'An amazing brotherhood' — The Apollo Club men’s chorus celebrates 130 years
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Before baritone Jeff Ansel joined the Apollo Club men’s chorus in 1983, he had a career in the military, serving in the Vietnam War.
“I was a Vietnamese linguist, translator, interpreter, interrogator, radio intercept operator and code breaker. I loved it,” Ansel says.
“I thought that was the greatest brotherhood on earth, until I joined the Apollo Club,” Ansel says. “This is truly an amazing brotherhood.”
The Apollo Club is one of the oldest continuously performing men’s choruses in the country. The origin story, as Ansel tells it, in 1895, a couple of like-minded Scandinavian businessmen and community leaders in the Twin Cities formed the group to ensure that “male choral music didn't fade into the sunset.”
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The club will celebrate the milestone Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts in St. Paul with “130 Years of Brotherhood & Song.”
“It is truly mindblowing, and it's an honor, and it's a privilege,” says Chris McGinley, the artistic director and conductor for the chorus since 2022.
McGinley says the festival repertoire will include “Brothers Sing On!” by 19th-century Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, the 2003 piece “I Have Had Singing” by Ron Jeffers and the James L. Stevens arrangement “Nearer, My God, to Thee.”
“It's an absolute barn burner,” McGinley says.
Ansel says singing together has created a deep bond among the men. The chorus currently has about 65 members.
“When you see these guys every week and you perform with them, there's a great deal of emotion, a great deal of heart in this group,” he says.
Baritone Jim Elsass, who joined the Apollo Club in 1996, agrees.
“The friendships that I've made and the camaraderie, the places we've been, the places we've sung, it's just been a wonderful journey,” Elsass says. “Some of these guys in here are my best friends. If I had an issue or something bothered me, I’d go to one of these guys before probably anyone else.”
First tenor Matthew Barnes is one of the newer members, joining in the fall of 2025. He says the chorus provides a respite during stressful times.
“When I need to have a break from the hard lessons of the world we live in now, I can just go back to music, and it just fills my soul with joy,” Barnes says. “That's what music offers for people, and I think that's what we can bring to people, whether they're listening or whether they want to come and join us.”
McGinley will be conducting more than the Apollo Club on Saturday: former Apollo Club members and choral singers from across the state and country will join the festival, as well as the Minnesota Boychoir under the direction of Mark S. Johnson.
“There is something ineffable and something unstoppable about that feeling of uniting our voices in song,” McGinley says. “It crosses political boundaries, it crosses personal and religious boundaries. It is a pursuit that is timeless and we hope we get to do it forever.”
