After more than 52 years of musical performances on America's rivers, the American Wind Symphony Orchestra will dock its traveling vessel, Point Counterpoint II, Aug. 16 to 19 in Cape Girardeau for its last concert.

The 2009 tour began June 24 in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. So far, the symphony has made eight stops, including multiple visits in Michigan and Ontario, on the way to Cape Girardeau.

Robert Augustin Boudreau started the orchestra in 1957, basing it in Mars, Pa., just north of Pittsburgh. Boudreau used to be a trumpeter; now he's the maestro and a skipper on his own boat.

The average age for musicians in the orchestra is 23, and Boudreau recruits performers from all over the world. A Colombia native who has recently completed her doctorate at Michigan State University will be in the oboe section next to an 18-year-old Cleveland native who attends Kent State University. A 21-year-old Florida State University student will be making music with her clarinet, while her husband, a 21-year-old Venezuelan native studying at Lynn University, plays French horn.

Robert Gifford, the recently retired Southeast Missouri State University band director, has been involved with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra since the group first visited Cape Girardeau in 1963, the first of seven times the orchestra would play in this area. Some of his former students have played in the orchestra over the years.

Boudreau approached Gifford about a year ago and asked what he thought about having the group's final concert in Cape Girardeau. Gifford said his reaction was an enthusiastic "yes."

"I was like, 'Are bullfrogs waterproof?'" Gifford said.

The musicians, who travel by van, will play 10 chamber concerts and conduct workshops for area school bands. The boat will be open for tours and on Aug. 18 there will be a riverfront concert. Tickets for the riverfront concert are $5 for adults.

Boudreau, who will arrive on the boat with his wife, has said this is the last concert they will ever do, but Dan Cotner, a Cape Girardeau resident who has known Boudreau since he first came to Cape Girardeau, isn't so sure.

"He's said that twice before," Cotner said. He said Boudreau plans to dry dock his boat in New Orleans.

When the boat is docked in Cape Girardeau, the musicians will stay with local families. The group is still looking for host families, Gifford said. The musicians would stay for four nights and would need to be fed breakfast and dinner. Gifford said he hosted an oboist about 20 years ago who went on to teach oboe at a university. Over the years he has maintained professional contact with her and has followed all of her achievements. He said he is grateful for the lifelong friendship.

To date, Boudreau has commissioned more than 400 new musical compositions for his orchestra's tour. More than 1,500 musicians have played for the orchestra. Boudreau was knighted by the king of Sweden, and he and his orchestra were also allowed into the Soviet Union in 1989.

The first ship the orchestra used was retired in the mid-1970s. The ship that will be traveling to Cape Girardeau has sailed more than 400,000 miles. The 195-foot-long, 38-foot-wide vessel has a central stage, art galleries and a small theater.

For more information about hosting a musician, contact Toni Eftink at 334-8085.