Can Josh Dieters Pull A Rabbit
Out Of His Hat?
Attend His Special Christmas
Program To Find Out!
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Grandview Covenant Church will be the location of a Magical Christmas program on Sunday, December 9
th at 4:00 p.m. Larchwood resident, Josh Dieters, has had ideas about his program for some time, and felt that the magic of the Holiday Season would help enhance the event which he developed for his senior graduation project. A communications student at the University of Sioux Falls, Josh and his fellow students are required to complete a final project that according to him could be just about anything they wished. Josh says that some of the theatre majors wrote plays, and it seemed natural to him to write and produce a Christmas production at his church. The sights and sounds of the worship services he attended as a child stayed with him, and moved him as an adult to offer his technical assistance and narration skills for Grandview Covenant’s Christmas Cantata each year.Reviewing songs from the past, Josh began listening to Christmas music in June to assemble a repertoire that contains selections which have become meaningful to him and the others who have performed them in the past. He knew what he wanted, but Josh says he needed to sit down and take the time to organize and outline his thoughts. The program utilizes a fireplace, Christmas tree, and Josh’s carefully written narrative to remind the audience about the Christmas story and to help them remember some of the magical memories from their childhood holidays past. Hitting the high notes of the performance will be the community choir comprised of musical residents from the Larchwood area. Since October, members of Grandview Covenant Church, Our Saviors Lutheran Church, Seeds of Faith, and United Church of Christ have been scheduling practices around work shifts, family commitments and other church activities to get comfortable with musical entrances, collective phrase cut offs, melodies and harmonies.
A video camera will capture different parts of the performance and be shown on a screen during the program for an added visual component. Because Josh is fond of children and he knows that traditional Cantatas can seem long to little ones, he will be bringing the youth up front during the program so that they can watch him perform a few magic tricks. While he has never performed magic in front of a full audience before, Josh has nonetheless been intrigued by magic for as long as he can remember, and has been practicing some of his best tricks in hopes of wowing his younger spectators. A time of food and fellowship will follow the performance in the form of a free light meal of sandwiches, chips and refreshments.
During the process of developing his program, Josh says that he encountered both challenges and highlights along the way. Having such a strong vision for what he wanted in a performance, and knowing that he doesn’t always ask for assistance when he should, Josh found that he needed to ask himself periodically if the elements he desired would also be meaningful to the others participating. For their respective parts in making his program complete, Josh extends a gracious thank you to the Larchwood Community Choir, Grandview Covenant Church, Rosie’s Café, the University of Sioux Falls Communications Studies and Theatre Department, and Dakota Entertainment. Please consider attending this special community event that will help fill your heart with the spirit of the season.