Christ Church is fortunate to have some hidden talents within our congregation and specifically in the church choir. Have you ever wondered about the tenor section? Although there are only two tenors presently, we continue to encourage new members to join this section.
Bob Holmes has been a tenor since long before I joined the choir in 1983. We always look forward to his solos and especially “O Holy Night” on Christmas Eve.
Kjell Johansen has been singing tenor in our choir for the last four years. He began singing as a freshman at Bismarck High School in North Dakota. When Kjell first moved to Whitefish Bay in 1983, he sang in the choir at Fox Point Lutheran Church until he and Sandy joined Christ Church. Choir has always been important to Kjell as he was inspired by his mother who “had her own radio program on KFYR in Bismarck, ND back in the early ‘30s after winning a talent contest. She sang requests. One of the other musicians at the station at that time was Mitch Miller.” Kjell is currently a nuclear chemistry analyst and “responsible for radioactive effluent and radiological environmental monitoring at the Point Beach Nuclear Plant. I used to have non-radiological environmental duties as well but those, thankfully, are being transferred to someone else.” “Choir is one of the most meaningful things I do outside my job and family. There is something a theologian has called a ‘thin spot’. That is the point at which your psyche is closest to God. Choir is my thin spot.” As with many of our choir members, Kjell enjoys Benjamin Britten, Randall Thompson Byrd, Faure, Mozart, Bach, and Rutter. For ethereal music, he likes Byrd’s “Ave Verum.” Faure’s “Ubi Caritas” is another favorite which we sing at Christ Church.
If you enjoy praising God through song and would enjoy the special camaraderie of the choir, please consider joining our choir…especially if you are a tenor! Willette Knop