While sports teams usually get several tournaments a season, this past weekend was a good reminder that fine arts deserve some celebration.
The Gopher Conference came together on Saturday, February 1, and organized a stellar Fine Arts Festival featuring an honor band, choir, and an art gallery at Blooming Prairie High School. The conference had 11 schools – including JWP – with several entrants.
Visual Art
Each school was allowed five entries for the visual arts gallery. Blooming Prairie had a grand entrance to its Performing Arts Center, showing off art from every student from the conference. JWP’s five entries came from students Jayden Jones, Addison Miller, Cole Schutrop, Makiah Zeiher, and Chandra Marquardt.
Schutrop and Miller were two of three entrants in the mixed media category. Art teacher JA Siebert explained that Schutrop’s piece included different art styles for each corner of the piece. For example, one corner was graphite, while the other one was oil pastel. Marquadt was one of two entries in the printmaking category. Jones’s entry was a drawing, while Zeiher chose to do a painting.
Band and Choir Concerts
JWP was among the most represented schools in the conference concerts, especially the choir. However, many of the students who were named in the program were not in the performance.
We confirmed that soprano Kaylea Elliott, alto Emeri Murphy, tenor Eric Daschner, and basses Kyler Johnson, Kaiden Kurtz, and Carson Schultz were in the choir concert. Others listed by not present included Ryleigh Donner, Ma’liyah Peterson, and Jaxon Wolff.
The group performed four pieces directed by Ryan Deignan and accompanied by Lorene Strobel: Sanctus from “Mass No. 4 in C Major” by Franz Schubert, Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep” by Laura Farnell, “All too Soon” by Stephen Hatfield, and “Rain Clouds,” an indie folk piece arranged by Deignan. For the latter two pieces, guest guitarist Ben Gateno provided some accompaniment, while Troy Anderson played bass on “Rain Clouds.”
JWP had extra chances to show off their talent in the choir section. Senior Eric Daschner joined New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva’s Sophia Williams in a solo/duet section of “Rain Clouds.” And although not officially credited, JWP choir director Josh Sorenson played the bass drum in the closing song, too.
The band featured four JWP students: Kayle Langford in flute, Ariana Aguilar on clarinet, and alto saxophonists Devin Cowdin and Myles Kruger. Saxophonist Luke and trumpet player Alex Kleve were not in the band concert. Eric Daschner was also listed with the clarinets but allegedly had to choose between band and choir; he could not be in both.
The band was directed by Owatonna High School director Peter Guenther and had a guest oboist, Allison Bloome. The band played four pieces: “Pipe and Thistle” by Carol Brittin Chambers, “The Cave You Feat” by Michael Markowski, “Blue and Green Music” by Samuel Hazo, and “Ruckus” by Randall D. Standridge. JWP’s Myles Kruger was asked to stand up after “The Cave You Fear” for a one-note solo, which he initially seemed confused about. But Guenther claimed it was a cool, essential part of the piece that he executed perfectly.
The fine arts festival was a reminder that although all the schools are rivals in most sports, all 11 can achieve great things together. As Director Guenther told the audience, “The fine arts are alive and well in the Gopher Conference.”
