Since 1951, the Croix Chordsmen Barbershop Chorus has been interacting with the community through music. Originally started in Hudson before moving to Stillwater, Croix Chordsmen Barbershop Chorus belongs to the Barbershop Harmony Society, which is more than 800 chapters strong nationwide.
The Croix Chordsmen functions as both a barbershop chorus and multiple barbershop quartets that provide a strong community for the 60 members that are involved. Judd Orff has been with the Croix Chordsmen for 48 years “It’s really quite the brotherhood,” says Orff, who was brought to a rehearsal by a friend who had joined decades ago.
Orff also belongs to Riverchase, one of the five quartets that have come out of the chorus in addition to the strong friendships and sense of community, “For me after 48 years, there’s not one thing that I can say, ‘That’s it, that’s the epitome,’ because there are so many wonderful things about it,” Orff says.
The quartets sing at different events around the community, including for nursing homes, church services, weddings and anniversaries. Riverchase peppers Norwegian jokes into their singing performance and is what Orff describes as a “fun chapter quartet” (alongside Riverchase is Autumn Serenade, Summertime, M&D Harmony and Chariot).
The Chordsmen also are involved with Youth In Harmony, which is now becoming a national project to put music into schools. “A lot of the fine arts programs are out of schools, because of [shortages in] money,” Orff says. The Chordsmen put on shows and workshops to help not only inspire youth, but help to provide the funding and learning opportunities for a capella singers. Super Sing, one of those workshops, is held every year in Amery, Wis., and had 178 youth ages 12 to 17 involved last year.
This month, you can catch the Croix Chordsmen, along with several other choruses from around the area, perform at 7p.m. July 18 at Como Park Pavilion. The show is free.
All of the groups can be hired through the website.
