MAY 18 - YOUTH SING OUT
Central Minnesota is blessed with some outstanding young choral musicians. Three of the area's choirs will join together to present a concert featuring the talent of these young singers. The SJBC Concert and JV Choirs will join with SCSU Cantabile and Choristers (Jane Oxton, director) and the Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota (Garrett Lathe, director).

Sunday, May 18: Sauk Rapids High School, 3:00 pm
Tickets: $6, available at the door

JUNE 8 - ON TOUR
It has been an annual tradition of The St. John's Boys' Choir to present a concert to the Central Minnesota community before departing on their summer tours. SJBC is proud to continue this tradition as our Concert Choir and Junior Varsity Choirs will team up to present their final concert of the season. This year's "On Tour" concert will feature sacred works ranging from chant to pieces by Bach, Fauré, Franck, Holst and more modern composers as well. The concert will also showcase a wide variety of secular works encompassing folk songs, world music, and Broadway. In honor of the JV's trip to Philadelphia, a special selection of American tunes will be performed. As the Concert Choir embarks to Prague to represent Minnesota and the United States at the International Boys' and Men's Choral Festival, the choirs will also present music of an international flavor, drawing pieces from Africa, Mexico, Israel, and France among others.

Sunday, June 8: Church of St. Augustine, St. Cloud, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $10 adults, $8 seniors, $5 students

Oratorio educates, inspires
A collaboration between St. Cloud State University and the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University yielded incredible results on April 25 & 26. The choirs and orchestras of both universities, in conjunction with the Cantabile Girls' Choir and the St. John's Boys' Choir presented an oratorio by Minnesota composer Stephen Paulus, "To Be Certain of the Dawn". The concert was presented at both campuses to full houses. The event was a monumental one in the history of Central Minnesota and did much to educate the young people inovlved about the Holocaust and to engage them in discussion about prejudice and injustice.

Music transcends racial barriers
The St. John's Boys' Choir were a featured guests at the Changing Faces conference and workshop hosted by the Saint John's School of Theology and CSB's Companions on a Journey program on April 10. The Changing Faces series seeks to engage more people in transformative approaches to intercultural ministry. This particular workshop dealt with the topic "Black and Catholic: Social and Cultural Challenges in Ministry." The boys presented a program of sacred music, ranging from Gregorian chant to music of the African diaspora. Their program was followed by a lecture by Dr. M. Shawn Copeland on African roots in today's Church.

SJBC sings at State of the State Address
The boys of The St. John's Boys' Choir were honored to be asked to sing for a distinguished audience at the 2008 Governor's State of the State Address at the St. Cloud Civic Center on February 13. The boys opened the ceremony with two patriotic songs and then lead the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner" before Governor Tim Pawlenty began his address. The boys also had the opportunity to meet and chat with Governor Pawlenty after the event.
*** READ OFFICIAL LETTER FROM GOVERNOR TIM PAWLENTY ***