Lane Reflects on 40-Year Journey with Knox Choir

The Knox College Choir has changed dramatically since Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities Laura Lane took the conductor’s baton in 1983. At its core, however, it has remained much the same 40 years later: a group of music lovers that gather and embrace the art of vocal performance. 

Lane says when she first started as choir director, the audition process looked much different than it does now. Her first choir consisted of only 40 students, many of whom considered the choir a casual activity rather than a dedicated focus. Today’s choir auditions see upwards of 100 applicants.

The College was interested in resuming choir tours following Lane’s hire, at a time when such an idea was not as commonplace as it is today. Lane was asked if she’d be willing to cook for the students and chaperone them during these trips. “College leadership wanted to find a way to make the choir both high-quality and fun. They needed someone who knew how to bring both things together,” she said. 

Lane admits that rebuilding the choir from the ground up was daunting, but she stayed motivated by the goal of creating something amazing. She recalled doing a number of fundraising ideas throughout the years to maintain the choir’s touring budget, including selling brats at football games, which she remembers fondly as a huge success.

The choir eventually raised enough money to tour in Europe in 1991—their first tour abroad since 1958. This was the moment Lane says things finally came together, when she could feel the choir's culture start to take shape.

“You could feel it when you walked through the door,” Lane said. “You felt it at your first rehearsal. There was immediate acceptance and love. When you joined the choir, you became part of something.”

Touring internationally has become a priority for the Knox College Choir. Lane says she wanted to give students a lifelong memory involving music and fellowship. While music remained at the forefront of the experience, she believes there was equal value in the joy created by these experiences. “Life is hard sometimes. We need to have beautiful, joy-filled memories to help us through hard times,” she said.

Over the years, the choir has utilized a mentoring system that emphasizes peer mentoring and assigning roles, including student-selected Choir Board members and senior and junior section leaders that are selected by Lane. 

The choir’s success has steadily grown thanks to social and practical elements installed by Lane over her tenure. However, she says the most important reason she stayed so long was her love of Knox students.

“They are such smart, forthright, open-hearted, enthusiastic people, and they are driven by kindness and generosity. That combination allowed me to build the community of love and acceptance that is the Knox College Choir,” Lane said. “And, of course, it led to trust between the students and myself, which is everything.”

Lane believes the choir's social element makes it special. The group has many ongoing traditions that she hopes will carry on after her retirement. From handing out the daily screw award on tours to singing the Knox Hymn at the end of home concerts, these small moments combine to create an incredibly meaningful experience for those selected to be part of the group. 

“What matters most to me is that each and every student who joined the choir felt accepted and loved for who they were as individual human beings. I think that is one of the most important things I brought to the choir," Lane said. 

The impact of Lane’s tenure was amplified during her final Knox concert on March 24, 2023. Every seat in Kresge Recital Hall was filled as the choir returned from their France tour to showcase their work to the Knox community. After a night full of music, Lane welcomed choir alumni up onto the stage to sing the Knox Hymn with her one final time. Dozens of singers crowded the stage, creating a booming tone as the hymn was sung.

Lane’s long journey at Knox ends with a permanent legacy, one of musical mastery and dedication to the students who fill the choir itself. As her final year at the College comes to an end, she’s certain there is a bright future ahead.

“It’s the students that make the choir, and I care so deeply about them," Lane said. “Everything we’ve done to build the choir to where we are now, we did together. I’m so proud of our work and of each student who has sung in the choir with me.”