The Christmas season couldn’t begin without them.
Eighteen contemporary teen-agers arrived at Rheault Farm by bright yellow school bus last week to usher in Christmastide in Fargo-Moorhead. But the musical force that greeted Santa and Mrs. Claus there left the modern moment behind. Garbed in Victorian gowns, morning coats and top hats, the young men and women formed the latest wave of a nearly 60-year tradition: the Moorhead High School Carolers, raising their voices in happy harmony.
They entered the great room in the Park District-owned farmhouse to the strains of “Caroling, Caroling,” their traditional theme. Inside, representatives of Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo waited with the North Pole natives to kick off the community’s “Season of Giving” – another tradition dating back decades, with First Link gathering toys to make local children’s days brighter.
The “season of giving” not only applies to collecting gifts for the needy – it goes for the carolers, too. Between their launch last week and Dec. 19, when they join all of the Moorhead High musical groups in a five-hour series of holiday performances by every musical group on campus, the 45 young singers decked out in Dickensian duds will kindle the spirit of the season for thousands of admirers all over town – from the schools to service clubs, from lighting of Moorhead’s official Christmas tree and this week’s Holiday Lights Parade to corporate events for major corporate supporters like Bell Banks, in virtually every F-M retirement center and nursing home, and as guest stars in the “Magical Medora Christmas,” presented as a dinner show Saturday and matinee Sunday at the Avalon in downtown Fargo.
The Carolers are guided by Kathie Brekke, director of choral activities at MHS. Since joining the faculty eight years ago, Kathie has led a renaissance of the traditional extracurricular group, which traces its roots at least to 1957. Along with the Carolers, she directs music classes involving some 300 students everyday: Concert Choir (grades 11 & 12), Chorale (grades 10-11), Varsity Chorale (9th graders, withRachel Horan), Treble Choir (10th-12th grade women) and the Vocal Jazz Ensemble. She regularly prepares 160 young men and women for solo and ensemble competition in February. She explains, “I believe in giving every kid in the top three groups a chance to find their true voice.”
When the well-known professional singer and pianist joined Moorhead High eight years ago, the venerable tradition of the Carolers was at an ebb. Intent on injecting it with new energy, she set out first to track down, not singers, but costumes.
“Most of the costumes had dispersed, but we knew they were out there somewhere,” she says with a smile. “I put out a message on Facebook, asking people to return them if they were hanging in the back of their closets.
“We basically went on a treasure hunt,” she reports. Heavy gowns, fur muffs, bonnets, men’s jackets and top hats began reappearing in her office as if by magic: “I’d step out, and when I got back, there’d be a dress on my desk,” she recalls.
Many of the time-worn wearables were badly in need of refurbishing. The mother of several of her singers, Faith Lahlum, came on board to help repair and refresh whatever was usable. “I’m so grateful – I can’t sew a stitch,” Kathie confesses. With Mrs. Lahlum no longer available, she counted on students Lance Morlock and Linka Wintersteen to ready the wardrobe this fall. She adds, “I’d love, really love, to have other volunteers step up to help us with mending.”
Thirty students stepped forward in the fall of 2008. Kathie rounded up the books used in the past, reviving a repertoire assembled by her predecessor Rob Rothlisberger. She added a few secular favorites – “Jingle Bells,” “Here We Come a’Caroling” – and they were off. They were welcomed at every performance by MHS alums who’d sung with the group in the 50 previous seasons. When they wrapped up each performance with “Silent Night,” inviting their audience to join in, there were few dry eyes.
“When we sing ‘Silent Night,’ people cry,” Kathie says. “The most masculine of men may tear up, feeling the emotion of the song all around them. It’s fabulous for the kids to see … the inner happiness they create as the people who hear them sing along.”
Kathie is proud of her carolers’ dedication and willingness to spend time bringing joy at a particularly busy time of year. The group, now numbering a total of 45, is assembled from choir members with near-perfect auditions on Nov. 1. They lean on digital-age technology to build their mastery of the time-tested songs. “First each singer learns the songs on their own, singing along with the music online,” the director explains. “Then we start rehearsing at lots of different times – sections first, then all the men, then all the women, and finally the whole group together.” Finding time to rehearse is especially complicated, she notes, because 75 percent of her singers are also involved in the musical “Little Shop of Horrors,” which winds up Friday and Saturday.
While Kathie directs the group, students themselves play a critical leadership role. This year, Carolyn Solberg is the “bobber” – the young woman whose nods synchronize the group’s starts and stops. Devon Solwold calls the tunes, passes the music down the line and calls the pitch with his pitch pipe.
“I take pride that the students can organize themselves and perform so well without direct adult leadership,” Kathie comments. “They’re creating this gift to the community themselves. It’s not a teacher standing there telling them what to do.” They often go out in subgroups to accommodate several simultaneous evening engagements. “I completely trust our student leaders to do the right thing,” she adds.
They coordinate their complicated schedule of performances via a system of – what else with teens? – texting. All information is shared on Google Calendar, right down to the addresses of performances (tied in with Google Maps) and the on-site contact’s name, along with other short-term details such as where to park and special instructions.
Director Kathie’s own performing schedule goes far beyond her hordes of teen singers and their concert dates. She has performed every Thursday since 1999 with her own jazz group, the 42nd Street Jazz Band, at the Ramada, where the fivesome also plays for corporate events; her husband Shawn plays trumpet with the group.
During the summer, she writes and produces a music and magic review performed by her musical family and friends, including Jack Sand, at Jasper’s Theatre in Park Rapids. She leads Sunday worship at Triumph Lutheran Brethren Church, and has recorded a series of CDs of Christmas and gospel music. Her mother, Dee Hilde, led one of the most popular bands in the Twin Cities before Kathie was born. Today, Kathie and Shawn’s son Dan is a professional musician with the Johnny Holm Band.
When she joined MHS, her contract was only part-time; she also taught vocal jazz at Concordia College and Minnesota State University Moorhead, where she earned her master’s in music education. By the second year, she had moved full-time to the high school faculty. She professes to love her role at MHS and its 1,800 students. “It’s a privilege to teach them,” she says. “Moorhead High kids are the most respectful, creative, hard-working people I know. They’re open minded. They may not always be enthusiastic with something new, but they’re always willing to give it a try.
“Music is a joyful gift – their gift to our community. We’re salting the earth with inner joy.”
Moorhead High’s 800 student musicians – vocal and instrumental – share their music with the public starting at 5:30, 6:30 and 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19, in the MHS Auditorium.
