The holidays are a time for togetherness.
That’s especially true for Twila Lefeber, Owen Haubenschild and the rest of the music community at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.
Once a year, the annual Christmas with Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s concerts unite the CSB and SJU Chamber Choir, the SJU Men’s Chorus, the CSB Women’s Choir, the CSB and SJU Orchestra, the CSB and SJU Brass Choir and the St. John’s Boys’ Choir for several performances –both on campus at The Great Hall at SJU and at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis.
This year, the shows are scheduled for Friday (Dec. 5) at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday (Dec. 6) at 2 p.m. in The Great Hall and Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Basilica.
The Great Hall shows are already sold out. But tickets remain for the performance in Minneapolis.
“I think I can speak for the whole ensemble when I say this is our favorite concert out of all the stuff we do over the course of the school year,” said Lefeber, a Sartell High School graduate who plays French horn in the Brass Choir. “It’s really the only time all year all these groups come together to play. There’s such an excitement there. I think the fact the shows on campus always sell out right away speaks for itself.
“It’s a tradition the entire campus community really looks forward to.”
Haubenschild, a senior member of the Chamber Choir, echoed those sentiments.
“There are very special relationships within all the different groups here,” he said. “Chamber Choir has its own special bond. So do the men’s and women’s choirs. Orchestra has its own thing. The Brass Choir does too.
“It’s really fun to bring all that together and combine these different energies into one.”
Beyond that, the concerts provide a spotlight for students like Lefeber, a senior chemistry major who was voted the John Philip Sousa Award winner – given to Sartell High School’s most outstanding band member – following her senior year.
Though she didn’t plan to major in music, the opportunity to continue pursuing her passion is part of what drew the first-generation student to CSB.
“I would have felt like a part of myself was missing if I hadn’t been able to keep doing this,” she said. “I was also able to get a music scholarship and that was really helpful. Not only did it mean I could continue to play, but it would help make college more affordable.
“This place just felt like home to me,” she continued. “I felt welcomed every time I stepped foot on campus. There was such a community feel to the place.”
That was much the same sense Haubenschild got as well.
The Princeton High School graduate – who grew up on a dairy farm – is a double major in math and economics with minors in computer science and data analytics.
But he wanted to make sure he still had time to sing.
“That’s one of the neat things about the music programs here,” he said. “We have a handful of music majors. But overwhelmingly, these groups are made up of other majors as well.
“For me, choir is kind of my relaxation time. It’s still rigorous, of course. But it’s a place where I can let my artistic side shine through after spending so much time focusing on the numerical side the rest of the day.”
Haubenschild too receives a music scholarship.
“That helped a lot when it came to my (college) decision process,” he said. “Saint John’s was a place where I could do a lot of different things and be part of a really strong community.”
That’s especially true in the performing arts, and nowhere is that more on display than at the annual holiday shows.
“It’s so exciting when we all line up before the show starts,” said Lefeber, who already has a job lined up as a paint chemist with Sherwin Williams after graduation next May. “Everyone is nervous, but we know we’re all prepared. We’re all hyping each other up. JZ (Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music Justin Zanchuk) will give us a pep talk.
“Then it’s time to go out and show the audience everything we’ve been working so hard on the past few months.”
“We rehearse (five) hours a week and the other ensembles rehearse a lot too,” Haubenschild added. “It all builds up to this moment. It’s kind of the culmination of the whole semester.”