her career at Gateway by taking on the organization & management of ALL our competitive music festivals, talk about new employee initiation! Lauren has operated domestic and international tours for nine years and has played a key role as Gateway opened new destinations such as Norway, Japan and China most recently. After years of studying piano and flute, Lauren met and married a band director at the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic and she gleans great insights from his role as a music educator.
Cliff DeLyser, Chief Financial Officer
Cliff likes to think he’s the tough guy at Gateway, he even looks pretty tough, but everyone knows that deep down Cliff is just a big teddy bear with a knack for numbers. Cliff keeps connected to the music world not only through our work at Gateway, but also through his brother who is a composer and music professor at the University of Portland. With an accounting, insurance and human resources background since his twenties, Cliff is well-equipped to keep Gateway’s numbers in line.
Charlie Hemeon, Tour Consultant
Charlie may be our “most senior” staff, but he’s earned it. Working in the travel industry the past 45 years, Charlie has been at Gateway since 1996. Coming from Northwest Airlines, Charlie helped Gateway launch our international tour market and has been helping the company grow ever since. He spends more time than any of us on the road with groups and always comes back with new ideas, fresh advice and ways we can improve. The rest of his time is spent working remotely from his office in sunny Florida, showing up in Minnesota for the warm months to tell us the tales of his tours.
Angie Voll, Tour Consultant
If you’ve met Angie, one place probably comes to mind: Hawaii! Angie is our resident islands expert and has been building relationships with our vendors and partners in Hawaii since 2002. Angie played piano and sang in choir and has now invested a great deal of time learning the marching world to better offer knowledgeable advice to all our traveling bands. Angie can tell you everything from what to expect on your Hawaii tour, the best parades on the islands or brainstorm methods for transporting your tubas. She’s great company to keep on the islands because she knows all the secret spots that most tourists never discover. Having worked with Gateway for over 15 years, Angie has also done her fair share of domestic and international travel and has some great stories to share.
Kate Pearce, Marketing
Kate played cello and piano for over a decade, had the opportunity to sing in college choirs and her favorite music related experience was being part of the Southeast Minnesota Honors Choirs. After graduating from St. Olaf College in 2001 and living in Norway for a spell, Kate was hired in 2004 to take on the marketing department. Since then, if you’ve ever received a hand-addressed invitation or care package from Gateway, you can be sure that Kate’s work was involved. It is Kate’s creative streak and affinity for music, travel and “real mail” that make her a great fit for a music tour company that wants to keep marketing and client communications as personal as possible.
Margie Riley, Tour Consultant
Margie brings over 20 years experience in the travel industry to Gateway. Our “domestic guru”, it seems Margie has been to just about every U.S. city and state! Though she played the piccolo and flute, the love for travel took a stronger hold. Margie graduated with a Certified Tour Professional degree through the National Tour Association (NTA), and can professionally guide you through the Ozarks to Branson or navigate the Rockies en route to Calgary. Most people don’t know that Margie once owned her own tour company, working as not only the owner/manager but as tour guide and coach driver! On the road, Margie is in her element. In a pinch, she can drive your coach or make you a latte (she’s also been a barista).
Marcy Fawver, Tour Consultant
With over 25 years experience in the travel industry working with airlines, hotels and travel agencies, Marcy gets us through the day with her quick knowledge of the complications the travel industry can throw at us. Our third flautist on staff, Marcy continued to play as an adult for her church. Her understanding of the demands on music directors and the very specific travel needs of bands, choirs and orchestras is a major asset to our clients each & every day. And if you’ve ever called our office, you’ve almost certainly spoken with Marcy’s friendly voice answering the phone, fielding our calls!
Mark Hoffman, Tour Consultant
In 2007, Mark bravely stepped into the world of the “Gateway Gals” as our only male tour coordinator. Having graduated with a business management and vocal performance degree from St. John’s University, Mark still sings for weddings, plays guitar, dabbles on piano and aspires to the mandolin & jawharp. Before coming to Gateway, Mark lived in Rome for a year, volunteering at an international college for Benedictines. Since he’s been blessed by the Pope himself, we figured he was worthy, and we were right. Mark is thrilled to combine his passions for music & travel in his daily work at Gateway and consistently finds new ways to improve on the work we do. He’s quickly become one of the gang and brings a refreshing perspective to a predominantly female staff.
Tammy Jo Sutton, Tour Coordinator
While participating in band and taking piano didn’t pull Tammy Jo into the life of a musician, she’s still glad to be connected to music through her work. Better known as “TJ” around here, Tammy Jo comes to us with a background of 14 years in the real estate industry. Her customer service skills have been invaluable as she provides incredibly detailed attention to every client. Tammy Jo initially focused on our Hawaii tours and now operates domestic and international tours. Planning tours for Hawaii is still her favorite and she looks forward to finessing each itinerary to perfection each new season!
Melissa Morey, Tour Coordinator
Melissa Morey joins us after more than 10 years in arts administration, most recently as the Director of Operations at the Minnesota Chorale. Although she has sold pianos, inventoried farm implement parts and whitewashed horse corrals, we think her bigger accomplishments are music related. She is a free-lance horn player, horn teacher, and singer, with a Master of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor of Music degree from St. Olaf College. While at St. Olaf, she was a member of the St. Olaf Choir, St. Olaf Band, and St. Olaf Orchestra. She has performed in numerous professional vocal and instrumental groups throughout the Twin Cities region, most notably the Minnesota Orchestra, Dale Warland Singers, and Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Her love of travel was sparked early on, when she spent three weeks in Russia as a high school sophomore.
Kelly Sweeney, Tour Coordinator
Kelly, another St. Olaf graduate, may have just started this year, but she is not ‘green’ on the job. Kelly returned to Gateway after a hiatus to explore outside of Minnesota. For nearly three years she worked for an international public health NGO/non-profit in Washington DC then moved to South Korea to teach English. She’s traveled with every job and can’t get enough. Kelly was in high school band and loves to sing in the shower. Her friendly demeanor and energetic smile are downright contagious, you’ll love working with her!
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