By Steve Van Kooten

People in Prairie du Chien might be used to carolers coming to the door during the holiday season, but how about singing at the dinner table?

That's the idea behind “A Very Drake Christmas,” a dinner event that will take place on Dec. 5 and 6 beginning at 5:30 p.m. on both nights at The Drake Piano Bar.

The dinners will include a four-course meal, two drink pairings and a variety of Christmas-music, both classical and infused with other musical genres.

"We want to make it a little bit different, a little bit more special for guests," said Ross Martin, who came up with Tuxedos and Tunes.

The allure is the entertainment; Ross, along with his troupe of singers, will be attired in Dickensian clothes to perform before the meal, between courses and after the plates have been licked clean.

"I could put on a shirt and tie, but it wouldn't have the same effect. I want the ‘wow factor,’ said Ross. "People will walk in, get a glass of sparkling champagne, and we're going to be singing 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' or 'Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer' right in front of them, and give them that experience dressed up in gowns and Charles Dickens hats and tuxedo tails."

Ross, who has performed at The Drake before, came up with the idea when asked if he had any ideas for a Christmas show. He drew from previous experiences performing with caroling groups and at madrigal dinners.

"And I thought if I combine Christmas carolers with a type of madrigal dinner — that's where the influence came from," said Martin. "That's how it will run: carols, then courses, carols and then more courses. That's how they were run before."

Along with Ross, Ellen Martin, Phil Stiemke, Janet Knudson and Georgia Ihm will perform.

Ellen Martin and Stiemke are former music teachers (the latter of whom taught in Prairie as well as at River Ridge), Knudson teaches music at Viterbo University, and Ihm has performed with the Gotta Dance Academy in Lancaster for eight years.

"All of us have this grand knowledge of music and teaching, bringing it all together for our guests in Prairie du Chien," said Ross.

The meal will include butternut squash and sage velouté, winter citrus and pomegranate salad, roasted Cornish hens and holiday pavlova. A variety of wines and cocktails will be offered for drink pairings.

Additionally, Roddy and Lorinda Dull, who own The Artist’s Eye Gallery in Woodman, will have their art on display at the venue.

Tickets can be purchased at https://www.thedrakepdc.com/a-very-drake-xmas.

The Drake Piano Bar is located at 37505 US-18, Prairie du Chien, WI 53821.

It's no coincidence that Ross decided to bring his 'Tuxedos & Tunes' idea to Prairie du Chien and stock the cast of characters with local talent; he grew up here.

Raised on a farm in the Bloomington area, Ross was exposed to music at a very young age, and it shaped the rest of his life.

"Back when I grew up, the outside influences were slim. My mother and my father liked music, and most households in the 60s had a piano in the house," he said.

Ross found encouragement to pursue singing as a career because of support from his parents, family and his high school choir director.

His mother was music director of the 4-H Club in Bloomington, and he had two older sisters who pursued music education. Growing up, he watched his sisters' concerts at UW-Platteville.

In high school, he started singing solo and in ensemble and did his first paid gig at a wedding when he was 15 years old.

Graduating from Bloomington High School, he then went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he joined the Wisconsin Singers.

"I toured a lot with them and got to sing at the White House, and a lot of great things came out of that," recalled Ross.

During his college years, he began singing with a barbershop quartet, performed in musical theater and joined a group that traveled across the Upper Midwest — and eventually overseas — to perform.

"That's when there weren't any DJs. That's when people would go out for live music at a hotel lounge," he said.

After finishing his teaching degree, he went to California, reunited with old acquaintances and began singing. He has taken the stage with some of the brightest stars, played music for television shows and gone on stage at the Hollywood Bowl as part of the twice Grammy-nominated LA Jazz Choir, performing as the opening act and backup for Rosemary Clooney.

"That's the biggest thrill of my lifetime," he said. "It's an incredible venue."

During his time in California, he rubbed elbows with celebrities like Jamie Lee Curtis, Carol Burnett and Beverly D'Angelo, among many others.

In the early 90s, he performed for a basketball game between the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz back when legends like Michael Jordan and Karl Malone ran the court.

After several years on the coast, Ross returned to the Midwest to pursue his career as a music educator and find some stability.

"At times, it was paycheck to paycheck. Am I going to get this gig? Is the gig going to happen? I had my teaching degree, and I thought, ‘I'll head back, and I'll still be able to sing back in the Midwest,’ and that's what I did.”

Ross continued to perform with popular local bands for different venues on the West Coast, including hotels, lounges and festivals, even as he taught children in Wisconsin. In December, he will put those talents on display for dinner guests.

"I'm proud to be able to be on stage at this point in my performing career," he said.

But his ultimate goal, whether as a teacher or a performer, is about bringing joy to his audience, which makes a Christmas-time show a perfect opportunity for Ross to do what he does best.

"That's what I've always done as a singer and a teacher: I try to make people happy."