On February 17th, there was an event held at the Ed and Betty Wilcox Performing Arts Center called the Night of Music. This was a black tie fundraising event for the Algona music departments. Tickets were 20 dollars each and the performances started at 7:00 p.m.
At this event, there were alumni performances from past AHS band and choir members. Emma Schmidt Denner, class of 2015, played the clarinet. Emma is currently the high school band director at Wahlert Catholic High School. Adam Denner, class of 2016, played the tuba. Adam is currently the band director at Beckman Chatolic High School. Anna Cox, class of 2018, sang. Anna is currently enrolled in South Dakota State University.
Other performances were held at this event as well. The North Iowa Big Band performed, followed by the teacher band, AHS jazz choir, and AHS jazz band. Robert Baca was a guest soloist. Baca is the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. He played with Frank Sinatra and Buddy Rich. Baca has performed with bands as a soloist all around the world. He is a nationally recognized artist. Baca is also a multiple time Grammy nominated director.
“I was really happy with how it all went and I really look forward to doing it again in the future. It is a great way to endorse music in our community,” stated Mr. Orban. The Night of Music event was awesome and it was great to see graduates returning to perform.