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MICHAEL SMITH: We do music from the Renaissance, from the Baroque, from the Classic Period-- Mozart, Haydn. We do stuff on the Romantic period-- Brahms.

MARISA HELMS: And now Brainerd High's choral director Michael Smith is adding aboriginal sounds to the repertoire. A new piece by Australian composer Sarah Hopkins called "Past Life Melodies" offers no words, only sounds.

MICHAEL SMITH: It's very non-Western civilization. So much of our music that we perform comes from the Western cultural tradition. And this is very definitely not Western European tradition. This is the whole world.

MARISA HELMS: Smith says the piece is based on harmonic overtones, which are found in the musical traditions of many cultures.

MICHAEL SMITH: You have monks in Tibet that do harmonic singing. You have people in China that do harmonic singing. You have people in India that do that. You have people in Australia that do that.

And so when you hear it, you recognize it immediately that this is encompassing the whole world. I guess maybe that's why it's so well-received because it's different, it's inclusive of so many of our cultures, and it's unique. It just is very special.

MARISA HELMS: "Past Life Melodies" starts off with humming--

[CHOIR HUMMING]

Moves into a kind of chanting--

[CHOIR CHANTING]

Which then changes into its otherworldly harmonic sounds.

[HARMONIC SINGING]

It's a unique piece for a choir from Northern Minnesota. The Brainerd choir performed the selection all year on tours throughout the state. Choir director Smith says the composition surprises audiences because they aren't accustomed to the unusual voice work.

MICHAEL SMITH: Every audience that we have performed this piece in front of are just amazed. Their eyes-- and they're looking all over the place for someone that is hiding an instrument someplace and playing it behind the choir. Or they're saying, Where is that sound coming from? because the sounds tend to just bounce all over the place. And you hear these very high whistle-like sounds that are produced by the human voice.

MARISA HELMS: The selection isn't just a musical challenge for alto section leader Jane Anderson. The piece is a cultural education, too.

JANE ANDERSON: It seems like it's not even from any one culture because it doesn't even sound-- it's not-- it's barely human, kind of. It's like it's-- it could be-- I think it could be understood by all cultures because there's no-- you can't-- listening to it, it doesn't sound like it's from anywhere. It sounds like it's from another planet.

MARISA HELMS: 18-year-old Greg Lynch agrees "Past Life Melodies" is not your average choir selection.

GREG LYNCH: Even in the "Past Life Melodies" where it sounds like it's just off the wall and it's everywhere, there's still a structure there. There's still a rhythm there. There's still, you have to take a breath here. You can't take a breath there. You need to continue this out. So I think one of the important things there is that it takes creative ability, and it disciplines it, and it channels it.

MARISA HELMS: Greg's father, Pastor Michael Lynch, has listened in on choir rehearsals and performances this year. He says the piece not only speaks to listeners about other cultures, it also speaks to one's spirit.

MICHAEL LYNCH: You know, as I listened to rehearsal, I made a note that this kind of music is the language of the soul. And in order to express that kind of language, you must first learn the language. And that's where music appreciation and the importance of learning a greater spectrum of music-- but more importantly, this is the kind of music that does affect our lives. It creates us, who we are.

MARISA HELMS: Lynch is so impressed by the talents and activities of the choir that he'd like to see more avenues for creativity for Brainerd area youth.

MICHAEL LYNCH: What I hear about our youth are the problems, the challenges that they're facing. I'm hearing about the confusion. I'm hearing about the dark side of many of their experiences, the crimes they commit, the curfews they violate.

And what we find here is we find the good side. We find the positive side. We find the side of our youth that we can celebrate and join with them in celebration. And that is the story behind these music programs.

MARISA HELMS: The Brainerd High School Choir will perform for the last time this year at graduation. Choral director Michael Smith says, as a result of the experience this year with a decidedly non-Western selection, he hopes to find a different, though equally challenging, piece for next year. In Collegeville, I'm Marisa Helms, Minnesota Public Radio.