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Special to the Journal-World

Members of the American Boychoir pose outside Carnegie Hall in New York City. Lawrence siblings Tristan and Adrian Brothers are former members of the choir, based in Princeton, N.J.

Special to the Journal-World

The American Boychoir tours around the country, performing at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York. Adrian and Tristan Brothers, of Lawrence, both attended the school.

For Tristan and Adrian Brothers, the dreaded moment came toward the end of seventh grade.

The twins had spent a good chunk of their lives honing their singing voices, performing with a boy choir at some of the greatest venues in the United States. And then, puberty took over, and those finely tuned voices starting dropping and having minds of their own.

"It's incredibly difficult," Adrian says in his now-deep voice. "It's like you have a dog, and you walk it and you like it, and then it turns older and gets vicious."

Now, the young performers are ready for a new chapter in their fledgling careers.

The Brothers brothers, who live in Lawrence, recently graduated from the American Boychoir School in Princeton. Adrian had spent three years there and Tristan two.

The 14-year-olds will be ninth-graders in the fall, probably at West Junior High School. But they already have a foundation for a musical career because of their time at the boy choir school.

The 50-student school is housed at a residential campus in Princeton, N.J. There, students in fourth through eighth grades spend two hours a day in rehearsals and perform frequently. But it's also a place where academics and good citizenship are a focus.

Adrian says he heard a recording of the American Boychoir in elementary school and immediately thought he'd like to attend.

Mary Fairburn, the boys' mother, says sending her children away for school was a difficult decision, even after the boys succeeded in a highly selective audition process.

"It's a real tense one for any family - you have to make these decisions," she says. "They'd be getting more training there, and more opportunities. Plus, the atmosphere of the school - that's a huge selling point for all the parents."

One downside is the price tag - $25,000 annually per student. But the family says it was worth it to be fully immersed in music.

"It's incredibly interesting," Adrian says. "You could be walking down the hall in the dormitory humming a tune to yourself, and no one thinks anything of it."

Tristan says he never got burned out being around so much music.

"That's kind of how some of the kids felt about it," he says, "but I never felt that way."

Unlike some other boy choirs, the American Boychoir allows members to stay in after their voices change. But they're not allowed to tour during the awkward transition, meaning Adrian and Tristan spent much of their eighth-grade year back at the school, serving as mentors for newer students.

They had some impressive performing highlights before that time, though.

For Tristan, his favorite moments included a gig at Carnegie Hall. Adrian's favorite was performing with Beyonce at the 2005 Academy Awards, where he shook hands with Morgan Freeman.

"It was very thrilling," Adrian says. "Oh my God - there are all these famous people."

Both boys say they are considering careers in music. They're planning to sing in the Lawrence Children's Choir this fall to keep up their voices.

At least now they know their voices won't be suddenly changing.