Seven JWP vocalists, four band members, and several artists were featured during the Gopher Fine Arts Showcase on February 7. A two-day stretch of rehearsals led to a spectuclar display of talent.
The annual Gopher Conference Fine Arts Showcase took place on Saturday February 7th. This event is a yearly showcase of the Gopher conference’s talented students in art, band and choir. 11 schools participate in the event by sending their very best to exhibit their art or perform with their ensembles. Representing JWP at the Showcase, held in New Richland, were six students from the band and eight from the choir; and five of JWP’s artists. For the students, the Showcase took place over two days, as the first was dedicated to rehearsals with their fellow Gopher conference students. NRHEG’s gymnasium was full of families eager to see what their students are capable of.
Prior to the band & choir concert, attendees could peruse the art exhibited in the halls, between the lockers. The art exhibited ranged in style, steel metals, acrylic paintings, and thread works to name a few, but all shared one quality; they were crafted by gifted students. JWP’s Zach Blasing, Marissa Waguk, Callie March, Rocco Scholl, and Zander Terbesst each had a piece on display that exemplified the Showcase’s desire to recognize the talent in the conference’s schools.
The afternoon’s performances were preceded by greetings and appreciations from the NRHEG Band and Choir directors, Seth Schaefer and Krista Reeder. Both directors were incredibly happy to host the Showcase because they believe that the students performing that day had earned the chance to do so at a high level. However, leading both the band and choir through their rehearsals and performances were two guest directors.
The Gopher Conference Band was the first to perform. Erin Holmes, a music educator with 26 years of experience from MSU, was the guest band director. Holmes earned a Masters of Arts in Education from Saint Mary’s University and is currently the Director of Bands at Farmington High School. She aims to help students improve everyday, and, in their short time together, Holmes and the Conference Band were able to prepare an astounding set of music. They began with ‘Burn After Reading’, a power piece that might be heard on a battlefield, and ‘Ten Marches in Two Minutes’, a piece of American military inspired sound. ‘Pastel Sunset’ brought the concert to a slow elegance before rising to a glorious crescendo. Their final piece, ‘Fate of the Gods’, was twice as heavy as the first and ten minutes long, but the band played so beautifully that it seemed only three minutes had passed. It was a performance that could not have been possible without the musical talents of: Lily Quast, Devin Cowdin, Ethan Cowdin, Gavin Weedman, Jason Wheelock, Charles Adams, and Ellie Morshing.
The Gopher Conference Choir was led by Melissa Williams, a voice instructor for Gustavus and MSU. A soprano and soloist performer in the Twin Cities, Western Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, Director Reeder noted that there could be no one better to lead the choir this year than Director Williams. The accompanist to the choir was Mindy Sletten, an alumni of Augustana University and seasoned choir member. Their set opened with the performance of the 300 year old ‘Gloria in Excelsis’, showing the choir’s ability to sing as one with only five hours of preparation. That first song could make a listener believe they were in a church, the second could do the same but instead of a church it would be a congregation in the savannah; ‘Muhona’ was the name of their second piece. ‘When the Light of Morning Breaks’ and ‘Run!’ that inspired balance and peace in the choir’s voices and the audience’s minds. The choir’s final tune, ‘I Sing Because I’m Happy’, had the students dancing and smiling as they shared their happiness through song. Representing JWP in the Gopher Choir were: Haylea Elliott, Claire Miller, Kayle Langford, Stasia Zeiher, John Bublitz, Kyler Johnson, Trayvn Shoultz, and Carson Schultz.
The Gopher Conference Fine Arts Showcase succeeded in every category to display the talent existing in its schools. While all the students have much more room to grow, the skills displayed that afternoon could have easily been worth thrice the price of admission. JWP and all the Gopher schools have talented artists and musicians walking their halls, and with continued support from their schools and communities, events like this can persist in assisting them to their full potential.
