Isaiah Koschmann: Singing for the Glory of God
Isaiah Koschmann, a 7th-grade student at Liberty Classical Academy, has been a member of the Minnesota Boychoir since the beginning of 2023. Isaiah’s pursuit of music inside and outside of Liberty is an accomplishment we celebrate highly as a school community.
“I’ve loved music ever since I was a toddler,” says Isaiah. “My interest grew even more when my church music director asked me to sing a solo for Christmas Eve in 5th grade.” Isaiah sang “Once in Royal David’s City” a capella, working diligently to learn it. Singing a capella is an accomplishment on its own as it requires the person to rely solely on their vocal skills to maintain pitch control without the help of instruments.
FROM CHURCH TO CARNEGIE HALL
After Isaiah’s mom saw how much he enjoyed singing and his natural talent for it, she encouraged him to audition for the Minnesota Boychoir. “The process to audition for the choir was pretty fun for me,” says Isaiah. “I had to sing “Happy Birthday” and then do some pitch-matching. You do a voice check each year to see what part you will sing next year.” Isaiah was accepted into Cantabile, which is reserved for choirboys ages 9-14 who have demonstrated high levels of musicianship, leadership, responsibility, discipline, and commitment.
Being in the Minnesota Boychoir necessitates enjoyment and talent of vocal performance, a hard work ethic, and personal discipline. “I rehearse twice a week. Tuesday nights for two hours and Saturday mornings for two hours,” explains Isaiah. On top of singing in the choir, Isaiah takes a music theory class to learn about the fundamental elements of the musical language every Saturday following rehearsal.
The choir performs a winter and spring concert each year, two local school/nursing home tours, several church services, and a local spring tour. The choir also has recording sessions to create albums. “This spring, we are going to Duluth to perform, and this summer, I will travel to New York City to perform at Carnegie Hall,” says Isaiah. Singing at Carnegie Hall is a highly coveted experience by singers worldwide. The historic building opened in 1891 and is famous for its stunning acoustics, making it a global music icon.
“The Minnesota Boychoir is a good community full of great people. It’s taught me how to talk with lots of different people and I enjoy seeing how our music makes them feel,” says Isaiah. “I’ve learned so much about music, and now it is a really important part of my life.”