Gospel Music

The Browns plan for Le Mars concert (10/02/08)
The Browns will be singing in Le Mars this weekend. The musical family is performing in concert at their home church, Le Mars Bible Church, 6:00 pm. Sunday, Oct. 5. The Browns will perform old favorites and songs from their brand new compact disc release "A New Day."...

Local marching bands shine at StarFest (09/30/08)
In a field of 16 schools, the two high school marching bands from Le Mars represented the community well Saturday at the StarFest marching competition in Sioux City. Gehlen Catholic Schools' Marching Jays placed first in Class 1A, at the competition Sept. 27 in the Olsen Stadium...

Nebraska brothers to rock out at free concert (09/26/08)
A piano-driven rock band with powerful vocals, intense stage presence with almost acrobatic moves, and harmonies that could make you weep. And they're from Nebraska. Meet Remedy Drive, the band of four brothers from Lincoln who will be rocking the stage at Le Mars Assembly of God Church at 6:30 p.m. Sunday for a free concert...

Le Mars proves good host for bluegrass fest (09/02/08)
Bluegrass music and fiddle tunes drew around 10,000 people to Le Mars last week. Sheila Everhart, of Anita, one of the coordinators of the Old Time Country and Bluegrass Music Festival, said that turnout was good for the 33rd annual festival's first year at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds...

Family meets family: Stenekers bring music and Dutch culture to Vaske home (08/29/08)
The Vaske house is usually abuzz -- Dave and Ruth Vaske have six children -- but lately there's been more music. And a little more Dutch. The Le Mars family is hosting none other than "the Godfather of Dutch Country Music" himself -- Ben Steneker. Ben and his daughter Carmen Steneker traveled from the Netherlands to Iowa to perform at the Old Time Country and Bluegrass Music Festival...

Music festival uses hotel/motel tax grant to bring people to Le Mars (08/28/08)
A Hotel/Motel Sales Tax grant is paying off for Le Mars. More than $6,000 of the 5 percent sales tax revenue from hotel and motel rooms rented in town was given to a group advertising the 33rd annual National Old Time Country and Bluegrass Music Festival, held this year in Le Mars for the first time...

Tipi Village brings history to life for music lovers (08/27/08)
Visitors can travel back in time to the 1800s through Tipi Village this week at the Old Time Country and Bluegrass Music Festival. Construction of Tipi Village started Tuesday in Pioneer Village at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds as village people began erecting canvas tents and tepees...

School board members answer questions about ISL (08/26/08)
On Sept. 9, voters in the Le Mars Community School District will decide whether to approve a tax levy that would raise money for LCS teacher salaries, books, programs and transportation fuel. That Instructional Support Levy (ISL) has proved the source of much debate. Two LCS School Board members -- Patrick Murphy and Mark Stelzer -- sat down with the Daily Sentinel editorial staff to talk through some of the questions about the levy...

Telling stories on a 12-string: New Zealand man followed music a long way (08/26/08)
Some people are born with an ear for music. Dusty Spittle was born without one. On his right side, the New Zealand man doesn't have an eardrum, and his right "ear" is actually a skin graft from his shoulder. But that didn't stop him from writing and performing music, rising to be a New Zealand star in the old time country music scene...

Flood benefit showcases old-time country musicians (08/25/08)
Saturday night's Country Music fundraiser for flood victims in the Cedar Rapids area raised nearly $1,200. It also gave area residents and guests a taste of the music to be presented at the 33rd Annual National Old-Time Country & Bluegrass Festival and Contest at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds starting today (Monday) and running through Sunday, Aug. 31...

Old time music fest begins Monday (08/22/08)
Campers from across the nation are already filling up the Plymouth County Fairgrounds. Musicians are warming up their acoustic guitars and banjos. The National Old Time Country and Bluegrass Festival -- a gathering of more than 600 artists -- begins Monday, Aug. 25, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 31...

Saturday country music show will benefit flood victims (08/19/08)
A benefit for flood victims at Cedar Rapids with old-time country music will fill the Plymouth County Historical Museum this Saturday, Aug. 23, and give a preview of music to be enjoyed at the 33rd Annual National Old-Time Country & Bluegrass Festival set for Aug. 25-31 in Le Mars...

