High Plains Band and Choir Festival celebrates 52nd year
Nearly 130 high school musicians gathered at CSC last week for the 52nd High Plains Band and Choir Festival. Following workshops and rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday, the band and choir presented a public concert Tuesday evening.
By News Channel NebraskaCHADRON – Nearly 130 high school musicians gathered at CSC last week for the 52nd High Plains Band and Choir Festival. Following workshops and rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday, the band and choir presented a public concert Tuesday evening. The Honor Band Guest Conductor was Dr. Frank Tracz, Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Kansas State University.
Students who have attended the festival for three or four years were honored with certificates.
Emily Hauck at Gering High School has been bringing band students for three years. She likes the opportunity for students and teachers to work with guest conductors.
“I like the sessions they do with us because we get to learn as well and like the reading sessions are really good. So, they get to see all the different instruments at the Hill’s Music display and also look through sheet music,” she said. “I like that the event is two days long so they can work on the music and think about it a little more. They can practice their music ahead of time and then get more creative when they get together,”
She recalls lasting friendships she made when she attended the festival as a student at Gering.
“When I attended, I made a friend here and we were roommates in college,” Hauck said.
Doug Babic, the band teacher from Bridgeport, has been bringing students to High Plains for 12 years.
“They get to play with quality musicians and quality directors and spend two days just making music,” Babic said.
His wife, Michaela Babic, attended High Plains when she was a student and has been bringing students to the event for 12 years. This year, she brought 10 choir students from Bridgeport.
She sees several benefits for her students.
“They get the opportunity to do things musically beyond what we can do in our classroom. When you have the best of the best all in one place, they can take things one step further,” Michaela Babic said.
Nikki Bunnell from Mitchell has been attending for three years and this year brought four choir students.
“It’s the most I've ever brought and one student received a three-year award,” she said. “They get to do a higher level of music. The kids who are in my classroom, working extremely hard, appreciate the harder level. It's not always possible when you have a mixed group. So, when they come here, they’ve practiced, and the end product is a much higher level.”
Bunnell, who graduated from CSC in 2018, said she had Dr. Joel Schreuder as her choral director.
“He teaches very differently from how I teach, so my students get to see a whole new style of teaching. They get to meet new people and see what campus is like,” Bunnell said.
She appreciated the professional development session for the teachers.
“Dr. Tracz spoke about building his program by getting himself out there. He became the director of his community band. He took the students to play and welcome teams home even in the middle of the night as the bus pulled in, which I think is very interesting. He's animated. He's got a lot of good things to teach,” Bunnell said.
HONOR BAND
4 Years
Emma Arp of Custer, S.D.
Taya Butler of Hill City S.D.
Amanda Kittell of Chadron
Toni McGinley of Mitchell, Neb.
Ethan Prokop of Gering
Allan Tullis of Gordon/Rushville, Neb.
3 Years
Danika Bohl of Mitchell, Neb
Landen Branstiter of Alliance, Neb.
Anna Cheek of Mitchell, Neb.
Jodean Chesley of Chadron, Neb.
Katie Eckhardt of Bridgeport, Neb.
Ethan Euneau of Hill City, S.D.
Amelia Her Many Horses of Oelrichs, S.D.
Lily Kadolph of Gering, Neb.
Daulton Mangas of Alliance, Neb.
Jayse Marez of Mitchell, Neb.
Natalie Peterson of Gering, Neb.
Lucy Rischling of Chadron
Taya Ritterbush of Hot Springs, S.D.
Skye Schultz of Custer, S.D.
Lukah Schwery of Mitchell, Neb.
Grant Springer of Valentine, Neb.
Alex Williams-Hardy of Chadron
HONOR CHOIR
4 Years
Aubrey Milburn of Chadron
Delaney Pohl of Bridgeport, Neb.
Eden Strawn of Bridgeport, Neb.
3 Years
Lucas Booe of Sidney, Neb.
Shirley Cotant of Mitchell, Neb.
Ty Grunig of Sidney, Neb.
Deanna Horst of Sidney, Neb.
Marybelle Ward of Valentine, Neb.
Dru Weimer of Sidney, Neb.
Mason Wilkes of Torrington, Wyo.
Theatre Department presents the Complete Works of William Shakespeare
CHADRON – The Chadron State College Theatre Department will present highlights of 37 Shakespeare plays including comedies, histories, and tragedies in 97 minutes. The director of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), CSC alum Zackary Wellnitz, said the production was written in 1984.
The performances will be in the Black Box Theatre and tickets are free, but must be reserved online due to limited seating. Patrons will receive an email confirmation from [email protected].
Wellnitz said the three characters in the play all love Shakespeare.
“The beauty of this show is that three actors are trying their best to do Shakespeare. The comedy lies in the fact that even though they are trying really hard, it's not truly working. With the improv aspect, each performance will be slightly different,” Wellnitz said.
Wellnitz said he and Theatre Professor Scott Cavin chose the show because the setup allows more audience engagement.
“The audience is going to feel really involved,” Wellnitz said. “After I graduated from CSC, I worked in a theme park and was able to interact with the customers. I wish I would have been able to practice audience interaction and learn more about improv. Scott and I wanted a play that could teach those skills to students so they could be more prepared for the future.”
The tribute to Shakespeare will involve stage combat with foils and swords.
“They are wearing period costumes and trying to be involved in the universe of Shakespeare. I've tasked the actors with really taking Shakespeare seriously and making sure to do Shakespeare justice. So, it's a period piece in that aspect. But overall, it is a modern comedy,” Wellnitz said.
CSC alum Casey Kearns designed the costumes for the play and he is teaching Costume Construction (TH 141) this semester. After graduating from CSC in 1997, he pursued his master's degree in scenography, consisting of scenic, lighting and costume design.
He has been a theatre professor for 23 years and is currently living in Chadron and working as a freelance scenic designer. He started his professional career at the Post Playhouse at Fort Robinson in 1990 before he graduated from Chadron High School. He has designed scenery for nearly 300 shows and has shows pending, in construction, or in performance in Florida, Missouri, Colorado, Texas, Wyoming, and Nebraska.
Reidun Hammer said the production is chaotic and will keep the attention of audience members.
“It's a very engaging show. You can tell we're having a lot of fun, so I feel like that will translate to the audience being able to have fun with it as well,” she said.
Wellnitz said without everyone’s hard work and dedication, the challenging show would not have come together as well as it did.
“This show is nothing like any other show that has been performed at CSC,” he said.
Cast
Each performer will use their name as their character
Amber Harvey of Centennial, Colorado
Reidun Hammer of Dubois, Wyoming
Kolton Drogowski of Williamsburg, Michigan
Crew
Stage Manager: Olivia Freeze
Asst Stage Manager: Maiya Timm
Performances
Feb. 16-17 at 7 p.m.
Feb. 18 at 2 p.m.
Feb. 22-24 at 7 p.m.
Feb. 25 at 2 p.m.