Milwaukee choir group at a loss after thieves steal equipment before concert

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A Milwaukee choir group is at a loss after a thief took their equipment ahead of a concert this weekend.

 A thief took the Milwaukee Choristers trailer, which had their risers and custom podium inside. The trailer and trailer hook were locked, but a thief managed to take it from one of the vocalists’ backyard on Sunday.

“To come home and see that it’s a bit of a violation of my personal zone but it’s a big loss for the choir too,” Milwaukee Choristers’ Joseph Brickman said.

This comes at a bad time, as the group has their concert this Friday and Saturday at the Wisconsin Lutheran College. The group spent the evening rehearsing Wednesday.

“It’s heartbreaking because we are only three days away from our concert,” Brickman said.

Wisconsin Lutheran College is lending the choir group their risers, but they’re not the same amount of levels and have a different structure. 

“There’s no curve so it’s going to sound different,” Halverson said. “It’s hard to focus on the music and not that we are dealing with a major loss of equipment.”

The equipment was worth $15-20,000, but Halverson said it’s not worth much to thieves. They’re hoping the thief returns the equipment or someone finds it.

“I expect they were probably very disappointed to find coral risers,” Halverson said. “There was no reason for them to take it; it’s not something of value. We just want it back.”

Milwaukee Police said they’re still looking for the thief. If you have any information, please contact police.