The History of the Heritage Singers

The Heritage Singers were formed October 1974 by Alf Aanestad, Ted Sitz, Lyle Hanson, Dr. Joseph Hegstad, and Brad Botz. They wanted to organize a musical group that would perform classical male chorus literature with an emphasis on patriotic, spiritual, and sacred music, and provide music for various local and state functions. It was the aim of this group to foster and promote male choral singing. At the time of formation the public school choral organizations were suffering from a lack of male singers and it was hoped that this organization would help create more interest among men in singing. This small group of men felt it was important that this new group perform exquisitely well, and with that thought in mind, it was two years of rehearsals before they finally felt they had mastered songs well enough to share them with an audience
By 1977 the group consisted of 24 members. A five-dollar membership fee was initiated for the purpose of purchasing new music for the group. Practices at that time were held weekly at Augustana Lutheran Church and concert uniforms, a formal tuxedo,  were purchased through Sharks Men’s Store. This design continues to be the formal concert attire used by the group today. Early in the history members would loan part or all of the cost of the tuxedo to the group, as there rarely was enough money in the treasury to purchase an outfit.

The organization continued to popularize classical music and on March 30th, 1980 at McFarland Auditorium, they teamed up with the Minot Symphony Orchestra, the Minot State College Concert Choir, and the Minot Chamber Choral and performed Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D minor and the Mesonic Funeral March also by Mozart. This was an incredibly difficult musical experience and it marked the beginning of serious musical accomplishments for the group.

The North Dakota Heritage Center opened in 1982 in Bismarck, constructed to preserve the history and culture of our pioneers in North Dakota. The Heritage Singers were asked to perform at the opening ceremonies, and it was said that the group would always be remembered for their outstanding performance of patriotic songs including God Bless America, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, and The Star Spangled Banner. At that time the group was directed by Dr. Joseph Hegstad  The group had been named the Governor’s Chorus the previous year and it was a fitting tribute to be asked to perform on the state capital grounds.
A couple of years later (1985) the group took a different turn and entered into the evening dinner theater market. They performed Gilbert and Sullivan’s  H.M.S. Pinafore at the Minot Elks Lodge for three consecutive nights. The group performed to nearly sold out audiences each evening.
The success of this production led to another production, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado the following year.  It ran for five nights and again was a smashing success. The Heritage Singers utilized Kevin Neuharth from Minot State University to direct the play and the group rehearsed for about two months in preparation for the event. The addition of theater presentation to the Heritage Singers concert schedule reflected their desire to stay energized and provided new challenges for the group.

Members of this group come from all walks of life; teachers, clergymen, salesmen, lawyers, doctors, dentists, business owners, farmers, college students, electricians and plumbers just to name a few; all who have an interest in music and a love of singing.  Some members of the group were music majors in college, but the vast majority of the members have had very little musical education. They appreciate the special camaraderie made possible by a genuine love of music and enjoy the dedication to excellence in music the group provides.
In 1986 the Heritage Singers faced two new challenges, namely moving ahead without their original director Dr. Joseph Hegstad, and gearing up for a Pops Concert with the Minot Symphony Orchestra.  Dr. Hegstad had taken a sabbatical in Arizona and the directorship of the group was assumed by two longtime members, Mr. Robert Demke and Mr. Mark Schnabel. both graduates of Minot State University and Dr. Hegstad's Division of Music. (both of them had taught music, Demke for two years at McHenry, North Dakota, and Schnabel for three years at Des Lacs Burlington. Each of these men had joined the Heritage Singers early on in the development , Demke in 1977, Schnabel in 1976). . In 1989 the group performed Randal Thompson’s Testament of Freedom with the Minot Symphony Orchestra and in 1990 the ever-popular group performed Hunters Chorus from Carl Maria Von Webers “Opera Die Freischutz”. They also performed the Prayer from Wagner’’s “Lohengrin” and the famous Soldiers Chorus from Gounod’s Faust.

Important in the groups plans has always been the annual Festival of Lessons and Carols, held the Sunday prior to Christmas. For most of the members, Christmas is just not a proper holiday until they have had a chance to perform this traditional concert. This performance is based on the King’s College Singers of Cambridge University in England and is a longstanding tradition of that college to perform Christmas pieces interspersed with religious readings. The Festival of Lessons and Carols is always well received by the community, and marks the official start of Christmas for most of the group members.

Another significant holiday tradition in Minot has been the performance of The Messiah. In 1992 this tradition nearly ended with the 63rd continuous performance in Minot. Two local groups had performed the classic work, the Minot Symphony Orchestra and the Minot State University Concert Choir. Both groups opted out of any further performances of The Messiah. Dr. Joseph Hegstad who at the time was chairman of the MSU Division of Music, decided to continue the tradition by combining the Heritage Singers and the Voices of Note, a local Women’s chorus,  to perform The Messiah that year. This action was applauded by the community, and felt to be an important means to celebrate the Christmas season. The Heritage Singers received strong accolades for throwing their support into this popular musical celebration.

