North Iowa Choral Society to Present Spring Concert

 Looking for ways to treat Mom on Mother’s Day?  Our ensemble is very joyful to be able to share our music with you again!   North Iowa Choral Society presents its Annual Spring Concert, “The Gift to Sing,” on Sunday, May 8, at 2:00 p.m. in the North Iowa Area Community Auditorium.  The audition-only SATB choral ensemble is under the direction of Linda Ferjak and accompanied by Jackie Burke.  The ensemble, sponsored by North Iowa Area Community College, has been vocalizing and sharing beautiful music with North Iowa audiences since Fall 1994 when the ensemble was formed under the direction of Robert Davis.  The ensemble performs sacred and secular music from various genres (classics, spirituals, musical theater, jazz, swing, blues, etc.) and has performed at Iowa Choral Directors Conventions, the Choral Symposium, KCMR Live Christmas, Waldorf Performing Arts Series, NIACC’s Candlelight Christmas and Holiday Pops, and in NIACC’s Performing Arts Series with Shirley Jones in 2002.  Most recently, the choral ensemble joined the Waldorf University Choir, the Sangkor Community, and the Austin Symphony at the Boman Fine Arts Center in Forest City for a performance of Mozart’s Regina Coeli.

Linda Ferjak is a graduate of Wartburg College (BME) and the University of Northern Iowa (MM).  She is a lifetime resident of Iowa and is recently retired as the Director of Vocal Music for grades 7-12 at Bishop-Garrigan in Algona, Iowa.  High school choirs under Ferjak’s direction have earned multiple Division I ratings in both large and small group contests, performed for numerous church and community events, and have represented their schools in the Iowa All State Chorus.  Her choirs have sung in St. Matthews Cathedral in Washington D.C., Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, and Our Lady of Gaudalupe and the United Nations in New York City.  In 2005 she was co-director of the North Iowa Youth Chorale participating in a Carnegie Hall residency performance and was the guest conductor for the North Central District Honor Choir and the Iowa OPUS Honor Choir in Fall 2012.  She received the “Outstanding High School Teacher” award from Wartburg College in 2015.  Ferjak is an Adjudicator for the High School Music Association and has served as a mentor for first year teachers through the North Central District of the Iowa Choral Directors Association. She has also directed church choirs and community choirs in several communities over her 44 years of teaching.

North Iowa Choral Society rehearses on Sunday evenings from 5:30-7:30 p.m. from September through April in the NIACC Vocal Music Room.  NIACC offers credit hours for membership in the Choral Society for college students and continuing education credit for area vocal teachers who require continuing education accredited hours.  If interested in membership, please reach out to Choral Society President, Julie Phillips, at 641-529-6039.  You may also visit the ensemble on NIACC’s website @ https://www.niacc.edu/the-arts/vocal-music/nics/ or on our Facebook page.  Tickets are $5 and may be purchased from any Choral Society member or at the door the afternoon of the performance.

 North Iowa Area Community College, founded in 1918, is a nationally-recognized, two-year college located in central North Iowa.  With approximately 3,000 career and transfer students, the College has been recognized by the Aspen Institute as a leading community college in the nation.  NIACC welcomes students from across Iowa, Minnesota, the nation, and the world. The College has served as a leader in student-centered learning, community engagement, and collaborative leadership for more than 100 years. Choose NIACC First.

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