Thank you for your interest in the St. Joan of Arc Choir. We're very proud of what we do and invite you to know more about us and, if you’re interested, join us.

The St. Joan of Arc Choir (also known popularly as the St. Joan of Arc Gospel Tabernacle Choir) was formed in Fall, 1992. Our goal is to add to liturgies and other special events at St. Joan’s by providing choral music of various styles.

We sing gospel, classical, contemporary, bluegrass, sacred, and secular choral music. If it fits the liturgical theme of the day and makes a joyful noise unto the Lord, we sing it. Among our favorite composers are Leon Roberts, Marty Haugen, David Haas, and John Bell. We have sung with regionally recognized soloists Eddie Robinson, Gwen Matthews, Debbie Duncan, and Bruce Henry, and the internationally acclaimed Christian Explainers.

We are a special events choir. That is, we do not sing every Sunday but only occasionally on certain Sundays, special liturgical and other celebrations (i.e., Christmas, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Easter), and concerts. We sing an average of ten to twelve dates each year in Fall, Winter, and Spring.

We are a very informal group of around 100 lively, spirit-filled, lovely amateur sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses who volunteer our talents. We are all adults who are engaged in various professions and pursuits. Approximately 75 of us will be at rehearsals and performances at any one time. This is in keeping with our tradition as a no-guilt choir: we rehearse and perform as our schedules allow.

We come from all over the Twin Cities Metro area, including Minneapolis, Edina, Richfield, St. Louis Park, Bloomington, St. Paul, Rosemount, Apple Valley, Vadnais Heights, Farmington, and Lakeville. There is some turnover in the choir from year to year although many of us have been singing with the choir since its founding. It’s very common that people have been in the choir for 5, 10, or more years.

For some of us, the choir is an extension of choral experience gained in other settings, like high school and college choirs or glee clubs. For others of us, its our first time in a choir. Some of us are very talented, others of us glad the talented ones are there to carry us along. But we all share a love of music, a desire to share our musical talents with others, and have fun.

Supporting us is our director (Anna Vagle), accompanist (Debbie Oleson), arranger (Joe Chouinard), librarian (JoAnn Potts), business agent (Dave Culver), costumer and social coordinator (Harriet Horner).

We rehearse every Thursday evening in the Church from 7-9 PM from mid-September through late April, depending on the length of the liturgical season. If Easter is late, we may get a two to three week break after Christmas. Far from work, many of us describe rehearsals as a great way to get rid of disgruntlement and harried end-of-the-day weariness. In other words, therapy!

To find out more about us, contact our director Anna Vagle (612-823-8206, avagle@stjoan.com), Dave Culver (952-253-1444, mplsstreetrwy@earthlink.net), come to a rehearsal, or talk to any of us at a performance. Our rehearsal and performance schedule is posted in Choir Notes.