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| BIO - Wanda, the Organizer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wanda Degen, born March 20, 1953
When Wanda Degen began coordinating the performances for the East Lansing Art Festival under the tutelage of Judith Taran, she was already uniquely qualified for the position. As a person with many ideas and a strong desire to see things happen and to see them done well, her interests, initiative and abilities combined with her connection to the community to help create many successful events. A native of West Michigan, Wanda’s leadership and organizational skills emerged through her high school years where she was a member of the National Honor Society, Director of the School Musical, elected Class Treasurer, served on the Student Council and was voted “Most Dependable” by the Montague High School Class of 1971. A life-changing experience from that time was spending the summer of 1970 as an exchange student, living with a family in Denmark through the Youth for Understanding program. In the transition from small town life to a large college town, Wanda was a liberal arts major at Justin Morrill College, a residential college within MSU. It was during this time she discovered the mountain dulcimer, built her first one and connected with the community of musicians congregating around the new music store in East Lansing, Elderly Instruments. With the birth of her children, her interest in their education led her to help organize a statewide conference at MSU on Alternative Education, working with a committee representing Montessori, Waldorf, Home Schooling and The Detroit Children’s School. In 1978 Wanda began teaching dulcimer & autoharp lessons at Elderly Instruments. She started performing with flutist Dan Giacobassi. She volunteered at Mariah Folk & Blues Coffeehouse and became active with the newly formed Looking Glass Music & Art Association where she was an integral part of the publication & distribution of the 1981 and the 1982 Musician’s Directory- a community resource guide listing performers, instructors, services, clubs & other performance venues in Mid-Michigan. Wanda worked closely with Stan Werbin and Sharon McInturff, then co-owners of Elderly Instruments, when they hired her in 1981 to be the Director of Elderly Instruments School of Music. In that position she oversaw a staff of local instructors and organized group classes , workshops with nationally known musicians, open-houses and children’s concerts. In 1983 the trio Lady of the Lake was formed and in this group Wanda began performing at coffeehouses and festivals around the Mid-West. Through Wanda’s initiative, the City of East Lansing, the MSU Museum and the Ten Pound Fiddle Coffeehouse collaborated in 1985 to begin the Children’s Concert Series. Wanda first started working with Judith Taran as the coordinator of that series, a position she held for over 10 years. This working relationship and Wanda’s desire to see things improve for the musicians and the audiences at the East Lansing Art Festival resulted in Judith hiring Wanda as the performance coordinator for the 1987 Festival. Originally she was in charge of 3 stages for the 2- day event, hiring 30-35 mostly local performers. The Festival has evolved and changed over the years and Wanda now oversees 2 stages with a mix of local, regional and national talent. She has always been mindful of bringing a variety of musical styles to the event. 2005 marks Wanda’s 19th year with the Art Festival. She has worked with over 250 performers and has many favorite memories- performances by Tom Paxton, Solas, The Duhks, Butch Thompson, Bill Kirchen, Robin & Linda Williams are just a few- and lots of ideas for the future. She also receives ideas from the Board of Directors, the sponsors, musicians, artists and the community. Wanda is a member of the Ark in Ann Arbor and a patron sponsor of the Ann Arbor Folk Festival. She is a member of the Arts Council of Greater Lansing, the Lansing Area Folk Song Society and volunteers at the Ten Pound Fiddle Coffeehouse in East Lansing. Wanda is a member of, and volunteer workshop leader for, the Original Dulcimer Players Club & Funfest in Evart, MI. She serves on the Community Advisory Committee for the Great Lakes Folk Festival. Progressive Torch & Twang, a weekly radio program produced at
MSU, had this to say about Wanda when they featured her web site as
their “ Link of the Week” on their World Wide Twang site:
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| RESUME - Wanda, the Music Teacher Wanda Degen
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