Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

Youth musicians perform at statewide festival

This year, five NR-S students prepared for the Surround the State in Song music festival: Bailey Baumbach, Donavun McCorkle, Judy Meier, Kaci Weisenburger and Alivia Yri. Due to the October snowstorm, the event was postponed. Judy and Kaci were unable to attend the festival when it was held on Oct. 26.

The North Dakota chapter of American Choral Directors Association sponsored the children's choral festivals in seven locations, which occurred simultaneously. Each general music teacher or choral director is invited to select up to six of his or her best fifth and sixth grade singers to participate.

"The purpose of it is to get kids singing, and to get them singing quality music and to have them to be able to work with somebody that is skilled at choral singing," Heather Aune, the Jamestown site coordinator, told the Jamestown Sun.

The featured guest director in Jamestown was Josh Dahl, artistic director of the Fargo-Moorhead Youth Choir. He was accompanied on piano by John Clodfelter, who recently joined the University of Jamestown Music Department.

Next year, Tim Takach, a composer from Minneapolis, will compose a song specifically for North Dakota's Surround the State in Song festivals in 2020.