South Dakota Vocal Arts Festival at USD sets the stage for talented high school singers
A day-long event for hundreds of high school students from South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska, the South Dakota Vocal Arts Festival is an opportunity for participants to attend workshops for solo and choral singers, and listen to performances by USD Opera, Chamber Singers, voice and piano faculty, and student soloists. Workshop presenters include Tracelyn Gesteland, D.M.A., assistant professor in voice/opera at USD; Brandon Hendrickson, D.M.A., assistant professor in voice/opera at USD; David Holdhusen, Ph.D., director of choral activities at USD; and Susan Keith Gray, D.M.A., professor of music at USD.
More than 140 students are registered to attend the festival, which concludes with a concert at 4 p.m. at Colton Recital Hall on the USD campus. The concert, free and open to the public, features performances from winners of the festival’s solo voice competition, guest choral performances from Sioux Falls Roosevelt High School (under the direction of Robyn Starks Holcomb) and Sioux Falls O’Gorman High School (under the direction of Cathleen Britton), and a combined festival choir.
For more information about the South Dakota Vocal Arts Festival, please contact Gesteland through the USD Department of Music via email at [email protected], by phone at (605) 677-5274 or visit www.usd.edu/music.