JV Choir heads to Black Hills

The 26 members of the Junior Varisty Choir embarked on a 7-day tour to South Dakota this morning. While on tour, the choir will collaborate with the Singing Boys of Sioux Falls and minister at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Blessed Sacrament Church in Rapid City. Sight-seeing activities include visits to historic Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial.

SJBC Celebrates Black History Month

The Concert and Junior Varsity Choirs of The St. John's Boys' Choir hosted a celebration in honor of Black History Month at the historic Paramount Theatre in St. Cloud. The concert featured the young choristers performing music of the African diaspora ranging from African folk music and following its progression to spirituals, gospel music and jazz. The boys joined with members of the Nu-Way Missionary Baptist Church Youth Choir, an all-black ensemble that delighted the audience with music from the gospel tradition. All the young singers were thrilled to collaborate with acclaimed special guest, Jearlyn Steele. Ms. Steele was an inspiration for all the choristers as she worked with them in two rehearsals prior to the performance.

JV takes Philly

The Junior Varsity Choir has embarked on its year-end tour. Their travels this summer will take them to the Keystone State, where they will visit the cities of Philadelphia and Hershey. Their plans include a collaboration with the Philadelphia Boys' Choir & Chorale, a number of church appearances, lots of sightseeing of historical monuments, and of course a trip to the Hershey Chocolate Factory.

Choir remounts opera

The St. John's Boys' Choir presented an encore presentation of their world premiere commissioned opera, The Star Gatherer. This year's production introduced the work to a number of schools in the Central Minnesota area. The run closed with a gala reception and performance on Saturday October 13. Composer Stephen Paulus was in attendance and was thrilled with the new production. The boys will be performing another major Paulus work later this year, To Be Certain of the Dawn with the choirs and orchestras of Saint John's University, the College of Saint Benedict, St. Cloud State University and the Cantabile Girls' Choirs.