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European vet
This past summer's tour of Scandinavia was the third that Shelby
Sievers has made of Europe.
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Touring Europe is getting to be old hat for Shelby Sievers, a senior
vocal music education major.
As a freshman in high school, Sievers spent 10 days in Poland as part
of a sister city musical exchange that her hometown of Jefferson, Iowa,
offered.
While she was a freshman at Iowa State, Sievers took advantage of a second
European opportunity when she attended a three-week music camp in Germany.
At the time she was a clarinet performance major.
So when she heard that the Iowa State Singers were planning a 12-day tour
of Scandinavia at the conclusion of the 2003 spring semester, there was
no doubt in Sievers’ mind that she was going to be a part of that
experience.
"Once I found out we were going to Europe, money didn't matter,"
she said. "No matter what, I was going to make it work, even though
I really couldn't afford it. This was very important to me.
"After all, how many times do you get the opportunity to go to Europe
with your choir?"
It wasn't long into the tour that Sievers knew that she had made the right
decision, especially since this European journey was different than her
previous experiences.
" We got to see a little bit of four different countries," she
said, "instead of just part of one country like I ad experienced
before."
One of those stops was the small town of Jurmala. There the Iowa State
Singers sang before a capacity crowd at a local church. Afterwards the
group was treated to a reception and a concert by the church choir and
handbell choir.
It was an opportunity that Sievers hadn’t had on her previous visits
to Europe or on the rest of this tour.
"You don't always get a chance to see people that are so giving of
themselves," Sievers said of the Jurmala population. "It was
a great exchange that left a wonderful impression on all of us."
Membership in the Iowa State Singers is very important to Sievers. A two-year
member of the vocal ensemble, Sievers served as president of the group
on their Scandinavia tour. As part of her responsibilities, Sievers directed
the ensemble on "The Bells of Iowa State" at two different tour
stops.
Sievers hopes to utilize her travel experiences after graduation when
she plans to attend graduate school and eventually teach vocal music on
the college level. Someday Sievers hopes to take a choir of her own overseas.
And she hopes that her students will have the same appreciation for the
continent and their fellow singers.
"I love Europe and I love my choir," she said. "We all
wanted to sing together in Europe, and we were fortunate enough to have
that experience together. You just can't beat it."
Around LAS
September 8-21, 2003
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