Land of Lakes Choirboys: Silver tongues

It is a sound like few others -- captivating, soothing and from a most unlikely source.

"The first time I heard the Vienna Boys Choir I was blown away," recalled Craig Carmody Anderson, a former Marine and police officer. "Before then, all I wanted to do was race cars.

"But from that point on, I kept wondering, Why can't this country have a choir like that?"

The representatives of 93 countries that, earlier this month, participated in the fifth World Choir Games in Graz, Austria, know that there is such a choir. And it is based right outside of Elk River, in St. Francis.

The Land of Lakes Choirboys' Viking Choir was awarded silver medals at the games in the Children's Choir and Musica Sacra categories. The group was the only boys choir among eight choirs from the United States. In the Musica Sacra category, the Minnesota boys, ages 10 to 15, competed against adults.

Little wonder that one of the 34 Minnesota boys, Joe Ree ce, 14, of Zimmerman, was chosen to carry the American flag during the opening ceremony.

"It made you realize what a big deal it was," said Joe, who will be a freshman at Elk River High School this fall.

Baseball and German pretzels

By the end of the competition, the Land of Lakes Choirboys had become the big deal.

These are normal kids. Jeremiah Atkinson, 14, of Ramsey, is a Boy Scout. Zach Adams, 13, of St. Michael, plays football and baseball. Caleb Foster, 10, of Becker, the youngest member of the choir, loves soccer and hunting. Jeremy Huff, 15, of Blaine, was in the local presentation of the Broadway musical "The Lion King," but preferred talking about his new-found love for German pretzels.

Yet, long before they ever took the stage and opened their mouths, they had other people talking.

"The music's phenomenal, but we also teach them honor, respect and manners," said John Fitzgerald, who recently retired as the choir's executive director after 11 years.

Fitzgerald -- a lawyer who helped start Boys and Girls Clubs in Elk River and Zimmerman and spent 20 years with the Minnesota National Guard -- has worked with choir founder Anderson for more than three decades. Along with their love for music the two men share this philosophy: If you go into people's homes, you take off your shoes and you talk to your hosts instead of playing video games.

When the Minnesota contingent entered a restaurant, the proprietor told Anderson that the large group of boys would not be welcome. Ultimately, they were allowed to eat. The proprietor, stunned by the Minnesotans' best behavior, apologized to Anderson as they left.

Scouting the competition

The discipline is carried to the stage. Francis Stockwell, who studied voice in Vienna and worked with the Vienna Boys Choir, is the Land of Lakes Choirboys artistic director who says discipline is part of training and goes hand in hand with talent.

"What they radiate to an audience is what an audience will feel," he said.

Other, more experienced choirs sent scouts to gauge the competition and judges. Some of the choirs from Africa brought props.

The Land of Lakes Choirboys brought only their talent and heart. Singing a cappella in front of judges wearing scowls and holding tuning forks, the Minnesotans wowed the world.

"The judges were merciless in scoring," Stockwell said. "I told the boys that we cold sing to their intellect, sing to their hearing or we could sing to their hearts.

"We tried to melt their hearts. And all our concerts were met with standing ovations."

As their whirlwind experience concluded last week with Tuesday's return form Europe and Thursday's all-day recording session followed by a concert at St. Michael Catholic Church, an exhausted group of boys was trying to contemplate all they had accomplished.

"We just went across the world," said Keith Sullivan, of Elk River. At 10, he is the second-youngest of the group and is eager for next year.

For Jeremy Huff, voted by his peers as Choir Boy of the Year, there will be lots of time to reflect. His voice is changing.

"With this choir, that's when it ends, when your voice changes," he said. "I'm glad my last concerts were special."

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419