(WAVERLY, Iowa) — The Wartburg Choir, Luther’s Nordic Choir and the Iowa State Singers will join together in “A Celebration of Song” on Sunday, March 25, at 3 PM, at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. This historic concert marks the first time the three choirs have performed together in a joint concert.
The concert was arranged in part to honor Weston Noble, the iconic conductor of the Nordic Choir from 1948 to 2005. Following his retirement, Noble served as a guest professor at numerous Lutheran colleges, including a yearlong residency as interim director of the Wartburg Choir. It was his vision and dream to make this concert a reality. Noble died in 2016.
“Weston Noble has positively impacted the lives of thousands of musicians and influenced the lives of countless conductors from all over the world. He is one of America’s great music legends and this concert will be a beautiful testament to his life’s work,” said Lee Nelson, Wartburg Choir director. “Each of the conductors on this concert were mentored, encouraged and inspired by Mr. Noble. I couldn’t be more excited to bring these three iconic choirs together for this concert of a lifetime.”
Each choir will sing a solo set and will combine into a mass choir for three pieces, one conducted by each of the directors.
The Wartburg Choirwill perform “Dixit in Corde Suo” by Hungarian composer Levente Gyöngyösi, “Indodana” arranged by South African composers Michael Barrett and Ralf Schmitt, “Canticle of Praise” by René Clausen and “Oh, What a Beautiful City” arranged by Shawn Kirchner.
The choir also will perform the world premiere of J. Aaron McDermid’s “Carissimi.”
Together, the choirs will sing songs from each choir’s unique traditions, including “Give Me Jesus” by L.L. Fleming, “Unclouded Day” by Shawn Kirchner and “O Lord God” by Pavel Chesnokov.
(IOWA CITY, Iowa) – The Eddyville Blakesburg Fremont (EBF) High School Jazz band was hard at work on Saturday competing in class 2A at the South East Iowa Bandmasters Association District Jazz Contest. The fruits of their labor paid off when they came home with a second-place finish just behind Mid-Prairie High School, qualifying them for the Iowa Jazz Championships at Iowa State University on April 5.
Only the first and second place finishers from the South East Iowa Bandmasters Districts were eligible to go on to the Iowa Jazz Championships. Outstandingly, this is the 32nd year in a row that the band has qualified for championships.
Under the direction of Joe Overton, the band was able to take home awards overall as well as for individual performances. Several students received an Outstanding Soloist Award for their solo performances: Kendal Durst for bass; Grace Manternach for flute; Eric Schutt for trombone; Harrison Mock for trumpet; Julia Fairchild for vibes; Cyrus Rogers for tenor sax; Elijah Hartman for drums; Maggie Voyles for piano; Tara Diephius for tenor sax; Cameron Kolthoff for trumpet; Delanee Van Zante for alto sax; and Emma Mock for clarinet. The EBF Sax Section also received an Outstanding Section Award for their superior performance.
What’s next? The EBF High School Jazz Band is off to perform in concert with the Junior High Jazz Band on Thursday, March 22 at the EBF High School at 7:00 PM. After that, it’s on to the Iowa Jazz Championships in Ames on April 5 at ISU. The band will take the stage at 9:00 AM for the 2A contest.
“Friends and supporters of the band are encouraged to attend and lend your support,” said Joe Overton, Band Director, via a media release sent on Monday, March 5.
–By Hailey Brown, KBOE/KMZN;Photo provided by Joe Overton
Monarch butterflies are the staple of a beautiful creature. Spending an hour at the Logan Abandoned Mine Land (AML) south of Oskaloosa in Bussey, you are able to witness the pure grace of a Monarch Butterfly.
Monarch Butterflies — like many other pollinators — are crucial to ecosystems by the act of pollination. Monarch Butterflies are unique in the fact that they are semi-dormant butterflies. The east population of monarchs move south as the weather gets colder to Mexico City where they congregate in a forest, according to ISU Research Team Agronomist Seth Appelgate.
The Research Team from Iowa State University along with members of the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium, National Fish and Wildlife Foundaiton, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and Pathfinders RC&D were in attendance at a field day at AML for the public. The Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) had organized the event in its entirety; ILF was established in 2004 to build a partnership with various conservation organizations to create a Culture of Conservation. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources also had members in attendance. Members of the ILF “work together to identify and implement the best management practices that improve water quality and soil health.”
Monarch butterfly feeding on the favored milkweed plant.
While the monarchs congregate in Mexico City, researchers are able to estimate the population of the nearly endangered species by measuring hectors. (1 hector = 2.5 acres) Appelgate says that 6 hectors are needed in Mexico for sustainability of the monarch. Sustainability and population growth is imperative due to the fact that the monarch butterfly population has been on a steady decline in the last 20 years of 80%.
Iowa plays an important role in the breeding ground for Monarch butterflies and other pollinators. The AML in Bussey is now a wonderful breeding ground location for monarch butterflies. The mine land had been reclaimed as a way to return land back to its pre-mining condition, the project was completed in the fall of 2016.
The location is Bussey is one of more than 300 abandoned mines in the state of Iowa spanning over 13,000 acres, and a majority of them are located in southeastern Iowa. The project was necessary due to the safety and public health hazards, plus improving. This reclaimed land provides opportunities to establish monarch habitats similar to roadsides, ditches and homes or gardens.
One of two reservoir ponds at the AML location for the Turkey Run Creek.
Anna Bruin with Pathfinders RC&D – who partners with various environmental organizations in Iowa – says Pathfinders has helped to fund a grant to aid in monarch conservation.
Bruin’s advice for residents in Mahaska County “whether you have a large swath of land (20-40 acres) or a small part of land (1 to 5 acres) or even living in town, you can plant pollinator habitat.”
One of the reasons why the population of monarchs is decreasing so drastically is due to the fact that the insect is quite particular about where and which plants they lay their eggs on and feed off of.
Monarchs are milkweed obligates because females will only lay eggs on milkweed, and larvae will only feed on milkweed. By eating milkweed, caterpillars collect toxins from the plant called cardiac glycosides, which are isolated in the exoskeleton of the caterpillar and the wings of the adult. When ingested by vertebrate predators it will cause them to vomit or have a mild heart arrhythmia that promotes learned avoidance. Consuming milkweed as a larvae will allow the adult to create its own line of self-defense.
The common milkweed species that monarch eggs and larvae feed off.
The issue with the natural grown milkweed plant it is normally mowed over or destroyed because the average person sees it as a ditch weed. This plant, however, is vital for the regeneration of monarch butterflies. There are roughly 100 species of milkweed in the United States and out of those hundred, 17 of those are native to Iowa.
Milkweed species are normally found in grassland, damp soils or wetlands, but a few species occur in deciduous forest or in deserts particularly swamp milkweed and whorled milkweed, may be preferred by monarchs. Adult monarchs feed off of various wildflowers or flowering plants. Butterflies can be seen roaming wild prairie grass fields that have wildflowers.
Planting sap-producing plants, no matter where, is important to the livelihood of the monarch conservation. “The more patches Mahaska County has,” said Bruin, “the better continuity the monarchs will have during migration.”
The best time to organize and plant a monarch habitat is in the late fall, ideally November or December. If monarch habitat is planted in the spring it needs to be planted as early as possible. Soil temperatures for fall planting should be 40 degrees or colder to prevent fall germination. Grasses, sedges, and large-seeded forbs should be planted at depths of 1/4-inch to 1/8-inch, no deeper.
Residents of Iowa can enjoy the beauty of monarchs normally from the months of May to September.
