Lately, Wessington Springs High School (WSHS)choirstudentshave been busy. On February 5, the WSHS choir competed at the vocal solo/ensemble contest in Kimball, SD. Fourteen students sang solos and 12 kids received superior scoring, with two soloists receiving an excellent score.
Four ensemble groups participated including a large boys group which scored 34 out of 35.
Large girls, large mixed group with both boys and girls, and small group with a small mixture of boys and girls, all had a perfect score of 35.
None of these accomplishments could have been made without an amazing choir teacher, Julie Fastnacht and talented accompanist Lois Feistner.
As the school year continues, the choir is preparing to sing in different large groups for the contest on March 26 in Chamberlain. They then will move onto the spring concert at the Wessington Springs Elementary School on April 25 at 7 p.m.
When Fastnacht was asked to pinpoint her favorite part of teaching choir, she said “coming together as a team and creating beautiful music together. I love getting to know my students and growing with them musically year after year.”
Outside of choir, rehearsals for the musical, Cinderella, has begun. Twenty-four students are assigned to a certain role and each week, the kids are working hard to put on the best musical possible. The show is scheduled for April 11 – 13.
When asked about musical practice and progress, Fastnacht said improvement can be seen daily.
“I think musical practices are getting better and better. The biggest adjustment is learning how to practice effectively and supporting everyone in the learning process,” she said. “We have made huge strides in the last few rehearsals.”
I then asked what her favorite part of directing the musical/play is. She said working with students outside of school and building relationships is the best part.
“The creativity of putting the show together and watching students grow and develop into their characters on stage is wonderful to watch,” she answered.
Fastnacht said that she developed an interest in music when studying dance at three years old. As she got older, she made sure to get involved in music and the theater program at her school.
“As a young kid, I was part of the theater camps in the summer and did plays and musicals as my extracurricular activity. Then, later in college I was approached by the director of choral activities and asked to consider being a choir teacher,” she recalled. “I did this, and here I am today teaching choir and doing what I love.”
Before Fastnacht taught in Wessington Springs she taught in Washington.
“Teaching in Wessington Springs is very different than my previous experience,” she said, pointing to the fact that she was a full-time high school choir teacher at a school with enrollment of 1200, with four high school level choirs doing full-scale musicals.
Changing to such a small school where she teaches all ages and not as many students has been a change, but it has been a positive one.
“I really enjoy where I teach today and being able to provide music education to all ages.”