Alumni Focus - Stafford (‘05) and Becca (‘98) Christensen
If you attended this year’s gala, you heard some party tunes played by this amazing married alumni duo, Stafford (‘05) and Becca (‘98) Christensen. Read more about their musical journey from high school to their latest project.
What were you involved in at SCLA?
Becca: I was in dance, cheerleading, and any choir I could possibly be involved in, including Croixaliers for 3 years, regular choir, and women's chorus my senior year. Women's chorus was my absolute favorite. I love four part harmony, and four part women's harmony with some of your best friends is wonderful. I was also in a number of plays including a musical of course.
Stafford: I was a renegade musician. I wasn't a part of any official choir, band, etc. but I played in the chapel band and any other opportunity I was given as often as possible. I made a point to have at least one performance for every talent show and "Night Under the Stars" (as I recall the event being titled back then).
What was your favorite memory at SCLA?
Becca: Nothing specific, but my favorite memories were being on the Dance Team.
Stafford: My favorite memory was playing "Speed of Light" by Joe Satriani during one of the big pep rallies. It was an honor to be asked by one of the teachers to do so, and it was really fun to play a big rock tune in front of the entire school.
How did you two end up meeting and dating since you were not in high school at the same time?
Becca: There are six years between us, but God has a way of planning our lives in a way we do not expect. I had a career change, left an abusive relationship, and moved from the country back to the city before Stafford and I got together. I lived a lot of life in that time, in a way that wasn’t how I originally thought life would go.
Stafford: I knew Becca as the unbelievably beautiful girl at church who had the best voice I'd ever heard. We would see each other here and there over the years at church-related functions. Of course, I couldn't help but notice her, but she seemed like this unattainable dream for me. However, we ended up joining a band and really getting to know each other really well - the rest is history! So, it was God- and music -that brought us together. 14 years and 3 kids later, we're still playing music!
How have you both kept up with music since high school?
Both of us have been exercising our musical muscles every year since graduating from SCLHS. Not only have we been playing music together, we have also played with other various artists (both together and separately) that have sent us to churches, bars/restaurants, corporate events, and casinos around Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas! Shortly before dating, Becca starred in several musical theater productions in southern Minnesota with Curtain Call Theatre including the lead role in Annie Get Your Gun. Theater is something she would like to revisit in the future and hopefully get the family involved. Becca even made it onto local TV as a backup singer for Debra Soule. Stafford has recorded a few albums as a member of Perry Project (available wherever you like to stream your music).
Can you explain the history of Better Half and how it became what it is today?
We never really did much together as a duo without any involvement from other musicians until a few years ago. We started playing for an event in Hastings called the Hootenanny. It's a volunteer all-day event where musicians play 25 minute sets, one right after the other, and all of the proceeds go to the middle school music program in Hastings. We had so much fun coming up with songs and playing together just the two of us we decided to make it something and Better Half was born. We are still really in just our beginning stages, but are excited to see where it will go.
Do you have any upcoming projects you’d like to share?
We both currently play about once a month at NorthCross Church in Lakeville and, of course, plan to play more often as Better Half going forward. Our other musical project, Christensen Collective (with our sister-in-law Caitlin Christensen, also a SCLHS graduate), plays throughout the year as well. Stafford also plans to release an album of original music in the near future.