The Staples Area Men's Chorus welcomes potential new singers to its ranks as it starts its new season.

Men interested in becoming members of the chorus are welcome to attend the group's rehearsals, which are scheduled at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in the Staples Motley High School Choir Room. For more information on the chorus check out their website at www.staplesmen.org or call 218- 894-1899.

The upcoming year will be a very busy one for the chorus. In addition to its regular season of concerts and the Real Men Sing Festival which they host to foster choral singing in young men, the group will host a convention of male choirs on April 17, 2010. The convention, which is expected to draw over a dozen choruses and 300 singers, will culminate in a public concert which is called "The Big Sing."

The Staples Area Men's Chorus has been a part of the cultural life of Central Minnesota for over sixty years. The chorus draws men from a large area of this part of state. They perform in a wide range of musical styles, from music of the great masters, to folk tunes, spirituals, show tunes and pop standards.

The Staples Area Men's Chorus has appeared at the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA) and the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) Divisional Convention, the St. John's University Male Chorus Festival and Associated Male Choruses of America (AMCA) Divisional and National Conventions. The chorus won the bronze medal in its class at the Great American Choral Festival.

Stan Carlson has been the music director for the chorus since 1971. He was director of choral activities at Staples Motley Public Schools from 1965-1999 and directed the Men's Choir at St. Cloud State University from 2006-2009.

Carlson was named "Choral Director of the Year" in 1990 by the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota (ACDA), and "Music Educator of the Year" by the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA) in 1998. He directed the 2007-2008 Minnesota All State Men's Choir.

His tenure with the Staples Area Men's Chorus marks one of the longest running affiliations with an arts organization in our part of the state. That will come to an end this year, as Carlson has announced that he will step down as music director at the end of the season.