Get ready to 'Scoop da Loop' (08/18/08)
For those who like classic cars, trucks and cycles, downtown Le Mars is the place to be Wednesday evening for the annual Scoop da Loop fun. People may gather at Olson Cultural Event Center at the corner of First Avenue and First Street Northeast for some good food starting at 6 p.m...

Theater fundraiser takes trip down musical memory lane (08/18/08)
"Hello Dolly," "If I Were a Rich Man," "Prepare Ye the Way." Those familiar tunes and others will be featured in the Le Mars Community Theatre's "Musical Memories" biennial fundraiser Friday and Saturday. "We went through all the musicals in the past and looked at the ones that had songs that would be fairly familiar to the audience," said Marlene Fitzpatrick, co-producer of the fundraiser. "We asked people who have been in musicals in previous years (to perform)."...

Japanese students learn Iowa life from local families (08/13/08)
Brian and Sarah Kehm have an extra sister in their house for a month. She's 16. She likes to shop. She likes pop music and video games. And she's a black belt in karate. Shoko Harashima, a Japanese teen, is living with the David and Janet Kehm family for most of August. She's part of a group of 26 Japanese students living with 4-H families in Iowa from July 24 to Aug. 21. Five of those 4-H families are in Plymouth County...

Old-Time Country Music fest brings hundreds of performers to Le Mars (08/11/08)
Le Mars and the Plymouth County Fairgrounds will be the place to be as the 33rd Annual National Old-Time Country & Bluegrass Festival and Contest comes to town Aug. 25-31. Organized by Bob and Sheila Everhart of Anita, the festival features old-time traditional country, bluegass, folk, ragtime, cowboy, mountain and all types of acoustical music...

SRTS will offer rides to country music festival (08/06/08)
Those attending the country and bluegrass festival later this month can catch a ride with the Siouxland Regional Transit System (SRTS) at its regular fee rate. Supervisor Don Kass told the Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday a SRTS bus will be available within Le Mars to take people to and from festival, which will be at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds...

And the Municipal Band will play on . . . (08/04/08)
There will be band concerts in Foster Park next summer. A change in the way the City of Le Mars funded the Le Mars Municipal Band for the 2008/09 fiscal year threatened to cut short the summer concert season for 2009. The change meant the band would need to match dollar-for-dollar the entire $7,500 allocation from the city, not just $2,500 as had been done in previous years...

Le Mars composer makes musical notes come alive (07/30/08)
David Moore began writing melodies as a teenager. "I started dabbling when I was in high school just kind of messing around," the Le Mars man said. "I actually did a couple of arrangements for my jazz band experimenting a little bit." Since then, a band instructor by day, Moore has composed full concert band and smaller solo, piano and ensemble pieces...

Help ahead for 102-year-old Akron opera house (07/29/08)
Akron's opera house has weathered many changes since it opened in 1906. Now another phase is planned for the building that towers over the town's main street. "My head spun for two weeks just thinking about this," Akron Community Theater President Doug Olson said Monday evening while discussing upcoming plans for the theater...

Foster Park district officially on National Register of Historic Places (07/17/08)
A warm summer evening with music in the air provided the backdrop for the official announcement that Foster Park and the surrounding neighborhood is now officially recognized as an historic district by the National Register of Historic Places Wednesday night...

Foster Park District makes national registry (07/15/08)
A presentation announcing the nomination of the Foster Park District in Le Mars to the National Register of Historic Places will be held at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, July 16 during the Le Mars Municipal Band Concert at Foster Park. Members of the Le Mars Historical Preservation Commission will make the announcement with remarks from project coordinator Linda Mayrose and from Le Mars' mayor Dick Kirchoff...

Musical comedy highlights couple's 50-year marriage (07/14/08)
Two veteran actors will bring laughter and music to the stage for the Le Mars Community Theatre's production of the musical "I Do! I Do!" starting this week. Mary Puetz and Tim Pick will combine their vocal talent as the two-person cast with musical accompaniment by Carla Sue Jenness to tell the story of Agnes and Michael's 50-year marriage...

Le Mars Municipal Band presents final concert of summer season (07/14/08)
The final concert of the 2008 summer season will be presented by the Le Mars Municipal Band at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 16, in Foster Park. Jerry Bertrand is in his 21st year of conduction the Le Mars Municipal Band. The Rev. Gary Landsness will announce the concert...

