School of Rock Back In Session For Thursday Concert

(KNSI) – School is back in session on Thursday night.

The Wirth Center once again is helping area teens come together, going from introductions to a full-blown performance in under two weeks. The whirlwind process is called School of Rock.

Co-coordinator Ruth Steffes says 60 musicians are broken into ten bands. The groups then master two songs in time for a concert being held this Thursday. The teens rely on the guidance of professional musicians. Steffes explains how each band selects the tunes it will perform.

“We have a classic music list that they can pick one song from and it’s songs that we know that the audience is going to like. The second song can be just any appropriate song that they want to do.”

Steffes is a former music teacher who specializes in the keyboard. She explains how she became a part of School of Rock with the other coordinator, Mary Kiln.

“When my son was in sixth grade and this was his passion. He was a drummer. And this program came into existence that year, it was 2005 and I just knew we had to sign him up for it.”

The original organizer was ready to step away after two years. Steffes and Kiln joined forces to continue School of Rock. This year’s concert is Thursday at 7:00 at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Saint Cloud. Tickets cost $15, plus fees. You can buy them here.

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