by Richard Gray
Over the past few months, we have been featuring brief bios of St. John’s staff singers. Now we want to give you the chance to get to know the wonderful volunteer singers in our talented choir! Today we’d like to introduce you to our Tenor section.
In a choir, the voices are divided into sections based on vocal range (how high or low someone sings). Tenor is a high male-leaning voice part and often sings above the lower voices.
For each of the four sections, music can often be split 1st or 2nd. The 1st part usually sings the higher and maybe more prominent line, while the 2nd part sings notes slightly lower that support the harmony. This creates a more rich and full sound.
John Thompson sings first tenor and has been in the choir for 43 years. He’s been married to Jill for 17 years and lives in their home in Mendota Heights. He’s retired having worked 45 years as an insurance agent. He loves attending concerts and the opera; he volunteered for the Minnesota opera, and he sang in high school and the U of M choirs. His guilty pleasure is enjoying a good glass of red wine. He was born in Denver and misses the mountains of Colorado, but Minnesota is his home as well as home to his daughters, sons-in-law, and three grandchildren.
Rob Beattie sings second tenor and has for the past 44 years! Rob is married to Cammie who plays in the bell choir. Their three children grew up at St John’s, and they have seven grandchildren. A new dog, Minnie, joined them in October after they lost their beloved Chester to cancer over the summer. Rob is a retired corporate lawyer. He’s from Red Wing, MN and won’t disclose his guilty pleasures but loves choral singing, sailing in Maine, attending family activities, and relaxing by the ocean.
Ryan Musgrove sings tenor and has been in the choir for three years now. Originally he’s from Colorado. He lives with his partner, Tim Olsen, and their dogs, Oliver, George, and Gracie. By day, Ryan is a pastry cook at the Saint Paul Hotel and in his spare time he likes throwing tea parties and reading. As a pastry chef, guilty pleasures are not surprising — he loves sweets!
Clinton Kunhardt has just recently joined us in the first tenor section. He originally hails from Westchester, New York and now lives a short walk away in Summit Hill with his wife, Anna, and their many plants and synthesizers. By day, he works as a software engineer. By night, he likes to read, write, and produce music (when he’s not buried in grad school homework!) His guilty pleasure includes getting vegan sushi for lunch. He is a big sci-fi nut, whether it’s reading Ursula K. Le Guin or watching Firefly for the umpteenth time.