About Us
LeagueAires enriches lives and fosters wellness through music.
What began with a modest beginning in the early 1960s has grown to a dynamic choir of 45 to 60 singers. LeagueAires annually sings at more than 40 venues throughout the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro area, including senior residences, nursing homes, businesses serving individuals with special needs, and schools for children with special needs.
During each performance season, LeagueAires touches more than 5,000 lives and, as a group, volunteers approximately 10,500 hours.
Our Partners
The Junior League
The Junior League of Minneapolis (JLM) has sponsored LeagueAires since 1966. The Junior League of Minneapolis is an organization of women whose mission is to advance women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training.
MacPhail Center for Music
In July 2006, LeagueAires formed a partnership with MacPhail Center for Music to engage a MacPhail teaching artist as the director of the ensemble. Since 2016, Walter Tambor has served in this role. MacPhail’s mission is to transform lives and enrich the community through music education.
Suzanne Holmes Hodder Legacy Fund
In February 2012, the family of Sue Hodder, a longtime member of LeagueAires, established the Suzanne Holmes Hodder Legacy Fund to provide supplemental funding to LeagueAires in perpetuity.
Our Staff
Walter Tambor, Director
Walter Tambor joined LeagueAires as Music Director in 2016. A pianist, choral director, and music educator based in Minneapolis, he is on faculty at MacPhail Center for Music. From 2008-2023, Walter served as Accompanist and Associate Conductor of the Minneapolis Youth Chorus, an educational program of the Minnesota Chorale, and previously served as Director of Contemporary and World Music at the Basilica of Saint Mary from 2004-2022 where he directed Mundus, contemporary and world music ensemble; Juventus, the instrumental and choral ensemble for youth grades 8-12; and assembled various liturgical music ensembles from world cultures. He has worked as music director/pit conductor for a variety of theater companies and currently sings and serves as a Tenor section leader with the Minnesota Chorale. Before coming to Minneapolis, Walter was a faculty member/accompanist at the nationally recognized Chicago Children’s Choir Academy and DePaul University Community Music Division, where he provided private piano instruction to mostly African American and Hispanic foster children ages 8-12, mentoring children and promoting increased confidence and self-worth. He was also Assistant Organist/Choir Director at Saint Clement Church in Chicago. Mr. Tambor is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and DePaul University.
Trudy Wilgers, Accompanist
From Falls City, Nebraska, Trudy Wilgers graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in organ performance. She served as organist for Atonement Lutheran Church, Overland Park, KS for 23 years and moved to Minneapolis in 2005 where she has substituted as organist for several churches including her family’s home church, St Phillip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN. During her time in the Twin Cities, Trudy has become very engaged in the community, specifically supporting the Greater Twin Cities United Way, Minnesota Orchestra, and SPDLC. Trudy joined Leagueaires as an accompanist in 2017.
Lou Ann Henderson, Accompanist
Lou Ann Henderson was an elementary music specialist in the public schools for 33 years and retired in 2019. Since her “retirement,” she has been serving as choir director and organist at her home church, The Grove UMC in Woodbury and is also on faculty at MacPhail Center for Music. She works in the Music for Life program, teaching music classes to seniors in assisted living and memory care facilities. She also has served as accompanist for Giving Voice and Connecting Voices choruses, which are choirs for people living with dementia and their care partners. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Moorhead State University and a Master of Arts degree from the University of St. Thomas. Lou Ann is also a vocalist who has sung with the Minnesota Chorale, the Phil Mattson Singers, and Shoop Jazz. She currently sings with the Stillwater Victorian Carolers. She is excited to be a part of LeagueAires as an accompanist to help bring the joy of music to so many in our community.
