How could I begin to explain the ways my participation in the Staples Area Men’s Chorus has enriched my life? I could say that I began singing with a group of men in 1972, and that my involvement with that group has provided musical opportunities that most people never experience. I could tell you that I was 28 years old when I began singing with a group of other men, mostly men who were under forty years old and that now I have sung with many of the same men for over half of my life.

If I told you how I dreamed of the day when my own sons could sing with me in the Staples Area Men’s Chorus and that now I cherish the memory of those long ago times, might that fill in part of the picture? Perhaps I should explain how it feels to be part of a Big Sing and to participate in a massed chorus with 400-500 (more recently slightly over 300) other men. I return to the Big Sing each year to see familiar faces from choruses all over the Upper Midwest with a little more gray hair and a little more stiffness in the knees, but with smiles that tell the audience we love making music.

If you practice self-improvement, then you might recognize the value of our incredible director, Stan Carlson and his challenge to us of performing major musical works. I’ve sung Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Schubert and Vivaldi because Stan has pushed me to do it. Yes, I’ve even sung Latin, German and French. I’ve sung in a locally produced opera along with the University of Minnesota music department. I’ve had more than one opportunity to perform Handel’s Messiah with chorus and orchestra because Stan made it happen.

I’ve ventured out of my comfort zone onto the stage to sing in variety shows and I’ve served so many dinner concerts I can’t begin to count them. What’s a dinner concert, you ask? Well, these are special events when the chorus serves a fancy meal to people who come all dressed up for a night out. We wear red vests and wait on the tables. Then we go onto the risers and sing a set of music before serving the next course. We end the evening in our formal wear and almost always receive a standing ovation. Central Minnesota listeners recognize and appreciate good music. We have performed dinner concerts in several locations, but most frequently in Staples, Long Prairie or Wadena.

It’s pretty easy to see the influence our chorus has on youth of the area. The Central Minnesota Boys Choir is an example. We love to see the joy of male singing passed on to another generation. The Staples Motley High School has a long tradition of excellent choral music that would make a lot of college choirs sit back and take notice. Part of that success comes from the fact that the chorus attracts so many boys, and part of the reason it attracts boys is because we show them that it isn’t sissy to sing.

Perhaps the most satisfying contribution our chorus makes to the fine arts in general and male chorus singing specifically is our fall choral festival called Real Men Sing. This clinic, the brainchild of dairy farmer and chorus member Pat Lunemann of Clarissa, is designed for high school male singers, particularly those who attend smaller high schools where few boys participate in the chorus. The festival includes massed rehearsals with over 250 male voices, voice classes and finally an evening concert featuring men and boys from several area high schools, the Staples Area Men’s Chorus and a visiting college men’s chorus. These college men have come from Bemidji State University, St. Cloud State University and Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Most of the participants, regardless of age, consider Real Men Sing an awesome experience.

So that’s a little about the chorus. It really doesn’t present the total picture, but I hope it helps to show why I feel so strongly that my life has been enriched by my opportunity to belong to a group where the 80 year old man on my left and the 16 year old boy on my right are joining their voices with mine to make the world a place of harmony.

Anderson is a retired educator from Staples who also enjoys and appreciates playing with the Wadena Community Concert Band.