Locally Grown show features several of
Central DeWitt’s most talented graduates
The Central DeWitt community has a long tradition of producing fine arts students who have
gone on to successful careers in vocal and instrumental music, art, drama, and other related fields.
Saturday, Nov. 27, three of them return to the Central DeWitt Performing Arts Center (CDPAC) at 7
p.m. for an evening of entertainment titled Locally Grown.
Rachel Vickers (’05), Alex Heetland (’04), and Tasha Becker (’14) will bring home their skills
and talents in a concert on the CDPAC stage that will delight local audiences who have followed the
graduates’ national and international careers and performances.
Vickers, mezzo-soprano, left DeWitt to earn a degree in voice performance with a minor in
theater arts at Wartburg College in 2009 as well as a master’s degree in vocal performance at
The University of Minnesota in 2011. She sang with the world-renowned Minnesota Opera as a
professional chorister before returning to eastern Iowa in 2015. In the Quad Cities, she has
performed with the professional vocal ensemble, “Nova Singers,” as a classical soloist with Opera
Quad Cities and as an actor/singer with the Quad City Music Guild. Among her favorite roles is Mrs.
Potts in Beauty and the Beast and Mercedes in Carmen. She spends her days as a graphic
designer/marketing specialist in Davenport and her evening as a voice instructor at Augustana
College, Rock Island.
Heetland is a musician/conductor who has worked in a wide variety of church and
educational settings. He has spent much of his career in the Twin Cities, where he completed a
bachelor of music degree at Concordia University, followed by a master’s degree in choral conducting
at the University of Minnesota. He enjoys musical theater and has worked with several theater
companies in the Twin Cities, including conducting shows at Chanhassen Dinner Theater. Most
recently, he has taught choirs, singing, and music theory at an international boarding school in the
foothills of the Himalayas. Currently, Heetland is studying at the University of Iowa to complete the
requirements for his teaching license in Iowa. He is director of music at an Iowa City church and
artistic and choral director for the Quire of Eastern Iowa.
Becker is thrilled to be back on the CDPAC stage where her career started. After graduation,
she earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Iowa State University in 2019. Currently, she is enrolled
in graduate studies at The New School in New York City, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in
percussion performance. Recently, she performed with the Central Iowa Symphony and appeared in
the Women’s Composer Festival. She was a finalist in the Charleston International Music Baroque
Competition and the Kappa Kappa Psi National Solo Competition. She was awarded second place in
the Mostly Marimba Duo Performance contest and earned first place in the 2019 Iowa Day of
Percussion marimba competition.