High Plains Band and Choir Festival set for Feb. 6-7

The honor band and choir will rehearse both days and perform the final concert for the public in Memorial Hall’s Auditorium on Tuesday at 5 p.m. An audio stream of the concert will be available at chadronstate.tv.

Dr. Joel Schreuder, CSC music professor, will conduct the honor choir, and guest conductor Dr. Kenneth Steinsultz, associate professor of music and director of bands at the University of Evansville (Indiana), will lead the honor band.

Schreuder is the director of choral and vocal activities at CSC. He has also been a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator in Nebraska and the High Plains region. Since his arrival at CSC in 2002, Schreuder has directed the High Plains Choir Festival as well as several district music festivals and honor choirs in Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, and Colorado. His international conducting and performing experience includes concerts, tours, and conferences, in China, Germany, and Ukraine.

Steinsultz’s university ensembles have performed at regional festivals and state organizational conferences, most recently the College Band Directors National Association 2016 North Central Division Conference at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. At the University of Evansville, he conducts the Wind Ensemble, University Band, Aces Brass Pep Band, and teaches courses in applied low brass and conducting.

He has presented clinics at state conferences in Illinois and Indiana and frequently conducts district and regional honor bands.

Two directors will be honored for outstanding student participation. They are Randy Raines, director of bands for Gering Public Schools, and David Mead, a CSC alumnus and choir director at Sidney High School. Raines was the recipient of the Nebraska Music Educators Music Educator of the Year award in 2010. Mead’s choir is planning to compete in Los Angeles in May.