New program provides WAYS to celebrate music

By Ryan Elliott
Cardinal Staff

A new program is giving children in Winona a chance to make new friends while enjoying the popular hobby of singing.

Winona Area Youth Singers (WAYS) is a program that Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA) is offering to help enhance the music experience for students in fourth to eighth grades. Students get a chance to learn more about singing than what is offered in their elementary or middle schools. This also gives students who take band in school the opportunity to sing as well.

The program was started last year by MCA at the Valencia Center. Last year, MCA charged a fee to join the WAYS program, but this year it is free. Last year there were 10 students who participated. This year about 20 to 25 singers showed up for “auditions.” Director Lindsy O’ Shea wanted to hear what their voices are like to see which voice sections to put them in: soprano, alto, tenor or bass.

This year, WAYS has a different theme of music each semester. During first semester, they are going to be working with folk music from around the world, ranging from folk music from the United States to Indian and African music. This allows students to learn about different styles of music besides what they hear over the radio. The first concert will be Dec. 6, at the Valencia Center. During the spring, WAYS will partner up with the chamber choir at Saint Mary’s University.

The WAYS program hopes to grow each year it stays in session. The program wants to be able to gather more elementary and middle school students every year. MCA hopes to eventually expand and offer individual lessons for piano, voice, saxophone and other instruments.

O’ Shea has one assistant, a sophomore at SMU, that will help her student teach. She said her assistant is open to even more volunteers and can never have too many.

For more information, contact O’Shea at loshea@smumn.edu.