The group first consisted of four women and four men, who performed Hans Gruber's Festival Mass in the chapel of Milwaukee's St. Mary's Hospital.
Under Drabinowicz, the choir sang a mix of sacred music, folk tunes, comic ballads, and popular songs.
The chorus engaged the services of such renowned soloists as Robert Merrill, Eileen Farrell and Jan Peerce.
While in Italy, Bel Canto also performed a mass for Pope Paul VI at St. Peter's Basilica on July 4, 1976.
In the next several years, the chorus performed Carmina Burana in Mexico City and Menotti's Missa O Pulchritudo at Spoleto and the Vatican.