The IMS Touring Choir — Back (L-R): Cole Yoder, Ethan Raim, Adrian Venegas, Jim Wang, Roman Slabach, Nick Yutzy, Caleb Yoder, Cole Ours; Front (L-R): Director Alisa Kandel, Monet Slabach, Avery Blauvelt, Alyssa Gonzales, Emma Beachy, Hannah Peters, Rachel Miller (not pictured: Dohee Kim); photo courtesy of IMS
In what’s become an annual tradition, the Iowa Mennonite School’s touring choir has begun their yearly concert tour around the country. While most concert locations are nearby, ranging from Iowa City to Washington, the tour also includes stops in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The audition choir is made up of 15 IMS students, who learned a 10 song program they’ll perform at an assortment of free concerts at various churches. Choir Director Alisa Kandel believes the tour is a highlight of the semester for the choir members, who willingly give up their spring break to participate.
She says the tour is a good way of showing the public what IMS is all about, “Since IMS is a private school, we really need lots of students to attend here so that we can keep running. It’s nice for students to go out into the community, and for people that are supporting the school to kind of see one outlet of the school, and just see what the students are doing. Especially fine arts, it’s fun to share that with others.” The tour culminates in April, as they travel to the Mennonite Schools Council Choir Festival at Shalom Academy in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, which Kandel says will have 200-500 students in attendance. For a full list of concert locations, go to KCIIRadio.com and click on this story.