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Jonathan Laabs
Jonathan Laabs has served as Director of Choral Programs at Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School since 2008. He directs a department of over 150 members organized into three curricular choirs, Kantorei, Women’s Choir, and Concert Choir; and two extra-curricular groups, the Echoes and the Chapel Choir. Under his direction, the choirs have performed diverse repertoire in their five annual major concerts, recorded a CD, and maintained a rigorous performance schedule around Southeast Wisconsin. In 2008, the Concert Choir was voted first in the 99.1 WMYX Christmas Radio Contest. Besides his duties with the choirs, he also teaches classes in Lifetime Sports and Honors Music Theory. He is a 2008 graduate of Martin Luther College, where he studied elementary education along with secondary choral and instrumental music.
Mr. Laabs continues his work as an experienced performer. In 2005, he sang a full season with The Singers: Minnesota Choral Artists, under the direction of Matthew Culloton. In 2010 he was named as the second Artistic Director of Canticum Novum: a WELS chamber choir and will make his conducting debut of the ensemble during the 2011 summer retreat. In 2009, he joined the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee under the direction of Richard Hynson. Since joining he has performed as bass section leader and member of the professional core, as well as guest conductor. He served as a clinician at the 2010 WELS West Regional Choral Festival in West St. Paul and has been invited to clinician the 2011 National Festival in November.
Also an experienced soloist, Mr. Laabs was invited back to Martin Lutheran College in November 2009, as baritone soloist in a performance of Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem. The 2009-2010 Bel Canto season included solo performances in Handel’s Israel in Egypt and in the United States Premiere of Corrado Margutti’s Missa Lorca. In July of 2011, he traveled with the chorus to Argentina and Uruguay as a guest soloist to perform Mozart’s Requiem and Gabriel Faure’s Requiem.
In August of 2009, Jonathan was married to his beautiful wife, Erin. They live happily together in Jackson, WI.
You can contact Mr. Laabs at 262-677-4051 ext. 2308 or
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Photo by Andrea Oppermann
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