Composing A Musical Legacy, Part II: Meet the Guiding Light of Lakes' Choir

Editor's note: This is the second part of a two-day series. Read Part One .

Technically speaking, Dr. Benjamin Keller got his start in the Clover Park School District back in 1955.

After all, that’s when he started kindergarten at Custer Elementary School – and where, four years later, his teacher told him that he sounded like Ricky Nelson when he sang.

“I thought, I must be pretty good,” he said, “so I started singing in the choirs.”

That included the choir at Hudtloff Junior High, and then Clover Park High School, the rival of the school where he would eventually cultivate his legacy. Ironically, Keller and his friends would sneak over to Lakes – incognito – to watch its choir perform.

“Even then, it was really strong,” he said with a laugh. “We never admitted that we were from Clover Park, but when they had evening concerts, we didn’t want to miss them.”

Keller said that while he enjoyed singing in Clover Park’s choir, he was always intrigued by the voices soaring on the campus across town.

“When I heard of the Lakes choir, I was a ninth-grader at Hudtloff, and I was blown away by the quality,” he said. “I never thought I’d be directing it 25 years later.”

That was evident as Keller’s schooling took him to Pacific Lutheran University for his bachelor’s in music education, and then a master’s of choral conducting. He spent four years teaching in Oregon before earning a doctorate in choral conduction from the University of Arizona.

And then home came calling.

In 1987, CPSD’s music supervisor called and asked if Keller would like to move back and direct Lakes' choir program.

Now, 25 years later, "I’m still excited to be here and I still enjoy my students and the administration,” he said. “There’s a lot of intensity and passion around the choral program here.

“That doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen very often.”

Building a powerhouse

That intensity has resulted in what has turned into a 47-year streak – the longest in state history – of Lakes’ choir receiving “Superior” ratings at league contests.

CPSD Superintendent Debbie LeBeau said that Lakes’ longstanding reputation as one of the region’s best choirs is largely because of Keller’s “talent and dedication.”

“The 25 years that Dr. Keller has invested in the choral program, along with the talented students attending Lakes, have combined to produce tremendous results,” she said.

It isn’t always easy, though. Keller said the biggest challenge he faces these days is that standardized testing puts pressure on students to take more academic classes rather than electives.

“Fortunately, we have a kind of program where kids make it a priority,” he said. “But I have seen programs die on the vine at other schools because they don’t have the administrative support. I think there’s kind of a tunnel vision: If our math scores are lower, we’ll just throw more math at them. But statistically, it shows that kids who take music score higher on standardized tests.”

Keller added that Lakes Principal Karen Mauer-Smith is a strong supporter of the choir program.

“She’s not a musician, but she understands what music does in kids’ lives,” he said. “She is ultra-supportive. If you don’t have that, you can’t do anything.”

Father figure

As for Lakes’ students, they clearly feel that his support is invaluable. Asked to describe Keller in a word, all four of the choir’s officers agreed that “father” best fits him.

“You can tell he enjoys what he does,” said senior Kylie Hamlin, the choir’s secretary. “He loves his job, and he loves music. Having a teacher who is passionate makes me passionate. It makes school easier.”

Senior Adriana Aea, the choir’s vice president, said that Keller is different from other teachers.

 “I have a lot of teachers I respect because of their knowledge or skills or politics, but Doc sees you as a person,” she said, her voice heavy with tears. “You can’t get that from any other teacher.”

Keller, in turn, said that saying goodbye to this year’s group of seniors won’t be easy.

“I told them before (Thursday’s) concert, ‘You realize this is the last time you’re going to sing some of this music’,” he said. “It’s bittersweet.”

Keller admits that he devotes far more than 40 hours a week to his job.

“I wake up in the middle of the night and start working,” he said. “It’s nonstop.”

But does he ever regret it?

“Oh no,” he said emphatically. “The rewards are great.”

When he’s not focusing on music, Keller enjoys spending time with his family – his brother is Lakes Athletic Director Joe Keller – and he is a longtime devotee of radio controlled hydroplane racing. He participates in two clubs for which the season runs from March to October.

“Last season, my boat won the season title in both clubs,” he said. “So I’ve kind of got a great big target symbol on my back.”

Regardless of the outcome of this season, Keller said he sees hydroplane racing as “great therapy.”

“You go from (the choirs’) highly organized sound to noise,” he said. “I love it.”