Lawrence High senior Isaac Lewis O'Connor will be heading to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. to pursue a course of study in music after graduating from LHS.

Isaac Lewis-O’Connor, along with his three best friends, form an unofficial quartet they jokingly call The Fab Four.

Whenever the four get together, they tend to break out in harmony.

“It’s just kind of how we are,” Lewis-O’Connor said.

Lewis-O’Connor is graduating this afternoon from Lawrence High School with his sights set on being the best low-bass singer he can be next fall at St. Olaf College in Minnesota.

And Lewis-O’Connor has been preparing for many years.

His parents have video of him attempting to sing a Robin Hood song at the tender age of 4. But he says his real start in the music industry came in fifth grade, when he joined Lawrence Children’s Choir.

Ryan King, the baritone in the quartet, said he’s had fun singing with Lewis-O’Connor since eighth grade.

“He makes difficult music easy,” King said, “and he has a really good understanding of musical nuance.”

Despite his experience, Lewis-O’Connor said he experiences the standard frustrations that most young artists do.

“You have high points and low points every day,” Lewis-O’Connor said, “but I haven’t had any serious problems – except for getting braces in the ninth grade.”

His brother, Gabe Lewis-O’Connor, has been his inspiration and the person he’s sought out when complications arise.

“He’s always been very positive and very teaching,” Isaac Lewis-O’Connor said. “Whenever I was stuck with something – how to sing, what to sing – he was always like, ‘This is how you do it.'”

Lewis-O’Connor, who has earned three college scholarships, credits his success to LHS teachers.

“The staff here is out-of-control good,” he said.

While singing is fun for Lewis-O’Connor, he’s quite serious about it. His teachers say his dedication and professionalism have helped earn him spots in state choir for the past three years – as well as consistent top rankings in solo and small ensemble competitions.

“That’s a pretty special accomplishment,” Cathy Crispino, choral music director at LHS, said. “There are not a lot of students that achieve that.”

Lewis-O’Connor’s choice of St. Olaf centered on his goal to earn a degree in music performance or music education.

“St. Olaf has an excellent choral program and a great academic setting,” Lewis-O’Connor said. “Hopefully, I will come out of it with not only a good music education, but a good liberal arts education.”

Lewis-O’Connor is hoping to get into the St. Olaf choir, the touring choral program at the college. If he doesn’t, he said he’ll still be happy with his accomplishments.

“Even if you are doing something that’s your passion, and you’re not the best, it doesn’t matter because it’s your passion,” Lewis-O’Connor said.