At the end of May, to celebrate the thirtieth year of The Heights Men’s Chorus, Dr. Kevin Strother, ‘Doc’, conducted more than 140 students and alumni of the chorus at the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland. Among the alumni, spanning every class from 2000 to 2026 along with a few current students, were two of the four founding student members from the class of 2000, John Kilner and Dan Sushinsky.

Before the Saturday concert, the alumni gathered in Chesterton Hall on Friday night for both a merry rehearsal and a chance to catch up with old classmates and friends. On Saturday morning, everyone gathered again for a more detailed rehearsal, which proved to be another festive time.

Saturday evening’s two-hour concert of nearly twenty-five songs began with the traditional opener, “Rise Up, O Men of God,” and was followed by many other beloved songs sung by the Men’s Chorus—originally referred to, simply, as “a capella”—over the past thirty years. In between songs, Doc recounted a few stories of the Men’s Chorus, including a story about a group of boys in the chorus singing in one of the churches in Jerusalem during a Crescite Week trip to the Holy Land.

Before the conclusion of the concert, Doc invited Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente to offer a few words about The Heights, something that Doc insisted on every year, but that Alvaro had previously humbly declined. Expecting a short praise of The Heights, all were joyfully pleased, instead, by a powerful “Thank You to Doc” speech from the headmaster.

The concert proved a great success and the reception that followed provided the opportunity to share fond memories. Many guests thanked Doc for all the years and work he gave to The Heights to make the Men’s Chorus the fruitful program it is today.