The Minnesota Boychoir, founded in 1962, is the oldest boychoir in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul metropolitan area. The Boychoir’s reputation for excellence has brought invitations from local and national music conventions, as well as sporting events and touring Broadway companies. The Boychoir has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Prague Philharmonic, Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion on National Public Radio, and a long list of local and national performers. The Minnesota Boychoir trains young men to be outstanding musicians and strives to help them develop a sense of poise and self-confidence through education and performance. A choirboy is challenged to sing well, stand tall, stay on schedule, take pride in his appearance, respect those in charge and tap into the best part of who he is and what he can accomplish. The Minnesota Boychoir challenges boys and young men from many backgrounds to the highest standards of choral music, nurtures the development of exceptional character, and inspires and benefits the community. Boychoir is comprised of boys and young men, ages 7 to 18. The singers come from many communities throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area . Mark S. Johnson, Artistic Director: Mark Johnson began his work with the choir in 1991 as the accompanist. He was hired as the Music Director in 1993. Mr. Johnson holds a degree in music education from St. Olaf College, and he taught junior high choral music for six years before becoming full-time director for the Boychoir. From 1995 to 2007, he was a member of the staff at Albemarle, a summer music camp program of the American Boychoir School in Princeton, New Jersey. Mr. Johnson’s reputation in choral work, especially with children’s groups, has led to many invitations to work as a clinician and accompanist for honors choirs and festivals in Louisiana, Illinois, Iowa, North Dakota, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Recently, he conducted the Minnesota ACDA 7th grade Boys Honor Choir and the Young Men’s track at the World Voices Australia Festival in Sydney. Mark is active in Minnesota’s chapters of ACDA and MMEA, and currently serves as the Repertoire and Standards Chair for Boychoirs at the state and regional level. Todd Price, Accompanist: Todd Price has been at home behind a piano for forty years, twenty of them here in Minneapolis. He has been with the Minnesota Boychoir for ten years, working as a composer, arranger and accompanist. In addition to his work with the Boychoir, he has accompanied local/global reigning pageant queen of comedy Miss Richfield 1981 for ten years, and has played for adult ballet classes at Zenon Dance Company for the last three years. His work, ranging from original songs and scores for theater to that as an accompanist, has also been heard at ComedySportz Twin Cities, the Illusion Theater, the Youth Performance Company, Dudley Rigg’s Brave New Workshop, the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA program, the Theater in the Round, Ballet Arts Minnesota, Backstage at Bravo, the Zipper Theater in New York City, the Lakeshore Theater in Chicago, and the Fringe Festivals of both Minneapolis and New York City. His critically acclaimed musical comedy the Temp, with script and lyrics by local actor Brian Kelly, was hailed by City Pages as the Twin Cities’ best theatrical experience of 1998.