GarRet Pratt, President
Garret Pratt is a founding member of the Minnesota Valley Men’s Chorale, is a member of the tenor II section and has been section leader of the tenor sections. He has been on the board of directors since 2012 and has been president of MVMC since November 2013. Garret began singing with Judy Sagen in 1977 and started singing with Steve Boehlke as a sophomore in the Rosemount concert and chamber choirs in 1981. Garret worked toward a music education – vocal degree at UW-Eau Claire, where he sang with The Singing Statesmen and at the University of Minnesota where he sang with Kathy Romey and the University of Minnesota Concert Choir. Garret also is a member of the Grace Lutheran Church choir and bell choir in Apple Valley.
Garret spent six years in the United States Marine Corps as military police and as a marksmanship instructor. Garret now works for Makita Power Tools as the market service manager for the state of Minnesota. A great joy of Garret’s is singing with his son Josh Pratt as part of MVMC.
Garret has been married to his wife Judy Anderson-Pratt since 2001 and has three children (Joshua, Mattea and Skylar) and two stepchildren (Jennifer and Jessica), and is the proud “Bompa” to his two grand-daughters Bernadette and Josephine!! A great joy of Garret’s is singing with his son Josh Pratt (who is also on the board) as part of MVMC.
DAVE ERKENS, Vice President
Dave Erkens first began singing in grade school when the choir director twisted his arm to join her choir. He decided he liked it and it has been a part of his life ever since. Dave sang in school choirs and church choirs, joining MVMC in the fall of 2011. He enjoys singing with a group of men.
Dave currently works at R.E. Purvis & Associate’s, an industrial seal distributor, as the head of inside sales and customer service. The company provides hydraulic and pneumatic seals in the recreational vehicle market, commercial lawn care, and light construction equipment markets.
BILL STEPHENSON, Treasurer
Bill is a founding member of the Minnesota Valley Men’s Chorale and of the board of directors. A lifelong choir singer, he has had the good fortune of singing under the direction of some of the best: Jon Peterson, Dale Warland, Dr. William Wyman, and Steve Boehlke.
Bill is a business consultant and lives in Apple Valley.
JAY REDING, Secretary
Jay Reding is the only non-singing member of the MVMC Board. While possessing a singing voice that could be declared as a weapon of mass destruction, Jay is delighted to be able to work with a group that encourages life-long singing. Jay was a violinist for the Gustavus Adolphus College Symphony Orchestra, the Sioux Falls Washington Symphony Orchestra, and the Des Moines Youth Orchestra.
Jay currently practices as a litigation attorney with the ASK law firm.
Luke Ingles
Luke is a founding member of MVMC. A lifelong performer, Luke has acted on stages throughout the Twin Cities, including the Guthrie, Children's Theater, and Youth Performance Company. You can also catch him in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene in Drop Dead Gorgeous. His love of singing was fostered at Rosemount High School where he was a member of Steve Boehkle's Concert, Chamber, and Irish Bards choirs along with the Vocal Jazz Ensemble. He is also a proud member of the Grace Lutheran Church choir.
After getting the most out of his education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Luke has enjoyed success in the risk technology sector. Currently, he serves as an Application Configuration Manager at U.S. Bank, where he wows his co-workers with his karaoke prowess.
Luke lives in Apple Valley with his wife Christel, an MVWC and Luther Nordic Choir alumna, and his son, Max, who is simultaneously obsessed with baseball and “Hamilton.”
Jerry Ewing
Jerry Ewing is a founding member of the Minnesota Valley Men’s Chorale. He started singing in the church choir shortly after his voice changed, at about age 35. Jerry sang in the church choir under Steve Boehlke, and Jerry’s three children later sang in Boehlke’s choirs at Rosemount High School.
Since retiring from a career in information systems project management, he spends his time planning vacations — every state, every national park and 32 countries — tending his collection of 200,000 photos, reading and writing, with a particular fondness for things like bylaws, policies and procedures, and grant applications
Now, if he just knew one musical note from another …
Mike Ettreim
Mike started singing with MVMC in 2013 and is a lifelong singer. He is Minnesota born and raised, growing up in Rosemount and a graduate of Rosemount High School, where he sang under Steven Boehlke. Mike has reconnected with several of his former high school friends through joining MVMC and has made several more lifelong friends.
Mike has five nieces ranging in age from 14 to 7 as well as one nephew. Mike moved back to Rosemount in 2021 with his dog Willow and has worked for Rocco Altobelli Salons Inc. 18 years as a nail technician / lead educator. In the fall of 2023, Mike will be going back to school at Minnesota State University, Mankato as part of the pre-veterinarian program.
ERIC EBERT
Eric Ebert joined MVMC in 2010 after returning to Minnesota following four years on the frozen tundra of Green Bay. He discovered his love of singing at an early age at singing in church choirs, elementary school performances and later high school concert choir. Eric sang in the University of Wisconsin - River Falls Concert and Men’s choirs for three years, where he met director Stephen Boehlke and MVMC charter member Kris Kulsrud.
Eric graduated from River Falls in 2006 with a degree in journalism, but decided to try a career in risk and compliance instead. He currently works for First Citizens Bank, providing expertise in everything from the development of risk processes and controls to the automation of regulatory data.
Eric and his family live just east of Northfield, surrounded by amber waves of grain. He is married to his wife, Helen, and is the parent of two boys (August and Holden), one dog and nine hens.
Josh pratt
Josh Pratt joined MVMC in 2014, which happened to be a year after he began to sing. Being an instrumentalist the majority of his life, Josh primarily focused on saxophone, bass guitar, piano, and any other instrument he could get his hands on. It wasn’t until he was asked to help out in a church musical that he found his voice. Always trying to improve, Josh began taking voice lessons and joined the Inver Hills Community College Choir (of which he ended up becoming the president).
Josh has been performing professionally for the past decade — formerly, with bands Saving Vinyl City and Black Genesis — and now performs with The Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Band, the supporting group for local hip hop artist Nur-D. Josh’s accolades include being named “Top Five Local Bands” in 2016 and 2017, “Top Local Concert” in 2018, and featured in “Best New Bands” showcase at First Ave in 2020.
Josh is a Content Expert at Tria Orthopedic Center, as well as a host for Trivia Mafia. He currently lives in Farmington with his wife, daughter, and their two cats.
Jeff Duncan
Jeffrey spends most of his time dreaming of pizza. He is a self-proclaimed idiot, with a past in musical theater who is presently working on completing his master’s degree in divinity. He hopes to someday help others by abolishing mathematical word problems.
Jeffrey is unemployed, lives in his parents basement, has never had a successful adult relationship and has dreams to someday own an outhouse, which he believes makes him the perfect candidate to run for President of the U.S. and A.
In the future when you hear someone say, “Vote Jeffrey”, you’ll know who they mean.
Our Board includes members at large from the chorale and from the community. Each Board member is elected by the membership of MVMC at our annual Membership Meeting the Monday following our final spring concert, 7 PM at Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, MN. We encourage all members, donors, and any interested parties to attend the meeting.
Minutes from all Board meetings are available, upon request, through the secretary of the Board of Directors. Each Board member serves a three year term and is eligible to serve as many terms as they are re-elected for. The executive seats are elected by the Board on an annual basis at the first Board meeting following the membership meeting. The artistic director of The Minnesota Valley Men's Chorale serves as an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors.