Coming Home - Coming Together Concert this weekend

Fairfield provided their roots, and their talent gave them wings.

The town has been fortunate to have so many talented performers pass through its proverbial doors on their way to stardom. This weekend, they will gather at the Stephen Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts for the Coming Home – Coming Together Concert. Residents will get to hear musicians and vocalists with decades of experience, and others who are just beginning their climb.

There are two chances to catch these performers, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and again at that same time on Friday. For ticket information, contact the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center at 472-2787.

'Thank you to each performer who is sharing their talents on the Sondheim stage in appreciation of the encouragement they received along their performing journey,” stated a news release from the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. 'Each performer is donating their talent to the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center and all proceeds will go to support the center's educational outreach efforts bringing performing arts to the Fairfield and surrounding schools.”

Attendees are invited to join the performers in the atrium for a reception following the concert.

The performers who will grace the stage Thursday and Friday are:

Jenness Parker

Jeff Shepherd

Jason Glass

Dakota Andersen

Linda Prill Mench

Megan Higgins

Julia Fritz

Blair Bowman

Jim Edgeton & Friends

Following is a roundup of biographies of some of the performers, courtesy of the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.

Jeff Shepherds

Jeff Shepherd graduated from Fairfield High School in 1983 and lives in Eagan, Minnesota. He performed in the inaugural 'Coming Home, Coming Together” concert in 2015, and is excited to be back on the Sondheim stage. Jeff has performed in over 75 plays and musicals since graduating from high school 36 years ago, and currently sings with the Easter Lutheran choir in Eagan. When not performing on stage, he is the library media specialist at Eisenhower Elementary/XinXing Academy in Hopkins, Minnesota, where he gets to stand daily before an audience and portray multiple roles and characters while reading to students. Jeff extends special thanks to Jeri Kunkle, Martha Flinspach, and Russ Goodell for instilling a lifelong love of singing that continues to be a motivating force, and powerful inspiration, in his life today.

Dakota Andersen

Dakota Andersen is a 2016 graduate of FHS and currently lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He is a senior choral music education/jazz studies student at the University of Northern Iowa where he studies voice with John Hines, bass. He sings with UNI's Concert Chorale and Cantorei, and plays trumpet in UNI's Jazz Band One. Dakota also works as a stagehand/tech supervisor for the UNI School of Music, directs the sanctuary choir at First Presbyterian Church in Waterloo, serves as the music director for the Beta Nu chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and is involved with the UNI Guild of Carillonneurs and UNI's student chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. In his free time, Dakota enjoys being in the outdoors (hunting, fishing, and trapping) with his family, learning about space and astronomy, and watching sunsets.

Linda Prill Mench

Linda Prill Mench graduated from FHS in 1988. Linda and her husband Mike currently make their home in Annandale, Virginia and have three boys: Alex (21) and Nate (19) attending colleges in Minnesota, and Zach (14), a pre-professional ballet dancer. For the past 30 years Linda has lived in, performed, and explored much of the United States and Germany thanks to her husband's position in the U.S. Air Force. From her start at the piano through graduate school at Florida State University, music has been the mainstay of her life. In addition to teaching piano, she has directed children's and adult choirs, developed worship programs and served as organist for several church denominations. Linda is an active accompanist, collaborating with professional musicians in the U.S. Air Force Band, professional opera singers, college and advanced high school musicians.

Following their tour in Germany, Linda decided to turn her music career upside down. She will complete a Master of Science degree as a licensed Nutritionist next spring. Music will certainly always play a role in her life, and she has many wonderful people in Fairfield to thank for their role in her success: Linda Mitcheltree and Scott Slechta for trusting her at the piano for several musicals and countless choir concerts; Mrs. Sloca for giving her the foundational skills; Dr. Joel Brown for sharpening those skills, and most of all, her dad, Ron Prill, for his unwavering support and encouragement.

Megan Higgins

Megan Higgins is the daughter of Rob and Michelle Higgins and about to enter her senior year at FHS. Her theater experience began at the Sondheim center with 'The Wizard of Oz,” and she continued to participate in many more stage productions with the company Way Off Broadway during her middle school years.

In high school, Megan has made the All-State Chorus three years in a row and will be attempting her fourth year this coming October. She toured Europe with the Iowa Ambassadors of Music in 2018 and was featured as a soloist and in a small group along with her good friend and duet partner, Julia Fritz. Other awards and honors include earning one of five soprano spots in the 2019 All-State Jazz Choir, receiving the Best of Center award for her solo 'The Black Swan” at State Solo and Ensemble Contest, and serving as drum major in the FHS Marching Band for two years.

As one might see, music has played a large role in shaping Megan's life. She'd especially like to thank FHS band director Jim Edgeton and choir director Zach Reiter for helping her become the musician she is today by means of technical advice, moral support, and the occasional throwing of balls of paper.

Julia Fritz

Julia Fritz graduated from Fairfield High School earlier this year. Julia plans to attend the University of Northern Iowa in the fall.

'My participation in high school arts consisted of being in the chorus, speech team, and the drama productions of ‘Guys and Dolls' and ‘The Addams Family' where I played The Moon and received an Outstanding Solo Dance Performance Award from the Iowa High School Musical Theatre Association,” Fritz said.

Fritz received the National School Choral Award from her school chorus director. She took dance lessons for 12 years from two different studios learning jazz, ballet, tap, clog, and tumbling. She began vocal lessons at 8 years old, and worked with coaches for about nine years.

'At the age of 10, I also started participating in Way Off Broadway shows here at the convention center where I played an orphan in ‘Annie,' Amaryllis in ‘The Music Man,' Nellie in ‘Annie Get Your Gun,' Teen Fiona in ‘Shrek the Musical,' Bridget in ‘The Orphan Train,' Jasmine in ‘Aladdin Jr.,' and Mulan in ‘Mulan Jr,'” Fritz said.

Julia participated in productions at FMS where she played Ariel in ‘The Little Mermaid Jr.' and Golde in ‘Fiddler on the Roof.' She spent 14 years singing and dancing in Bill Riley Talent shows at county fairs all around Iowa.

'Music has always been a big part of my life and I am so grateful for many, many people who have supported me and helped me grow over the years,” she said. 'Thank you to the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center for providing such a lovely venue for the arts and for allowing us to make music together. Enjoy the show!”