Men’s Chorus embarks on five-state concert tour March 2-13

If you ask a member of the Saint John’s University Men’s Chorus what they’ll be doing over spring break, you’ll likely get a quick answer.

They’ll be singing.

The Men’s Chorus embarks on its Spring Tour March 2-13, with 11 concerts scheduled in five states – Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota.

The program will feature a wide variety of sacred and secular music, with compositions by Rosephayne Powell, Michael McGlynn, Moses Hogan, Jonathan Quick, Jim Papoulis, Benjamin Britten, Stephen Hatfield and Carl Maria von Weber.

The 37-member choir is under the direction of Axel Theimer, professor of music at the College of Saint Benedict and SJU. Theimer is a native of Austria and received much of his early training in Vienna, where he was a member of the Vienna Boys' Choir. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in voice performance from the University of Minnesota.

Theimer, who has been on the faculty at CSB and SJU since 1969, was inducted into the Minnesota Music Educators Association Music Educators Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2001, the Minnesota American Choral Directors' Association named him Choir Director of the Year, and he received the ACDA-Minnesota F. Melius Christiansen Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Here is the complete schedule of the tour:

Thursday, March 2-7:30 p.m. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Friday, March 3-8:15 p.m. at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

Saturday, March 4-7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Bismarck, North Dakota.

Sunday, March 5-7 p.m. at St. Patrick Co-Cathedral, Billings, Montana.

Monday, March 6-7:30 p.m. at Resurrection University Catholic Church, Bozeman, Montana.

Wednesday, March 8-7 p.m. at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, Butte, Montana.

Thursday, March 9-7 p.m. at Holy Name Catholic Church, Sheridan, Wyoming.

Friday, March 10-6 p.m. at Holy Cross Chapel at Terra Sancta, Rapid City, South Dakota.

Saturday, March 11-7:30 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Parish, Watertown, South Dakota.

Sunday, March 12-2 p.m. at The Abbey of the Hills Inn and Retreat Center, Marvin, South Dakota.

Monday, March 13-Welcome Back Concert at 8 p.m. at the Great Hall, SJU.

Each concert is free and open to the public, but donations are suggested and welcome to help defray travel costs.

The singers of the chorus, which was organized in 1948, represent a wide variety of musical background, talent and choral experience. Auditions are held every fall and are open to all students, first-year students to seniors. Previous choral experience is not necessary.