MOUNT VERNON, IA (02/11/2016)-- Andrew Klocke of Coal Valley participated in Cornell College's Pandemonium steel drum band, Calypso Singers, and Calypso horns tour to New Orleans during Mardi Gras. The 30-student contingent played their way down St. Charles Avenue in a float during four parades seen by more than a million people.
The Mardi Gras tour is possible because of Cornell's One Course At A Time curriculum. The tour takes place during Block Break between Blocks 5 and 6 of Cornell's eight-block year.
Pandemonium, the Calypso Singers, and the Calypso horns are directed by professors of music Martin Hearne and Lisa Hearne. Pandemonium is the only steel drum band appearing at Mardi Gras, Martin Hearne said, and one of the very few groups from outside the Gulf South.
Cornell College, a selective liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa, is recognized as one of the "Colleges That Change Lives." The academic immersion of its One Course At A Time curriculum allows students to focus on a single academic subject per 18-day block. With a student body from 45 states and 18 foreign countries, and renowned faculty, speakers, and entertainers, Cornell offers the world from its hilltop campus.
