SHERIDAN — After years of success inspiring youth to find their voices, the Sheridan County Youth Choir will join the programs offered by the WYO Performing Arts and Education Center’s WYO PLAY.
Originally called the Sheridan County Children's and Youth Chorale, the choir was founded by Tami Davis through Tandem Productions. Her belief in the power of the arts and their impact on the youth of Sheridan lives on in this and other WYO PLAY programs. For years, the choir was a program of the YMCA, where it continued to grow and change.
Eventually, the program became known as the Sheridan County Youth Choir, an audition-based community ensemble for singers in grades four through nine. In 2019, the choir was split into the Boys Choir and the Girls Choir. Now, the Sheridan County Youth Choir has grown to include more than 70 performers representing a dozen local schools, and the age range has shifted to include singers in grades four through eight.
“The WYO has long had a positive relationship with the Sheridan County Youth Choir and the YMCA,” said Erin Butler, WYO Performing Arts and Education Center executive director. “Now, as we continue to expand WYO PLAY programming, we’re excited to welcome the youth choir officially into our offerings.”
The choir has flourished in recent years under the leadership of Tyler Rogers and Stephanie Zukowski. Rogers is an alumni of the choir, lifelong instrumentalist and the music teacher at Big Horn Elementary. Zukowski joined the Sheridan County Youth Choir in 2019, is passionate about chorale singing and is dedicated to bringing the best out of each singer while encouraging connections within the group.
As the choir transitions under the umbrella of WYO PLAY programs, Tyler Rogers will continue to direct the choir while Stephanie Zukowski takes a year-long sabbatical. Joining Rogers this year is Stephanie Neujahr, who will direct the Girls Choir. Remarkably, the choir has had the same accompanist throughout the entirety of its existence. JoAnn Lilley has seen the choir through its many iterations.
Moving forward, the choir will seek to provide every singer with the opportunity to build connections between musicianship, community and joy.
“The Sheridan County Youth Choir fits perfectly into the mission of WYO PLAY,” said Grace Cannon-Wallace, WYO PLAY director. “We look forward to many more years of creative, collaborative and playful artmaking with the Sheridan County Youth Choir.”
For additional information on the choir, contact Grace Cannon-Wallace at 307-672-9083 ext. 109 or grace.cannon@wyotheater.com.
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ABOUT WYO PLAY
WYO PLAY is an education initiative of the WYO Performing Arts and Education Center. It is a dynamic series of educational programs aimed at all age groups in creative, collaborative, and playful artmaking. ‘PLAY’ stands for Place-based Performances, Life-long Learning, Accessibility for All, and Youthfulness!
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