Municipal Band concert features Le Mars oboist (07/08/08)
The fifth concert of the season by the Le Mars Municipal Band will be held at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, in Foster Park on Central Avenue South in Le Mars. As is tradition, the band will begin with "The Star Spangled Banner" under the direction of Jerry Bertrand...

Municipal Band needs donations to continue tradition (07/08/08)
A summer tradition in Le Mars for more than 100 years is in need of financial help. The Le Mars Municipal Band, which presents concerts in Foster Park during June and July, is being hit with a financial cutback from the City of Le Mars. In past years, the City of Le Mars has funded the band to the tune of $5,000, with an additional $2,500 given in matching funds...

Couple hopes musical notes carry in dollars for prison church (07/07/08)
Foot stompin' country and gospel music will be featured in concert this Sunday in rural Remsen to help raise money for The Church of the Damascus Road. The congregation of The Church of the Damascus Road Evangelical Lutheran Church of America ministers to inmates of any denomination within the prisons in Fort Dodge and Rockwell City...

The sweet scent of summer (06/18/08)
Rosie O'Donnell. McCartney. Captain Harry Stebbins. Frank Summerside can walk through his yard and tell you the name of each of his roses. He has more than 100 blooms. And although the Le Mars man didn't name them himself -- rose breeders get to choose a name for each variety they create or "hybridize" -- Summerside does has an affinity for the flower...

Trumpet soloist featured at Municipal Band concert (06/17/08)
A trumpet soloist, a Dixieland set, and a Karl L. King march will highlight the second concert of the season for the Le Mars Municipal Band at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Foster Park. There is no admission charge and concertgoers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets...

Strings teacher of the year award honors Hallberg's passion (05/19/08)
Not just anyone can put a violin into a fourth grader's hands and start teaching them to play. Or help an orchestra of middle school students see their own potential. But this is where Ted Hallberg thrives. The Le Mars Community Schools orchestra instructor was named the Classroom Teacher of the Year by the Iowa chapter of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA)...

Gehlen elementary present vocal concert (05/06/08)
Gehlen Catholic elementary vocal students will present their spring concert, "Kids on Broadway," at 7 p.m. tonight (Tuesday) in the Gehlen Catholic Gymnasium. Students in grades kindergarten through six will present selections from popular Broadway musicals including "The Sound of Music," "The Wizard of Oz," "Oliver," "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown," "Snoopy," and "Mamma Mia" with narration by the sixth grade class...

LCS hosts State Large Group Music Festival Friday (05/01/08)
Le Mars Community Schools will host the State Large Group Music Festival this Friday, May 2. The contest features both instrumental and vocal groups from Le Mars, Storm Lake, Bishop Heelan Catholic, Spencer and Sergeant Bluff-Luton. The instrumental center will be located in the Middle School Auditorium and vocal center will be in Carey Gymnasium...

Gehlen Catholic spring band concert is Thursday (04/29/08)
With an eclectic mix of traditional concert band music and Disney tunes, Gehlen Catholic Schools' band students will present their annual spring instrumental music concert this week. All the band students in grades 4-12 will present their concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 1, in the Gehlen Gymnasium. The concert will also be a time to say "farewell" to 13 graduating seniors...

Le Mars native captures musicians on canvas (04/25/08)
When Le Mars native Jonas Lynch delivered a giant portrait of hip-hop star Snoop Dogg to the musician himself, there was a message imbedded in the painting. Thousands of telephone numbers. Lynch, now living in Long Beach, Calif., plastered a canvas with the pages of a Long Beach phonebook, then painted a reverse image of Snoop Dogg's face in black paint. He left the highlights of the portrait unpainted, so the phonebook pages show through...

LCS presents 'Parade of Bands' in concert (04/22/08)
From first ever band performance to seniors performing in their last high school concert, the Parade of Bands concert by the Le Mars Community Schools Music Department offers a variety of music this Thursday, April 24. Concert time is 7:30 p.m. in Carey Gymnasium...

Music Boosters auction features new look with student involvement (03/26/08)
The 11th annual Le Mars Community Schools Music Boosters Auction and Supper will have a new look this year, with new items and new auctioneers. The auction, set for 6:15 p.m. this Friday, March 28, in the LCS high school cafeteria, will begin during the Spaghetti Supper, which is served from 5 to 7 p.m. in the cafeteria...