2017 Star Power Lake Waconia Invitational

JUDGEsKym CHambers otto

Kym relocated to the Twin Cities after living in New York City for almost a decade. Kym worked as a professional actor/singer/dancer touring with the Broadway Tours Cats (Jellylorum, Grizabella, and Jennyanydots), Cinderella (The Queen), and The Wizard of Oz (u/s Wicked Witch/Miss Gulch).

Other favorite theater credits include The Music Man starring Shirley Jones and Patrick Cassidy, Anything Goes starring Rachel York, Mame starring Loretta Swit, Sound of Music (Kansas City Starlight), Camelot (North Shore Music Theater), Cabaret (KC REP), Joseph..., Cinderella, and The Contemporary Broadway Songbook (Ordway CPA), Baby Case (History Theatre), 42nd Street, Oklahoma, Peter Pan (Peter), and Big: The Musical (Susan). Kym is actively involved in developing New Work with Nautilus Music Theatre and re-creating underproduced musicals with Second Fiddle Productions. Kym received a BA from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and an MA in Vocal Performance from New York University. Kym has sung with The St. Olaf Choir, The World Youth Choir (Estonia and Norway Tours) and Vocalessence. Kym is also a founding member of the 4 Women A cappella group “Chick Cheer” entertaining over the holiday season. When Kym is not performing, she spends her time teaching private voice lessons, choreographing and is a Lead Spotlight Evaluator for Hennepin Theater Trust‘s Theater Education Outreach Program. You may have also seen her in a few commercials and print ads such as Walgreens, Kubota Tractors, ikeepsafe.org, Target, Best Buy, General Mills, Ordway CPA, Moxie Cycling and Mystic Lake Casino. “Break a leg to all the the choirs today!”

Dina Else is a sought after vocal technician/specialist, choral clinician, motivational speaker, festival conductor, and adjudicator throughout the United States. She is a published author and columnist, as well as a highly regarded voice teacher headed into her 32th year of teaching privately.

She has 17 years of high school choral classroom experience and 10 years at the collegiate level including; Ithaca College, Wartburg College, Drake University, University of Northern Iowa and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She received her Bachelor and Masters Degrees from UNI and completed her doctoral coursework in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She has dedicated her career to empowering singers through a thorough knowledge of the mechanics of their instrument, as well as an understanding of the mental skills necessary to perform with impact.

Dina Else

Jake Jackson

Jake Jackson has been a lover of music for his entire life. Air guitar was his primary instrument until his parents started him on piano at the age of 7. In junior high, he picked up cello and saxophone, as well as guitar and bass. He found the latter two to be his passion, and decided to pursue them

further at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. From there, he moved back in Minnesota and began touring with the Johnny Holm Band from 2011-2016. Currently he teaches at the Blue Tree Music Education center in Minneapolis, giving private lessons in guitar, bass, ensemble work and songwriting. He is honored and excited to be a part of today’s festivities and is looking forward to watching and listening to all the fantastic groups.

Lake Waconia Invitational2017 Star Power

JUDGES

2017 Star Power Lake Waconia Invitational

Dave Fog

David Fog has been a choral music educator in Iowa for 39 years, including 34 years at Emmetsburg High School where he directed six choral groups. Last fall, he left retirement to return to teaching at North Union High School in Armstrong, IA. The vocal music program at Emmetsburg was named one

of fifty “Outstanding Small School Music Programs” in the United States by the Standards and Repertoire Committee of the American Choral Directors Association. In addition to numerous IHSMA state contest honors, the EHS Choral Groups have earned superior ratings and overall championships at festivals in Orlan-do, Chicago, St. Louis, Washington DC, and Denver during their regional tours. The EHS varsity show choir, “High Voltage,” consistently strove to “raise the bar” for small school excellence in show choir competition under Mr. Fog, and performed as Division champions and in overall championships many times. He also has directed all aspects of 19 musicals at EHS and NUHS. Mr. Fog has been a football coach since he began teaching, and was recently named the Class1A Assistant Coach of the year in 2010. He continues to be an active ICDA mentor, clinician and adjudicator for show choir festivals and the IHSMA sponsored state contests.

Alicia Dunning (Fitchett) is a choral teacher in the Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools. Alicia graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a Music Education choral teaching emphasis and she has her masters from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse in Education-Professional Development.

Previously Alicia taught middle and high school choir in La Crosse, WI at Logan and Central High School where she was the director of their varsity show choir, The Class Act, and the district’s high school musicals. Alicia has performed and directed many musicals and performances and is currently directing Cinderella. Alicia has choreographed numerous show choirs, musicals, has cliniced for choirs and ensembles, and has judged solo festivals in Wisconsin. She is originally from Green Bay and this is her second year in the Minneapolis area. Outside of teaching she sings in the Grace Trinity Community Church Choir, roots on the Green Bay Packers and enjoys time with friends and family.

Alicia Dunning

Shane Rhoades, a native of Iowa, currently resides and La Crosse, WI, after spending 20 years in New York City. His performing career afforded him the opportunity to work all over the world, including Japan, Europe, Central and South America, Canada, and all 50 States. His Broadway credits include

The Boy From Oz, starring Hugh Jackman, and he served as the Associate Choreographer for How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Off-Broadway he performed in FAME on 42nd Street. His national and international tours include A Chorus Line, Chicago, West Side Story, Pippin, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and …Grinch. Regionally he has had the pleasure of performing at Paper Mill Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, St. Louis MUNY, Sacramento Music Circus, North Shore Music Theatre, Pittsburgh CLO, Arena Stage, Atlanta TOTS, Houston TUTS, Ordway PAC, Kansas City Starlight, Stages St. Louis, and The Grand Ole Opry. Shane is currently a member of the Musical Theatre, Theatre and Dance faculty at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI where he has choreographed A Chorus Line, Little Women, Pippin, West Side Story, Shout, Oklahoma, and Dancing at Lughnasa, as well as numbers for Platinum Edition and Coulee Kids. He has also been a clinician for numerous show choirs and has judged show choir competitions all over the country.

Shane Rhoades