Ambassadors of music

By Gracelyn Giese

Contributing Writer

DENMARK – The Wisconsin Ambassadors of Music (WAM) has been celebrating the talents of young, aspiring musicians since 1994 thanks to the help of dedicated educators.

Accomplished music coach and pastoral associate, Cate Kopkey, will again travel with nearly a dozen local students to introduce them to sights and sounds of Europe.

Kopkey first traveled with WAM in 2014 to sing with the soprano section of the choir and was later invited to the next trip in 2016 as the choir accompanist.

Her experience and degree in music and organizational leadership paved the way for her current invite-only role as choral coordinator.

She shares her duties with St. Norbert College Adjunct Professor Jeff Verkuilen, Bristol’s music teacher Rob Clark and Eau Claire’s music and drama teacher Aurora Krajnikconde.

As Kopkey explained, “It takes a special person to be able to teach well, but also be able to travel well! Taking 300 kids overseas is no easy task. Our staff is the best of the best, not just because of background and training, but because of their character as well.”

The local students set to participate in WAM 2025 include David Allen, Karley Beyer, Bowie Bredeal, Aleece Jandrain, Skyler Kopkey, Lexi Polster, Elizabeth Rank and Lorelai Salentine of Luxemburg as well as Eric Allen and Alexander Rozum of Denmark.

Kopkey and her students will embark from Chicago and spend 15 days touring England, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

One of Kopkey’s most impactful memories was conducting her choir students at the historical La Madeleine Cathedral in Paris where they performed the piece “Cantique de Jean Racine.”

She reflected on the experience, “It was one of the greatest honors of my life to be able to conduct that piece in that setting with a congregation full of French people singing along with us. The audience was in tears, the kids were in tears, I was in tears! It was a beautiful experience,” she said.

Another of Kopkey’s favorite aspects of traveling with WAM is getting to meet new people and forging friendships with them.

Each trip, the group stops in Crans Montana, Switzerland, for a night of fondue and polka,

“The party hosts always tell us that Wisconsin is their favorite group because Wisconsin kids know how to polka,” she said.

The host, Margaretta, takes time to tell the students how important their work is, informing them that “Ambassadors of Music is their title, but they serve as ambassadors of peace and goodwill.”

While Kopkey and her students have been hard at work this summer with individual fundraisers and working at Lambeau Field, she took one final moment to reflect on her past travels and future adventures.

“I never lose the wonder of seeing places like Westminster Abbey, Notre Dame Cathedral, Dachau Concentration Camp or just the beauty of the Alps. Now though I would tell you that my greatest joy is watching students experience these things for the first time,” she added.

For more information, visit www.wisconsinambassadorsofmusic.org.