GREAT FALLS — Signing day at Great Falls CMR is usually reserved for athletes — but this week the spotlight belonged to a singer.
Senior Grant Brumwell officially signed a choir scholarship with Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., turning years of dedication to music into his next chapter.
WATCH: GRANT BRUMWELL SIGNS SCHOLARSHIP
“It was really surreal,” Brumwell said. “When I got the acceptance letter and then got my scholarship, I was like, ‘Holy cow, it’s actually happening. I get to go to college now.’”
Brumwell has been involved in choir since eighth grade, but says it was during his sophomore and junior years when music became more than just a class.
“When I realized how big of a community choir is, and how big of an opportunity you can get with it, that’s when I realized — wow — I want to carry on with this for as long as I can,” he said.
Teachers at CMR helped prepare him for that opportunity, giving him leadership roles and mentorship that helped shape both his voice and his confidence.
Later this month, Brumwell’s talent will be showcased on a national sports stage.
On Jan. 27, he will sing the national anthem at the East-West Shrine Bowl in Texas, a a premier college all-star game broadcast nationally on the NFL Network.
“It’s one of my favorite things — to share my voice with the community,” Brumwell said. “This time it’s happening in a place I don’t know with people I don’t know, so it’ll be a fun experience.”
The opportunity came through the Shriners Children’s Hospital in Spokane, Wash., where Brumwell has been a longtime patient. Grant was born with bilateral clubfoot and spent countless hours in Spokane for treatment, surgeries and cast fittings. As his time in Shriners care comes to a close, the moment felt full circle.
“They really have become part of our family,” said his mother, Mandy Brumwell. “They’ve helped him in more ways than one, and when they asked if anyone knew an anthem singer, (Shriners marketing director) Kristin Monasmith didn’t even think twice — she immediately sent Grant’s name.”
For Brumwell, singing at the Shrine Bowl is more than an honor, it’s a chance to give back to an organization that helped shape his journey.
“They’ve helped me walk. They’ve helped me run,” he said. “They’re giving me motivation to keep going … to where I can be now signing a music scholarship and going to college.”
From hospital hallways to honor choirs and now to a nationally televised stage, Brumwell’s voice continues to open doors — and inspire those listening.
