This year’s Heritage Singers variety show will be held Feb. 26-28 and March 1 at the Moose Lodge in Minot. Evening performances begin with doors opening at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and the show at 7 p.m. A Sunday matinee will feature doors opening at noon, lunch at 1 p.m. and the performance at 2 p.m. This year’s variety show will feature stand-up comedy by Mike Panko, along with live and silent auctions, with proceeds from a 50/50 raffle benefiting the Minot North High School music department.

Tickets for the Heritage Singers variety show are on sale through the Minot Area Council of the Arts office, located at the corner of Central Avenue and Main Street at 3 Main St. S., Suite 2. Ticket sales are available Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-noon. Additional information is available by calling 852-2787.

The all-male choir was founded in the early 1970s by Dr. Joe Hegsted, then director of choral activities at Minot State University, as a way for men to continue singing beyond their college years. One founding member, Warren Martin, has remained with the group since its earliest days, making him the longest-serving member of the choir.

“We’re not professionals,” said Jesse Cook, a longtime member. “We’re just a bunch of guys that like to get together and sing. And we have fun doing it.”

Members of the Heritage Singers perform during the group’s annual variety show at the Moose Lodge in Minot.

That sense of enjoyment and connection is central to the group’s identity. Cook said weekly rehearsals provide something many members did not realize they were missing.

“I used to have guys ask me why I’d go sing on Thursday nights,” Cook said. “I told them, I go sing with my buddies and my whole week disappears. There’s a lot of stress in the world right now, and on Thursday nights, the stress goes away.”

The Heritage Singers currently includes about 32 members, ranging in age from their early 20s into their 70s. Membership has fluctuated over the years, at times nearing 50 singers, but members say the group always has remained welcoming.

“We don’t want people to be afraid to sing,” Cook said. “You don’t have to be a music major. You don’t have to be a professional. You just have to want to sing.”

The choir rehearses weekly at First Lutheran Church, where members gather not only to prepare for performances but to build lasting relationships.

“It’s a brotherhood,” said Steve Beaudoin. “Have fun, be respectful and take care of each other.”

That sense of brotherhood extends beyond rehearsals. Over the years, the Heritage Singers have supported members during times of illness or loss and have made significant contributions to the wider community. Following the 2011 Souris River flood, the group donated more than $30,000 to help rebuild a local school music department that lost instruments and materials.

“We’re absolutely community-minded,” Beaudoin said. “Every one of us has been given something by this community. This is our way of giving back.”

Musically, the Heritage Singers maintain a broad repertoire that includes sacred, secular, classical, patriotic and contemporary selections. Members estimate the group’s library includes more than 1,000 pieces, allowing programs to change with the seasons.

Certain selections have become closely associated with the choir. One frequently performed piece, “We Rise Again,” has become a signature song, often sung at funerals and memorial services for members.

“It’s a very powerful song,” Beaudoin said. “It tells about how we rise again through the lives of our children and the waves out on the sea.”

Traditional male chorus works also remain central to the group’s sound, including “How Great Thou Art.” Beaudoin recalled performing the piece in a centuries-old church in Spain.

“We were singing in English, and the audience was Spanish,” he said. “They didn’t understand the words, but they understood the feeling. That’s the power of music.”

Each year, the Heritage Singers present three major local performances: a Christmas season “Lessons and Carols” concert, a spring concert in May and a long-running variety show. The “Lessons and Carols” concert is held at First Lutheran Church and is televised each Christmas Eve, regularly drawing audiences of more than 500 people.

“To me, our ‘Lessons and Carols’ concert every year is just such an inspiration,” Beaudoin said. “It’s very fulfilling and reminds you what Christmas is really about.”

For Beaudoin, the concert also carries deep personal meaning. His mother attended the choir’s Christmas performances until her death in 2020.

“When my mom was alive, I always loved when she’d come to our concert, especially ‘Lessons and Carols,'” Beaudoin said. “I felt like a kindergartner again. There I was 60 years old, and my mom was waving at me.”

Beaudoin said he also wishes his father had lived long enough to hear him sing.

“He was very musical,” he said. “He would have been so amazed and proud at the sound that comes out of us when we all get together.”

The variety show offers a different experience, blending music with humor, smaller ensemble performances, solos and comedy.

“The variety show is inspiring too, but in a different way,” Beaudoin said. “We’re just having fun up there.”

Cook added that humor has long been part of the group’s tradition.

“It’s probably the only time we can act dumber and our wives are proud of us,” he said.

“Singing is important,” Cook added. “But supporting music education is important too.”

The Heritage Singers are currently led by three directors: Dr. Ken Bowles, Dave Jenson and Jared Olson.

“We’ve got the best of the best taking care of us,” Beaudoin said. “Having three directors gives us different styles, different strengths and a lot of variety.”

Members said the directors challenge the group musically while maintaining trust and cohesion.

“Sometimes a piece feels hard at first,” Cook said. “You bite your tongue for a couple weeks, but you trust the directors, and they always pull us through.”

While the choir’s primary focus remains local, the Heritage Singers also have performed internationally, singing in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland and Norway. In 2024, the group traveled to France following the 80th anniversary of D-Day, performing at the American Cemetery in Normandy.

“Singing there was truly honorable,” Beaudoin said. “That place sacrificed so much so we could sing the songs we sing.”

Looking ahead, members hope the choir continues to grow and welcome new voices, particularly younger singers who can carry the tradition forward.

“We just hope to keep the tradition going,” Beaudoin said. “To still be here in 10 or 20 years, singing together.”

After more than five decades, the Heritage Singers say their purpose remains unchanged.

“We just like singing,” Cook said. “And sharing it with the community.”