Kate Baum-Fjelstad

Kate Fjelstad, a South Dakota grown singer, songwriter, and storyteller, uses her background in teaching & performance to offer residencies that combine language, poetry, music, & performance tailored to fit any age and nearly any subject. From her 12 years of teaching an array of different subjects to students K-college, Kate understands the Common Core Standards. Her program compliments and reinforces them, and it can follow the theme of any current lesson if desired, small or expansive; for example, “Rhyme Schemes,” or “Poetry.” Kate also co-facilitates The Sounds of Healing, a women’s retreat that combines music, writing, yoga, and meditation to discover one’s true potential. Directing this retreat gives Kate the experience necessary to easily adapt her residency for adults and senior citizens, making it insightful for them. Kate leads participants through various writing exercises with relevant material and activities for each age and ability level, and she infuses her performances and stories periodically to help every participant explore language and its rhythms in the series of workshops below:

Language to Poetry: Discover the depths of our native tongue by putting your creative thoughts into words & phrases, working with their natural rhythms, and combining them into lyrical lines.

Poetry to Lyric: Using lines from Language to Poetry, create verses, refrains, and bridges to tell a story, building your own song/anthem or poem. Saying so much in so few words provides powerful insight.

Lyric to Performance: The residency ends with a final performance. Pieces can be presented individually or in groups, with music or without, spoken or sung. It ends up being a truly beautiful collage of ideas!

About Kate Fjelstad: Kate Fjelstad has spent the last two decades writing music, performing, teaching, and inspiring students and listeners of all ages. After obtaining her MA in Linguistics, Composition, and Rhetoric, Kate moved with her family to Alaska, where she taught in several locations a variety of subjects to a diverse population of students; diverse in age, ethnicity, and
ability levels. This residency is a combination of all the skills and passions she has harvested from
her experiences and adventures so far.

Grade Levels: Pre-K-adult

Kate Fjelstad
Sturgis, SD 57785
Phone: (605) 490-1688
Email: k8baum@gmail.com

 

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