Singing The National Anthem: An Ohio Man Describes Performing For The Indians

SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH — Shaker Heights High School Principal Jonathan Kuehnle took a long time to get onto the diamond at Progressive Field. He wasn't nervous. After all, his journey to standing in front of a sold-out, 35,225-person stadium started at age 9. He'd waited decades for that moment. Excitement coursed through his veins.

He arrived at the stadium at about 6:15 p.m., an hour before the game was scheduled to start. He met with representatives from the Cleveland Indians' live experiences department, who mic'd him up and walked him through his cues. They told him when to start singing, that there would be people whirling about with cameras, and he shouldn't leave the field until his face disappears from the big screen above the bleachers in center field.

Then he took his microphone and walked onto the field. (To stay up to date on local stories, subscribe to the Patch Shaker Heights newsletter. As news breaks and the story develops, you will be the first to receive updates from Patch.)

The Long Road To Singing The National Anthem

Jonathan Kuehnle has almost always been a singer. It's less of a hobby and more of a passion for the 41-year-old. In fact, singing was a crucial part of his boyhood.

When he was a child growing up near Philadelphia, he was known to get up to no good. Down time was a dangerous thing for the young Kuehnle's guardians, because destruction and high jinks would be soon to follow.

"I was one of those kids that always needed something to do or I’d get in trouble," he said.

To try and soak up some of his excess energy, Kuehnle's grandmother decided the boy should try his hand at singing. Kuehnle's family was close to St. Peter's Church and its renowned boys choir. On a whim, his grandmother took him to audition.

At the time, Kuehnle was a soprano. And despite having little formal training in singing, he became a soprano for St. Peter's. He can still recall singing the Hallelujah chorus over and over again. It was the beginning of a fruitful relationship with music for Kuehnle.

He traveled the world with the choir and with other musical ensembles. He was named to all-state choir in New Jersey as a high school student. He then attended Miami of Ohio, in Oxford, and was a member of the men's glee club and the chamber singers.

Over time, his boyhood soprano became a mature bass singing voice. And he pursued a career in education. At each stop he made along his professional journey, he tried to find a choir or ensemble to join.

Prior to joining Shaker Heights High School, for example, he was campus director for Springfield High School, in Springfield, Ohio. He became part of the Springfield Orchestra Choral during his time in the area. He spent parts of 2015 and 2016 singing in that group, a spokesperson for the Choral said.

Then he was hired to lead the Shaker Heights High School, and he moved his family to Northeast Ohio. He hasn't yet found the time to track down a new singing group to ply his passion. Yet his next big break came in Shaker Heights anyway.

From Aldersyde To Ontario

Each year, the Shaker Heights staff gathers for a convocation. It's a kickoff event for staff and a few students and is reminiscent of a sports rally. Everyone is there to get pumped up. The high school band and cheerleaders welcome teachers and staff back to the district.

In 2016, with Kuehnle joining the staff, he was asked to show off his musical chops at the convocation. So, wearing a bedazzled guitar lanyard, he did. He performed the national anthem. To the delight and surprise of his colleagues, he was actually good. (Check out his performance below.)

"Word made it around the district that I could actually sing," he told Patch.

He then worked with the communications department for the school district on creating an audition tape to sing the national anthem for the Cleveland Indians. The team requires an audio and visual component for all audition tapes.

The Shaker team cut together the tape and sent it to the Tribe. Then the waiting started.

The Cleveland Indians receive "a bunch" of demo tapes for folks wanting to sing the national anthem, Meehee Kim, a live experiences intern for the team, told Patch. She and her boss piece through the videos for the folks who can actually sing.

"His is one [demo] that we enjoyed," she said.

Still, a few weeks went by without a peep. Then the Tribe called.

They wanted Kuehnle to sing at the stadium. They wanted him to perform the national anthem. He would take the field on Aug. 26 and sing before the Tribe took on the Kansas City Royals.

Kuehnle was told he would receive four tickets for the game, which he could give out to whomever he chose. He gathered his wife and three daughters and told them they would be joining him on the field.

He would more have family in the stands, and neighbors and friends at the game. They would all be part of a sold-out crowd, a sea of faces staring at Kuehnle . But nerves never got the better of him. No, he was excited, ready for the moment.

Kuehnle, like all national anthem performers, was told to arrive at the stadium an hour before the game. He'd meet Kim and her boss and discuss specifics of his performance. They went over his cues, where to look, what would happen after the performance, when he could leave the field, etc.

Then Kuehnle was brought down to the field.

"It was a nice feeling to walk out with my family. Being able to turn around and look at the crowd…it feels like you made the big leagues," he said.

He had 30 or 40 minutes to mill about and soak in the moment, Kim said. He was able to see the home and away dugouts, the two teams going through warm-ups. Then he was cued up. Surrounded by Indians staffers, photographers, cameramen and others, Kuenhle stepped up to the mic and...

The crowd roared its approval when he finished singing. The reaction delighted Kuehnle.

"It was amazing how many people came to the game or watched it online. It was really great to bring everybody together," he said.

He was escorted off the field by a guest services representative and taken to the main concourse. He watched the rest of the game. He smiled as the Tribe rolled over their division-rival Kansas City Royals, 4-0.

The Aftermath

Kuehnle's students, now keenly aware of the principal's singing prowess, have urged him to challenge all other Northeast Ohio principals in some kind of singing contest. Kuehnle hasn't committed to the idea, but he's certainly weighing it out. He may broach the subject the next time he sees all his colleagues at a conference.

But students aren't the only members of the Shaker Heights community that are treating Kuehnle a little differently. He said he can't go to the grocery store or to the gas station, without getting a "Nice job" or "Atta boy."

While walking his dog, at night, recently, he was even stopped in the street and had a brief chat with a stranger about his performance on Aug. 26.

"There's been so much positivity in the community," he said. "We have too few opportunities to bring everyone together in this day and age and this just feels really special."

Photo from YouTube screen capture