Apollo Male Chorus
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History
Founded in 1895, the Apollo Male Chorus is one of the oldest continuously performing male choruses in the United States. Several members have been in the group over 50 years. For the past 27 years, they have been led by Roger Satrang Hoel, founder of the Music Association of Minnetonka and an alumnus of the fine music tradition of St. Olaf College. The Apollo maintains one of the largest libraries of men's choral music in the world, and it shows in the chorus' diverse repertoire of classical works, show tunes, and sacred pieces.
Among its many milestones, the Apollo Chorus has been honored to perform at Presidential Inaugurations, the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, the World's Fair, and most recently was invited to sing at the Inauguration for Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. The Apollo Male Chorus also has a proud tradition of excelling at choral competition. At what is considered the Olympics of choral competition, the International Eisteddfodd in Llangollen, Wales, The Apollo Male Chorus was invited in 2000 for the second time to participate in this prestigious, invitation-only competition, placing 10th. It is the only performing group in any category to have ever placed in the top 3 during their first competition at the Eisteddfodd, placing second in 1982.
Members (taken from Fall 2004 roster of active singing members)
== First Tenors ==
Joe Babbini, Todd Grover, Chad Holthaus, Darren Jackson, Fred Jensen, Tomm Johnson, Duncan MacKenzie, Roger Renstrom, Mark Staton, Ken Southorn
== Second Tenors ==
Bob Brandia, Paul Carlson, Gary Gustafson, Verner Johnson, Bob Lange, Chris Neu, Ray Peterson, Jerry Roelofs
== Baritones ==
Wayne Boerger, John Buck, Jim Elsass, Bill Gaspar, Craig Gerdes, Chan Handberg (Jr), Chan Handberg (Sr), Fred Hoelzel, Greg McCormick, Curt McDougall, Franz Metzger, John Metzger, Rich Moseng, Adam Nystuen, Chuck Pitschka, Paul Price, Matthew Rochte, Alec Sweazy, Bill Walraven
== Basses ==
Bill Birch, Michael Buckley, Dean Chenoweth, Paul Drangeid, Kenton Hunt, Ron Kuecker, Gary Malecek, Tom Peterson, Joel Quinnell, Jim Robbins, Mike Rudolph, Ron Stevens, Jef Sutton, John Swanson, Roger Wambheim, Jim Weyland, Tom Wilson
Discography
They have a number of recording that they have produced over the past years, including:
- 100th Anniversary Album
- Prayer of the Children
Audio
Prayer of the Children, by Kurt Bestor (excerpt)
O vos omnes, by Ludovico Tommaso da Vittoria (excerpt)
Brothers Sing Out, by Edvard Grieg (excerpt)
Related Web sites
www.apollomalechorus.com (Official website)
Related groups


