The Iowa Central music students have been working to bring their semester musical journey into one final Spring showcase concert. On Thursday, April 24th and Friday, April 25th at 7:00 pm you will have the opportunity to hear all the bands and choirs perform a wide variety of songs in their final concert of the season. Paul Bloomquist, director of Instrumental bands and Amaia Walsh, director of vocal music, along with Shelly Bottorff, college accompanist, have been working with the students to bring this performance to life. 

The concert opens with a collaboration between Pop Voices and Jazz Band "Wade in the Water". This classic spiritual arranged by Mark Hayes illustrates blues nuances and stylized vocals. 

The Triton Jazz Band will play on with the authentic Artie Shaw’s "Begin the Beguine". This arrangement will pay homage to how Shaw originally performed it with a clarinet solo featuring sophomore Sarah Cummins. They will follow it up with another jazz standard, "In Memory of Bix". Sophomore Nick Ross will demonstrate the melodic tune on his trumpet and illustrate how this is becoming a current big band feature. The entire saxophone section will be highlighted in the smooth arrangement of "Sway". Most recently it was recorded by Michael Buble and will feature Iowa Central’s own tenor soloist, Bryce Walker. Rounding out their set will be the showstopping tune, "The Chicken". Originally made famous by bass virtuoso Jaco Pastorius, Triton bassist, Kaleb Ries will bring the funk and kick the band into a powerful sound. Kaleb mentioned, “Jaco Pastorius has significantly influenced the way I play the bass guitar. I like that "TheChicken" makes the bass guitar stand out, bringing it from a background instrument to a lead.” Showcasing Noah Griswold on bari-sax, he is looking forward to performing this piece. “We played it my first year and it was my first ever solo. I’m looking forward to solo-ing it again for my final performance as part of the jazz band.” The piece also features Anthony Agans on alto sax. The band hopes to pluck the audience right out of their seats! 

Iowa Central’s Pop Voices will shift gears into the powerful love ballad "The Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera. The audience will be transported into this classical musical with lush underscoring. Their next piece will pick up the 70s groove originally by Bill Withers. "Lovely Day" will bring together the vocal stylings of these students as well as the Brass Ensemble elevating the energy on stage. 

Triton Singers will open with the vibrant "Let the River Run". The author Carly Simon, who wrote the script, was inspired by the poems of Walt Whitman. The singers continue with a sweeping tempo poem by Rudyard Kipling. This song is a favorite for first year Brenna Mahoney. “It’s because of how we start the song. The basses start us off with the starting rhtyhm, then the tenors join with a new one, and it continues until each section joins.  My favorite rhythm is either the tenors or the altos.” In "The Seal Lullaby" by Eric Whitacre, the choir captures the rhythm of a mother rocking her child to sleep. The audience will experience the full richness of the choir with the spiritual "Daniel, Daniel Servant of the Lord". The song features soloists Rhonda Auradou and Jacob Carman with the Triton Singers backing them as a full-embodied ensemble. Jacob was happy that director Amaia was able to incorporate this song into the Spring concert as the choir was originally to perform it back in February when weather cancelled the Black History Month concert. Their final piece is inspired by the legend of the phoenix. "Across the Vast Eternal Sky" allows the choir to paint an expansive soundscape. Their voices will combine in a symphony of sound. First year student, Linus Areblad mentioned this song was one of his favorites of the concert. “It’s a very ethereal piece that comes together beautifully within all the choir sections.” Emma Englin, sophomore choir member, also found this song as one of her favorites. “I think it’s such a beautiful and challenging song with layers of harmonies depicting the bittersweet farewell of a Firebird before it reduces to ash and is born again.” 

