Oregon High School Senior Profiles, Oregon, Wisconsin

Having an aunt, Julie Ottum, who sings soprano in the Madison Opera, ensured that OHS senior Alyssa Ottum was exposed to music at an early age. “I loved listening to the foreign languages in opera, reading the subtitles and trying to match the words to the music,” explains Ottum. Through involvement in choir, Ottum continues to enjoy being exposed to music from different counties. Ottum states, “ I enjoy learning about the styles of different countries and how they match and contrast between composers.”

Ottum’s interest in music led her to form the four member alternative rock band Before Tomorrow Fails, in which she write music, plays guitar and sings. The band has performed at Oregon Summerfest, the Dane County Fair and smaller venues in the area. Ottum credits her performing experience and Ms. Jennifer Yancey, OHS choir teacher, with increasing her vocal range and helping her acquire a more trained voice. This has led her to focus more on vocal performance in the band.

Singing in OHS’s choir has been an enjoyable experience for Ottum. She states Ms. Yancey makes choir interesting with her witty analogies on how to sing various types of music and her innovative ways of applying music terms and teaching music theory. “I was selected to sing at the Badger Conference Honors Choir in my junior year. It was a great chance to compare ourselves with other choirs. You could really tell Ms. Yancey trained us well in posture and concentrating on our vowels,” reports Ottum.

Ottum, daughter of Warren and Laurie Ottum, works at Pick 'N Save in Stoughton. She has been involved in the German program since the seventh grade and has participated in the Wisconsin-German exchange program. After graduation, Ottum plans on attending UW Milwaukee to study European history, anthropology and German language.

Class of 2009
Alyssa Ottum
Having an aunt, Julie Ottum, who sings soprano in the Madison Opera, ensured that OHS senior Alyssa Ottum was exposed to music at an early age. “I loved listening to the foreign languages in opera, reading the subtitles and trying to match the words to the music,” explains Ottum. Through involvement in choir, Ottum continues to enjoy being exposed to music from different counties. Ottum states, “ I enjoy learning about the styles of different countries and how they match and contrast between composers.” Ottum’s interest in music led her to form the four member alternative rock band Before Tomorrow Fails, in which she write music, plays guitar and sings. The band has performed at Oregon Summerfest, the Dane County Fair and smaller venues in the area. Ottum credits her performing experience and Ms. Jennifer Yancey, OHS choir teacher, with increasing her vocal range and helping her acquire a more trained voice. This has led her to focus more on vocal performance in the band. Singing in OHS’s choir has been an enjoyable experience for Ottum. She states Ms. Yancey makes choir interesting with her witty analogies on how to sing various types of music and her innovative ways of applying music terms and teaching music theory. “I was selected to sing at the Badger Conference Honors Choir in my junior year. It was a great chance to compare ourselves with other choirs. You could really tell Ms. Yancey trained us well in posture and concentrating on our vowels,” reports Ottum. Ottum, daughter of Warren and Laurie Ottum, works at Pick 'N Save in Stoughton. She has been involved in the German program since the seventh grade and has participated in the Wisconsin-German exchange program. After graduation, Ottum plans on attending UW Milwaukee to study European history, anthropology and German language.	Nina Axelsson Jake Behling Arianna Bonsett-Veal Nicole Cunningham Monica Dahl Toni Hale Molly Hayman Alli Holznecht Breanna Huston Kaleb Karstetter Tayler O'Donnell Jeff Oemichen Alyssa Ottum Cerina Partridge Zach Prior Rachel Smith Statia Swenson Brooke Vander Wegen

Submitted by Peggy Hayman Oregon Choral Boosters