The Minnesota Chorale is in its second decade of partnering with selected public high schools, most of them in urban Minneapolis and St. Paul. Full Voice, our school-based education program, matches Chorale resources with students' needs to achieve striking improvements in the musicianship and motivation of students. Fostered collaborative effort and self-respect, the program has helped many young people to “find their own voices” while providing training opportunities and consultations for interested teachers.

In the years since its creation, Full Voice has taken a number of forms. In 2004, the Chorale developed a menu of support services for students and teachers, ranging from individual voice lessons and ensemble coaching to teacher development and open rehearsals of the Chorale. This menu was distributed to high schools throughout the Chorale's primary service area at the beginning of the school year, and schools were invited to choose from the menu those services and activities that best served their students.

In the fall of 2007, Full Voice took the form of Men in Music, a traveling ensemble of Chorale tenors and basses, who have sung side-by-side with male choirs in high schools and middle schools throughout the Twin Cities metro area. In many of these visits, the young singers were hearing adult male ensemble singing for the first time. Through these efforts, the Men in Music ensemble has provided their younger counterparts with a tangible demonstration of the joys of lifelong music-making.