Decades of Collaboration
Over the decades, FDCS has established an impressive library of choral music. Although music has been borrowed through the years in order to hold down expenses, money has always been budgeted for purchase of quality music. Numerous area schools and churches have benefitted from using Choral Society’s library, which includes more than 500 works.
One of the hallmarks of the group has been performances of major choral works. Guest soloists and instrumental ensembles have enriched the community and allowed local singers to work with some amazing talent.
Choral Society is always looking to collaborate with rising vocal and instrumental talent to perform as well as compositional talent to commission−we encourage all of those who feel so moved to contact us!
our people
Greta Nelson - Interim Conductor
Greta Nelson is the choral director at Webster City High School in Webster City, Iowa where she has been teaching since 2019. She also serves as Assistant Conductor and Dean of Students for the Minnesota All-State Lutheran Choir, an affiliate of Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.
Nelson works to instill a lifelong love of music within her students of all ages, while striving for choral excellence. She earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree from Wartburg College in Waverly, IA where she studied with Dr. Lee Nelson and Dr. Nicki Bakko Toliver.
She humbly accepts the responsibility as Interim Conductor of the Fort Dodge Choral Society, an ensemble that has had a meaningful impact on her both musically and spiritually.
Jeanette Hinkeldey, Collaborative Pianist
Jeanette Hinkeldey, a classically-trained pianist and organist, performs throughout Iowa as an organ recitalist and pianist for musical theater productions and vocal/instrumentalist soloists. When accompanying the Buena Vista University Choir on their European tour, Jeanette performed in Paris at the world-renowned Notre-Dame Cathedral, as well as The American Cathedral (The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity). Currently, Jeanette accompanies the Storm Lake High School and Middle School Choirs and is the Director of Music at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Aurelia. She also maintains a private piano and organ studio and is involved in the Iowa Music Teachers Association as the Theory Chair and in the Iowa Federation of Music Teachers as the Recording Secretary.
Jeanette received her Master's degree in Music at Drake University and her Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of South Dakota. Throughout her years of study, she worked with Dr. Carl Staplin, Dr. Larry Scully, Dr. Jeannine Jordan, and Dr. Robert Delcamp.
She and her husband, Mark, reside on the Hinkeldey Family Farm south of Alta. They have two grown children, Renae and Marcus, who are also involved in the agricultural business. When not in the music scene, Jeanette enjoys traveling, reading novels, and watching cooking shows, knowing full well she will never have time to make any of the recipes.
remembering Bruce Perry (1956-2023)
Bruce Perry - beloved maestro
Choral Society is sad to announce that our maestro Bruce Perry passed away at his home in Sac City on Saturday, June 10, after a year-long illness. His record 30 years of leadership with Fort Dodge Choral Society made the group stronger and better, year after year. Bruce can never really be replaced−he was one of a kind−but FDCS will go on, inspired to perpetuate Bruce's memory and in our shared love of music.
From the obituary:
"Bruce considered Choral Society’s performance of 'Alzheimer's Stories' by Robert S. Cohen and Herschel Garfein to be one of the most poignant artistic achievements of his life."
The full obituary can be found at Farber and Otteman Funeral Home of Sac City's website. FDCS is grateful to be continually shaped by the legacy of Bruce Perry.
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