Ashland woman tapped to lead District 10 middle school honor choir

ASHLAND — Kim Wolbert will add another feather to her conducting cap as she leads students from eight counties in the middle school honor choir’s annual performance Saturday. 

“Music programs, I think, are one of the best ways to help our kiddos become more humane and more loving and more compassionate and more responsible and dependable and appreciative, and all the good things that we want for our contributing members of society,” Wolbert said.

The honor choir’s performance is an annual one, according to Stasi Culbertson.

Culbertson is the choir director at Centerburg Middle School and Centerburg High School. She has volunteered to coordinate the honor choir event for District 10 every year since 2015. 

District 10 for the Ohio Music Education Association includes schools in Ashland, Coshocton, Delaware, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morrow and Richland counties.

Culbertson said 76 middle schoolers will participate in the honor choir this year. There’s a high school contingent, too. It will be led by Dr. Scott MacPherson, a former choir director at Kent State University. It has 107 students participating. 

Students are selected by choir directors at their respective schools. Directors at the middle school level can nominate up to six students, and high school directors can nominate eight students. 

The performance takes place in the chapel at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. It’s free and open to the public, and the concert will take place on Nov. 4 at 3:30 p.m.

Passion for music

Wolbert was born and raised in Ashland and has been involved in the music scene in town for a lifetime. 

She played in the Ashland Symphony Youth Chorus, did band and choir at Ashland City Schools and received hands-on experience conducting. 

One of her high school teachers took her under his wing, giving her songs to learn and direct for her peers. She also served as a field commander for the marching band. 

“I had lots of music in my background, and pretty early on knew that I wanted to pursue teaching music,” Wolbert said. 

She attended Grace College in Indiana, earning a bachelor’s degree in music education with a choral emphasis. Wolbert also received a master’s degree from Kent State University. 

I love teaching kids about God, and as a teacher in the public school system, I just generally love helping kids become better people. And I love doing that through music.

Kim Wolbert

Wolbert taught at a number of area schools over 17 years of her teaching career, including Mapleton, Hillsdale and Ashland Middle School and High School.

A year and a half ago, she changed career paths, becoming a music minister at Trinity Lutheran Church. She’s also the director of the Praise Team at the church.

Wolbert said she’s been working on developing a choral program for students there from pre-K all the way up through 12th grade. She also works with men’s and women’s choirs.

In addition, Wolbert started a youth choir for seventh through 12th graders, called “High Praise.” 

“I love teaching music,” Wolbert said. “More so than teaching music, in my current job now, I love introducing and training kids up in the way of the Lord. 

“I love teaching kids about God, and as a teacher in the public school system, I just generally love helping kids become better people. And I love doing that through music. I think music is just the best way to do that.”

Wolbert said it’s her first time directing an honors choir, and she’s excited about the opportunity to do that.

“I love the middle school age, so I’m excited to work with that age group of students,” Wolbert said.

How’d Wolbert get picked?

As the coordinator of the annual festival, Culbertson plays a role in selecting the conductor of the choir each year. 

“I talk to my fellow directors in District 10 and ask for suggestions of people they would like to work with or would like their students to work with,” Culbertson said. 

In recent years, many of the directors selected have had personal connections with Culbertson. Some of them she saw at the Ohio Music Educators Association’s professional development conference.

One year, Culbertson recruited one of her college professors. 

For this year, Culbertson said the festival secured Dr. Scott MacPherson to direct the high school choir. He retired from a position as the director of choral studies from Kent State University this spring. 

At the middle school level, Culbertson said she had somebody tapped for the position, but things fell through. She went back to her peers in District 10 for their suggestions. 

Craig Green, the choral director at Madison Local Schools, suggested Wolbert for the director position.

Lessons to learn

Wolbert said the directors in each respective school have put in the work. She chose five pieces of music and each director has to prep their students before the honors choir meets.

“The music teachers are the unsung heroes of an honors choir program,” Wolbert said. “… On top of doing all the things that they do, they choose students and they prepare them on five pieces of music.”

Students rehearsed together for the first time Thursday night, and worked in sections. Directors primarily run those sections Thursday night with Wolbert overseeing that. Then, on Saturday, Wolbert brings them all together throughout the day ahead of the performance. 

“That’s when I get to really delve into the music with them and hopefully really make music, and what I mean is: learn more than the notes on the page,” Wolbert said. 

Culbertson, the festival’s director, said she participated in the honors choir as a student. She has sent students to participate for the last 12 years she’s been a teacher. 

“They’re all kids that really want to be there,” Culbertson said. “They’re all kids that have worked hard and are able to perform the music and master it in a way that not everybody does in a typical choir.” 

Culbertson said sometimes, hearing it from another conductor can help students improve and grow. She added the chance to network and meet students from other schools is important. 

“You never know how your world is going to collide with somebody else,” Culbertson said.

Wolbert said she looks forward to making the music come alive with the students on Saturday. She said she plans to start with a song called “Be the Light.” It’s based on the poem Amanda Gorman read at the 2020 inauguration. 

Wolbert said the song brings together three different sections to create beautiful music. 

“The whole idea is that when we put all our pieces and parts together, we want to work together to be a light,” Wolbert said.

She plans to discuss with students what being a light means to them. A big part of that for Wolbert is that students come back to their own schools enthusiastic about music and willing to be leaders. 

But, her biggest hope is that students leave the honors choir feeling successful. 

“We want to work hard and do everything we can, but I also really want them to leave with the idea that when we do come together, great things can happen,” Wolbert said.