Event includes concert, workshops
By Angie Landsverk
Students involved in music at Waupaca’s middle and high schools will meet college students who have that same interest.
The Wisconsin Singers will be at Waupaca High School Friday, March 2 to lead an afternoon workshop with students followed by an evening concert.
“The students in the Wisconsin Singers will be teaching the students here about gaining an appreciation for music and continuing to pursue it regardless of what directions they take in the future,” said Carl Eggebrecht, one of the principals at Waupaca Middle School.
The Wisconsin Singers are from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
During the past 50 years, the group has trained more than 900 students.
Many went on to work in the entertainment industry.
Their workshop in Waupaca will be with instrumental and choral groups from the middle and high schools.
At 7 p.m., Waupaca’s middle and high school jazz bands and choirs will perform, at WHS’s Performing Arts Center.
The Wisconsin Singers will then take the stage at 7:30 p.m. for an approximately 90-minute show.
Its show will highlight American pop music from the past five decades and also include covers of Broadway hits.
The Wisconsin Singers Band will play a swing medley and a tribute to the Beatles.
The show will also feature a “Fifth Quarter” in which Badger fans may sing along to “On Wisconsin” and dance to “Hey Baby.”
Tickets, available at the middle and high schools, are $10 for students and senior citizens and $15 for adults.
People may also purchase tickets at www.wisconsinsingers.com/waupaca or by calling 608-886-6801.
Waupaca’s high school band will sell concessions during the intermission to go toward its next trip.
Winchester Academy is bringing the Wisconsin Singers here.
This program follows something it did last October at Waupaca Middle School.
Winchester Academy sponsored a visit from musicians as part of the Bach Festival.
Late last year, Winchester Academy approached the middle school again.
“We thought it was successful (the October program) and told them we have funds to do something else,” said Ann Buerger Linden, the group’s executive director.
The group is able to offer programs through the Selma and Gerald Knoepfel Memorial Fund it established.
Winchester Academy received a bequest from the estate of Selma Knoepfel, Linden said.
“We put some of the Knoepfel money into the endowment, but also felt we should be using some for the community,” she said.
Jerry was the choral instructor at WHS and was also once a member of Winchester’s board.
Selma taught science at WMS.
Linden said Winchester wants to use the memorial fund for special projects in the community, including programs for various generations.
“This is a great intergenerational event,” she said of the March 2 workshop and concert.
Eggebrecht said it will blend the music of middle school, high school and college students in one night.
That evening, Wincheser Academy will also provide dinner for the Wisconsin Singers and Waupaca students who will perform.
Parents of the middle and high school students will help serve the dinner, in the high school’s commons.
Linden said Eggebrecht was aware of the Wisconsin Singers.
The students are pursuing various career paths, he said.
“You don’t have to be a music major to be in the group was the message he (Eggebrecht) wanted to get across to the kids. You can have interests beyond your career,” Linden said.