winter
Left - With studio alumni, Elliott & Carson; Right - View from the judges’ table
In February, I was invited to be on the judging panel for Francis Howell Central’s state preview choir concert - what a fun opportunity! It was great to see so many sweet students & studio alumni.
spring
Top: With Jane & her Solo & Ensemble certificate; Bottom: Alyssa, far right
Spring kicked off with District Solo & Ensemble in March! Jane Childs received a 1 on both her solo and ensemble, and Joe Weidig & Grace Bahru received 1s on their ensemble performances.
In April, 45 students took part in our local National Federation of Music Clubs’ Gold Cup Festival. For the fourth year in a row, all of our students who competed received a Superior for their entries!
Springtime was also a busy show season! In April, Alyssa Riegerix made her Center Stage debut as “Lily” in The Giver at St. Charles Community College, and Joe appeared as “Jeff Knightly” in Francis Howell Central’s production of Emma: A Pop Musical. In May, Ava Henson was “Pua” in her school’s production of Moana Jr., and Analiesa Hollowood (“Widow Corney”) and Joe (“Mr. Bumble”) performed in YPT’s production of Oliver!
studio alumni
Two of our 2018 studio alumni graduated with performing arts degrees this year!
Clockwise from top left: Abram Cutshall; Abram (center) in Mamma Mia!; Jennifer Ferry; Jennifer as Elsa
Abram Cutshall graduated from the Dobbins Conservatory at Southeast Missouri State University with his BFA in Acting in May. Abram spent his summer in Mamma Mia! with Ozark Actors Theatre and then moved to Chicago where he is currently taking improv classes with Second City. He is working at Steppenwolf Theatre Company (not as an actor - yet!) and was recently cast as the lead in a new short film that will begin shooting in July 2023.
Jennifer Ferry completed degrees in music and marketing at Washington University this spring. Between her sophomore and junior years in college, Jennifer bought Enchanted Events, the singing princess company she had worked for since high school. She is now working in marketing, while also owning, operating, and performing with Enchanted Events! Through Enchanted Events, Jennifer has gotten to perform for St. Louis Children’s Hospital, the Make a Wish Foundation, and even traveled across the country. Please consider using Enchanted Events for any character birthday party or special event needs you may have!
summer
Top: With Lacey after the show on opening night! Bottom: With Jennifer at the pre-show dinner.
We kicked off summer with a studio recital at Steinway Piano Gallery in June! 21 students performed and our voice students were accompanied by my childhood piano teacher, Alice Perrey. It’s always fun to collaborate with her. That same weekend, Ava was in Wenztville Christian Church’s production of Beauty & the Beast Jr., and later in the month Analiesa & Joe performed in YPT’s International Thespian Society show.
In July, Alyssa appeared as “Fiona” in St. John UCC’s sold out run of Shrek Jr. The kids did a great job and the show was directed by a fellow WIU music alumn! At the end of the month, eight students received Superiors on their nine solos at the Mid America Music Festival. They all put in a lot of hard work on their pieces and it’s so nice when that pays off!
Lacey Fowler performed in the teen ensemble in The Muny’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in August! The show was absolutely amazing and I had such a fun time seeing it with studio alumn, Jennifer! Also in August, Lexi Lloyd performed in Arch City Kids Theater Troupe’s annual benefit revue. I had to miss the show, but I heard it was great.
class of 2022
At the end of the summer, we had a studio recital for high school voice & piano students and sent off our seniors:
Lacey headed off to New York to pursue a BFA in Dance with an emphasis in Jazz at Marymount Manhattan. She’s a beautiful dancer with a bright career ahead of her!
Sophia Prost is majoring in International Studies on the Pre-Med track at Ole Miss. She is super driven and a smart cookie and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her!
Joe is pursuing a degree in Technical Theater at SIUE. He’s a very talented actor and I’m excited that he’s planning to continue performing and also singing with choir at college!
Jane is attending St. Charles Community College and pursuing a degree in Elementary Education. She is a great encourager & cheerleader and her future students are going to be so lucky to have her for a teacher!
Graduating Seniors
Top row: Lacey Fowler, Sophia Prost
Bottom row: Joe Weidig, Jane Childs
fall
Top: Ethan performing with the Spartan Regiment; Bottom: With Ana & Emma at the Metro 8 concert
Throughout September & October, Analiesa was “Sandy”, Cinderella’s stepsister in the St. Louis Renaissance Faire and she performed the closing song each day of the fair!
Ethan Williss spent marching band season playing keys in Francis Howell Central’s Spartan Regiment. The band had a great 2022 season, and I enjoyed getting to work with Ethan on piano marching band music. Sarah played piano with her school’s jazz band - jazz band piano music is quite different from solo music and Sarah met the challenge head on!
Analiesa and Lexi were selected for the Metro 8 SATB Honors Choir and Emma Williss was selected for the Metro 8 SSAA Honors Choir. Both choirs performed beautifully in a concert at the Touhill.
Our fall recital was at Lakeside 370 Park in October. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and all 46 students rocked their performances through all the distractions being outside can bring! I have loved our outdoor recitals for that reason - it requires a whole different set of concentration skills from our indoor, more formal recitals.
holidays/winter
Top: With Natalie, Ava, and Ana after Footloose
Bottom: With Charlotte after Elf Jr.
December saw the return of our studio Christmas recital - the first one since 2018 since 2019 was snowed out. This year, 52 students performed seasonal favorites over three recitals. It was so good to gather with friends and family and ring in the holiday season!
The next weekend, Analiesa (“Vi”), Natalie Martin (“Lulu Warnicker”), and Ava (Ensemble) were in YPT’s production of Footloose. The show was so much fun and they sold out the entire run!
Other holiday studio highlights included Hayden Holz performing a piano solo for his school’s Advent service, and Charlotte D. performing in the ensemble of LifeLight Youth Theater’s production of Elf Jr.
I know many, many students also performed throughout the year with their school choirs and bands, for their music classes at school, and in their church worship services. With a studio of 70+ kids, there is always someone performing somewhere! I’m so proud of all the growth I’ve seen this year and I’m excited to make some beautiful music in 2023!
- Kelly