Songs from musical theater featured
“An Evening of Musical Theater” is set for Saturday, July 15, at the Waupaca High School Performing Arts Center.
Rotary’s 13th annual summer concert features vocalists and musicians with roots in the local community.
The doors to the high school will open at 6 p.m. and the concert begins at 7 p.m.
Prior to the concert, Rocky Landsverk and Marisa Landsverk will perform on guitar and piano in the commons.
This year’s featured vocalists are Kathy Alan, Isaac Baumgart, Kelly Hacket, John Hammond, Emma Kelley, Brayden Kendziora, Tim Koll, Carmen Riebel and Johnathan Turba.
The accompanists are Wanda Eikenbary on piano, John Kelley on percussion and Ray Kilanowski on bass. Erik Hendrickson will accompany one song on guitar.
Alan has bee the choral director at Waupaca High School for three years.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Millikin University and a master’s degree in educational technology from Marian University.
With 28 years of experience in education, Alan has taught all levels of music from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Alan has performed in theme parks, Las Vegas shows and with big bands in Wisconsin. She is currently a singer with Jazz Central Voices, an ensemble from UW-Marathon County in Wausau.
Baumgart is a 2014 WHS graduate who has continued to study vocal music, sound arts and music history. He is currently living in Stevens Point, where he plans to continue his studies at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Hackett is a graduate of WHS and Lawrence University who has appeared in numerous musicals across the country, including “The Sound of Music,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Little Shop of Horrors” and “South Pacific.”
In Waupaca, she performed in “Oliver,” “The King and I” and “Into the Woods.”
Hammond has performed in many Waupaca Community Theater productions throughout the years.
He leads worship with the Shepherd’s Quarter gospel group and performs in an acoustic trio band called Hijinx that plays mainly classic rock and rock n’ roll tunes.
He has participated in the Waupaca Community Chorus and the Stevens Point Northern Gateway Chorus.
Hammond is also a substitute teacher, paints and stains homes in the summer and can be heard covering sports on WDUX on nights and weekends.
Kelley has been involved with music in Waupaca since she played an orphan in Waupaca Community Theater’s 2003 production of “Annie.” She has also appeared on the WHS stage as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” and Cinderella in “Into the Woods.”
Kelley recently completed her studies at the University of Evansville in Indiana, where she was active in the opera program. When she completes a six-month internship, she will receive her degree in music therapy.
Kendziora received her bachelor’s degree in musical theater performance from Columbia College Chicago in 2016.
She is currently studying clinical mental health counseling and expressive art therapy at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Koll retired last year as a high school English teacher and has returned to the performance background of his college days at the University of Minnesota in Morris, where he performed as a soloist in concerts, madrigals, opera workshops and recitals. He was part of the UMM choir in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”
Last year, Koll performed in Waupaca Community Theater’s production of “Love Letters.”
Riebel is a Waupaca native who enjoyed performing in WHS musicals under the direction of Jerry Knoepfel.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in music therapy, Riebel returned to Waupaca and has performed in 11 local musicals.
She works as an activity therapist at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King and sings with the Shepherd’s Quartet.
Turba is a seminarian novice at St. Norbert Abbey in De Pere. He graduated from UW-Eau Claire with a bachelor’s degree in choral music education with an emphasis in voice and piano.
Turba taught music for six years in the Iola-Scandinavia School District before entering the Norbertine Order in 2016.
Eikenbary holds a bachelor’s degree in performance pedagogy from Loyala University in New Orleans and a master’s degree in piano performance from the University of North Texas.
Since 2004, she has been the director of music ministries at Trinity Luther Church, in Waupaca.
A piano teacher for more than 30 years, Eikenbary serves as an accompanist for the Waupaca Community Choir and Waupaca Community Theater. She also plays with Shepherd’s Quarter.
A tax-deductible, freewill offering will be collected.
Sponsored by Neuville Motors and Waupaca Rotary, proceeds from the concert help fund scholarships, youth programs and the WHS Music Department.