Decorah Chorale associate conductor accepted as graduate assistant

Decorah Chorale associate conductor Sara Blessing has been accepted as a graduate assistant to Dr. Z. Randall Stroope at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Blessing will sing and conduct her final concerts with the Decorah Chorale in Tripoli on March 28th and on April 25th at St. Benedict's Church in Decorah.

Dr. Stroope is universally considered one of the finest and most sought-after conductors, lecturers and composers in the world today. Choral groups under his direction have taken over 70 national and international tours, including Japan, England, South Africa, China, Sweden, Italy, Russia, Finland, the Baltics, eastern Europe, Canada, and beyond. He is currently the Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Oklahoma State University.

A long time friend of Weston Noble, Dr. Stroope wrote this about Sara: "The legacy of Weston is seemingly endless. Sara Blessing, a former student of Dr. Noble, has been accepted for the Master of Music in Performance and Pedagogy program here at Oklahoma State University. She is one of the brightest and best graduate candidates in recent memory and will no doubt continue to flourish and create a legacy of her own. She will certainly be missed by all those in the greater Decorah community, and especially, the wonderful Decorah Chorale."

Decorah Chorale Musical Director John Bay and Stroope have been friends and colleagues since 1978, when they sang together in the Cherry Creek Chorale in Denver, Colorado, and more recently, working together with the Nebraska Choral Arts Society in Omaha. Said Bay, "All of us in the Chorale will miss Sara tremendously, but this is an opportunity for her that cannot be dismissed. She has the talent and potential to do great things in the world of music, and Dr. Stroope is certainly correct when he says she will create a legacy of her own. We wish her the very, very best."