 The Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale and Artistic Director Gerald Kreitzer will perform their first season concert, “Jubilant Psalms and Hymns,” on Friday, October 7, 7:30 PM, at First Lutheran Church, 1000 3rdAve., SE, Cedar Rapids. The program includes “Totus Tuus” by the Polish composer Henryck Gorecki; “Chichester Psalms” by Leonard Bernstein; and “Jubilate” by English composer Bob Chilcott.
The soloist for “Chichester Psalms” will be boy soprano, Tejas Puthige with the composition accompanied by harp, piano and percussion. Rebecca de Souza, soprano, will be soloist for “Jubilate” which will be accompanied by brass ensemble and piano. Assistant Director and pianist of the Concert Chorale is Marita Wolgast. Season tickets for the four Concert Chorale concerts are available for $40 in- advance from the Chorale website: www.crchorale.org or by mail: 1756 1st Ave. NE, Ste. C, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402. Season tickets will be available at-the-door of the first concert for a cost of $50. Individual tickets are $12 in-advance and $15 at-the-door. All students, elementary through college age, are free admission. The Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale aims to promote choral music appreciation and develop musicianship by performing a broad repertoire of music while providing youth and community outreach opportunities.
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 Rebecca Farmer is currently serving as the Board’s membership president. She is originally from Nashville, Tennessee, but currently resides in Cedar Rapids. Rebecca obtained her bachelor’s degree in English and Healthcare Administration. She currently works at Nordstrom as a Customer Service Specialist, and has previous experience working for Younkers Department Store and Rockwell Collins. Rebecca spent fourteen years serving in the United States Air Force, most of that time working as a navigator on a KC-135 (refueling tanker).
Rebecca is married to Wendell Keith, another member of our organization. They have no children in the house except their fur baby, Sam. Her family includes two stepdaughters, Megan (married to Sean) and Amanda. They have three grandchildren, Elizabeth (Beth), Aaron, and Samuel (the non-furry one). Rebecca’s parents are Don and Edith Farmer, and she also has a brother, Rick Farmer. He is married to Susan and they have four children: Maggie, Sarah, Daniel, and Emma. In her time outside of work, Rebecca also sings with Chorale Midwest. She enjoys reading, knitting, and wine tasting, though not all at the same time. She loves collecting kitchen gadgets and enjoys time spent baking or cooking.  James A. “Jim” Gray is an at-large member of our Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale Board of Directors. Jim holds a bachelor of science degree in biology and is retired, formerly working in the pharmaceuticals industry. He lives in Marion with his wife, Mary. Jim and Mary have three children, two daughters and a son, and six grandchildren. He is also an active member of the American Legion Post 298 and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Marion. In his spare time, Jim enjoys fishing, camping, and travelling.
 Ellen Ramsey-Kacena, our Chorale Board President, was born in Des Moines, but only lived there for a brief time. She considers her hometown to be Iowa City. She and her family currently live in Swisher, Iowa.
She is an attorney, with her own practice, working mainly in family and juvenile law. She also serves as Judicial Hospitalization Referee on Fridays, presiding over mental health commitment cases. Ellen graduated from City High School in Iowa City, after spending a year abroad at the Liebfrauenschule in Berlin. She received a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Iowa in 1995. She later received her Juris Doctor in 1997, also from the University of Iowa. She has been married for 25 years to her husband, and chief volunteer, Tom. They have three children, Mickey (23), Josh (20) and Elizabeth (12). They also have 2 dogs, Buddy and Cuddles. In addition to her work with the Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale, Ellen also serves on the Board for Foundation 2 and Friends of the Linn County Family Treatment Court. She is also actively involved in several local committees to improve the administration of juvenile justice and reduce racial disparity. Ellen has been active with the Iowa State Bar Association since being an attorney. She has served on the Young Lawyer’s Division, the Family and Juvenile Law Section Council, and several committees. She is currently the chair of the Juvenile Committee. Ellen likes to have a garden during the summer. She also loves to travel! Her family tries to go to Germany every few years. They also like to travel within the US. This year, they took an anniversary trip to Alaska in July. They also had the great opportunity to go to both the the Big 10 Championship Game and the Rose Bowl, although the game wasn’t what they had hoped for, the rest of the trip was lovely. A few fun facts about Ellen: She speaks German fluently and is a former Hawkeye Marching Band flag girl. She was also a dancer for the University of Iowa Scottish Highlanders. She moved 10 times by the time she was in middle school because her dad was a traveling salesman. She lived in Berlin, West Germany during her senior year of high school. Thank you, Ellen, for your dedication to our organization!  Marita Wolgast is a native of Kansas. Marita received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Kansas State University and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from Arizona State University.
She has been on staff at First Lutheran Church since 1990, where she is currently Director of Traditional Worship, directs the Adult Choir, accompanies the children and youth choirs, assists with the four handbell choirs, and plays piano for the Saturday service. She has also been a music faculty member at Coe College since 1995, where she is a Teaching Artist in piano. In addition to teaching studio piano, she accompanies student, faculty, and guest artist recitals, and teaches pedagogy. Marita is the Assistant Artistic Director and accompanist for the Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale. |
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