The St. John'S Boys' Choir

The St. John’s Boys’ Choir fosters the tradition of enabling boys to express themselves through music, and provides an environment that nurtures and encourages creativity. Founded in 1981 by Br. Paul Richards and the Saint John's monastic community, the organization has grown to include four choral ensembles which perform more than 50 engagements annually. Members of the choir represent home, public, and private schools in more than 15 communities around Central Minnesota. Their repertoire includes sacred motets, classical masterpieces, folk music from around the world, and contemporary theatrical and popular selections. Concert sites include local schools, churches, civic organizations, private businesses and in concert halls around the world. The choirboys serve as ambassadors for choral music and for male singing, as well as ambassadors for Central Minnesota and the United States. Their travels have taken them to churches and concert stages in North and Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. They have hosted international choir festivals, bringing more than 2,500 singers from around the world to the Saint John’s campus. They have graced the stage of Dvořak Hall in Prague and entertained dignitaries in Italy and Ireland. Here in the United States, they have appeared at state and division conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, as well as prestigious festivals such as the Oregon Bach Festival. They have appeared on the nationally-broadcast A Prairie Home Companion, and can be heard on any of several independently-released CDs. For all its international success, the choir remains firmly rooted in its Central Minnesota community. The choir has collaborated with almost every musical ensemble in the area, and with several professional Minnesota artists. The choir has commissioned and premiered works by several Minnesota composers, most recently Stephen Paulus, René Clausen, and Eric Barnum.