The second half of the concert opens with Iowa Central’s energetic show choir, Encore Singers. The audience will fall in love with the music of ABBA all over again in these choral highlights from Mama Mia! Students enjoyed putting together this sensational medley. Their set includes "I Have a Dream", "Mama Mia", "Lay All Your Love On Me", "Thank you for the Music" and the finale of "Dancing Queen". “The encore set is truly something to see! It’s a favorite because of the different mixes of all the songs, the combination of dance styles and now flags that is not like any other”, said sophomore Bryce Walker. Elle Clark echoed this sentiment, “It’s been so fun to dance to this music and the dancing brings such good energy to the set!” First year, Kloee Jones agreed, “It sounds so good all put together, the dancing is fun and cool to watch.” Freshman Lundyn Jones is excited to perform this set of music. “I love Mama Mia and we get to wear fun disco outfits, so I’m more than excited!” "Lay All Your Love on Me" is a favorite for Jacob Carman. “The dance is super cool visually and I love hearing my friends’ solos.” 

Iowa Central’s Brass ensemble will bring classic New Orleans’ street music to the auditorium. Audience members may experience the flavor of jazz synthesized ragtime and picture themselves walking down Bourbon Street. "The Third Second Line" by Keith Wood presents high-energy and incorporates a variety of musical styles that intertwine to create the iconic New Orleans brass sound. 

A staple in the Fort Dodge community, Karl King’s "Emporia Galop", will open the Concert Band set. The audience will be treated to a fanfare of that classic circus band music that Karl King is known for. The band will deliver their own piece of Broadway with selections from the musical Wicked. This huge hit from Stephen Schwartz tells the untold stories of the witches of oz. They will open with "No One Mourns the Wicked", shifting into "Dancing Thru Life" and jumping to "No Good Deed". The set continues with a song of friendship, "For Good" and closing out the medley is the iconic, "Defying Gravity". Second year percussionist, Sam Odendahl, is excited to perform this portion of the concert. “I have a driving drum part that the band needs to hear in order to play it right.” 

The second half of Concert Band brings more serious undertones as it is the remembrance of the 80th Anniversary of the Holocaust. Director Paul Bloomquist has found music to pair with this reminder of this tragic time in our world history. "Gavorkna Fanfare" is a bold and vigorous piece that will capture the audiences’ attention from the very beginning. "Night, Movement II: Faith of a Child" is based on ideas invoked by the novel Night by Elie Wiesel. The music is composed to give reflection on all the atrocities of the Holocaust. The set will conclude with "Faith". The piece gives a celebratory and celestial eulogy to reflect on this moment. This song will feature Nick Ross on trumpet. Cody Seiser on percussion said "Faith-Memories" is one of his favorite songs to perform in the concert. “I really like it because it is a beautiful song with a beautiful backstory of loss, hope and ultimately faith. It is an emotional song and also really fun to play.” A similar sentiment came from sophomore Collin Vik on French Horn. “I love the piece because of the flowing rhythm, lovely melody, and just the overall story and meaning behind it. It reminds me too much of the chorus to “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof.” This entire section of music will give the audience a shared space for reflection. 

In the finale of the concert, the Concert Band and Triton Singers will join forces to present "Baba Yetu". Written by Christopher Tin and transcribed by Matt Conaway, this piece is a Swahili adaptation of “The Lord’s Prayer”. Originally composed for the video game, Sid Meier’s Civilization IV, this piece is considered a modern masterpiece with dramatic effects that connect the vocalists and instrumentalists. “Baba Yetu is probably my favorite. I like it because singing a language you don’t know is a challenge, but really fun overall. The combination of the choir and band singing together is also a great change to what we’ve done in the past!” from sophomore Aliyah Henry. This is sophomore flute player Laura Heisterkamp’s favorite piece because “we get to perform with the band and choir together, combining all the performers for one final piece!” Freshman Brenna Mahoney loves “how energetic Baba Yetu is!” 

Amaia Walsh, director of vocal music, is especially excited for the Encore Singers performing songs from Mama Mia!And the spectacular finale of "Baba Yetu" with both the Triton Singers and Concert Band. “There has been a lot of collaboration between the instrumental and vocal ensembles leading up to this concert; it will truly be a combined music experience!”  

Join the Iowa Central Music Department on Thursday, April 24th or Friday, April 25th at 7:00 pm in this celebration of songs. Performances will be held in the Center for Performing Arts – Decker Auditorium, Free Admission.