Two years later (1994) the group lost Dr. Hegstad, who retired and moved to Arizona. Mr. Bob Demke took over as second conductor of the group. His first crisis came that very year, when the organist, who was booked for the Messiah, developed double pneumonia and was unable to perform. That year the Messiah was performed from the balcony of First Lutheran Church and Bob was able to locate a replacement organist, Dr. Mark Dimond. That marked the 65th continuous performance of the Messiah in Minot.

The Heritage Singers developed a new idea in 1989. They started a winter variety show. This was initially developed as a sort of “dinner theater”.  The group using a very simple meal and good musical selections performed solos, comedy acts, skits and small group numbers. For the first couple of years this variety show was a rather small portion of the musical production of the group. Over time this has grown to be a very large production. We currently run the variety show six nights over two weekends and perform to nearly 400 people at each seating. For many years, the variety show continues to sell out and is anxiously anticipated by members of the community. We have two important safety rules that one should follow when attending the variety show;

We recommend patrons keep food at the table...
entertainers are not really starving artists. 
A lack of applause may trigger an encore...
                                                so please be careful.

Promoting male choral singing and making young people aware of the musical opportunities to be gained through singing were goals that the group had discussed over the years. In an attempt to foster the importance of choral music, the group sponsored a statewide community choir festival in 1997. They invited the director of the Los Angeles Master Choral, Paul Salamunovich, to Minot to spend two days working with choruses from the area. These included the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Chorus, the Minot Chamber Chorale, The Rugby Community Choir, the Williston Chorale, and the Voices of Note. This choral workshop was well received and all members involved felt they had improved their vocal skills.

A memorable experience for 5 members of the Heritage Singers was “Forever Plaid”. These members formed a small ensemble that practiced for about two years and eventually performed the smash musical, “Forever Plaid” in Minot at Minot State University’s Summer Theater. This Stuart Ross musical was masterfully performed in Minot by Mark Priess, Mark Schnabel, Wayne Semrau, Jerry Hansen, and Darwin Langseth. Enjoyed by thousands of arts patrons, this again demonstrated the musical excellence of the group.

In 1998, after years of discussion, the Heritage Singers produced their first CD entitled Festival of Lessons and Carols. This was a recording of the extremely popular Christmas concert the group performs every year. The recording really was a massive undertaking, as they struggled to obtain royalty rights to several out of print songs.  This highlight was profoundly rewarding to share with friends and patrons. The recording went on to completely sell out. A second printing was obtained and it now is sharing the shelf with two other Heritage Singers recordings Americana, a group of patriotic numbers and Swingin’ with the Saints, a selection of spirituals and sacred music.  Both are available on this web site.

Probably the crowning achievement of the Heritage Singers was the first European tour. In 2000 the group was invited by the City of Minot to be the city’s musical ambassadors to our sister city Skien, Norway. A European tour had been a dream of the group for at least 20 years and after producing a CD and doing other fundraising events, the Heritage Singers achieved this dream and traveled to Norway on a two-week concert tour. We represented the city of Minot at Skien’s millennium, a celebration of the 1000th year since the founding of their city. Perhaps our most memorable performance was in a Cathedral built in the 15th century.  Our sound soared to the lofty cathedral ceiling and the echo within the ancient structure  was inspiring. We also performed for the King and Queen of Norway one rainy summer morning in the formal gardens of a private park.   We later learned it is extremely rare for foreigners to perform for the Royal Family.  This honor is usually reserved for the native Norwegian people.

Since that tour, the Heritage Singers traveled to Washington DC for a week long concert tour in 2001 and to Austria and Germany in 2005 for a two-week European tour filled with concerts and sightseeing adventures.  These traveling tours provided a wonderful collection of memories for families and members alike.

In 2007 the group underwent another change as director Mr. Robert Demke left the group to pursue other interests, leaving the group under the direction of Mr. Mark Schnabel and associate directors Mark Witteman, Mike Jensen, and Richard Anderson, thus challenging the group further with their differing vocal and musical styles.

From its origins as a group of five members in a faculty discussion room in 1974, to the recent tours in Europe, this group has had a rich and complex musical experience. There is incredible camaraderie in this group and over the years we have been able to share our music with students, children, and adults from all walks of life.  We continue to support the mission of our group:  to promote good choral music in our community.  The history of the Heritage Singers continues to amaze this author as we add new members who share a love for singing, and continue to invigorate the organization by adding new challenges to our musical repertoire.

Back to Top