| Spring Serenade Concert for William |
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William successfully navigated his first Spring Concert with the Pacific Boychoir Academy this past Sunday, June 1st. The concert was in St. Augustine Church, which made it extra special to see "the boy" singing Hungarian folksongs, and a hymn ("The Lord Bless You and Keep You") in the space where he made his "debut" as a kindergartner. All the choral subgroups (from the youngest beginners in Minstrels, to William's group the Intermezzi, to Cantori, middle school Troubadours/Trouveres, and the high school age boys of the Continuum) performed and were great. Great is little soft adjective; these boys were occasionally near miraculous or astonishing in their pitch and control. The angelic sound of liturgical music sung by a great boys choir, in a church (with a cantilevered choir loft) built for the music, is astonishing; something that can be overwhelming to the modern ear and nearly brought me to tears or alternately yelps of joy.
The program featured liturgical music by Bruckner, Grieg, Handel, Copeland, and Mozart (the fabulous "Gloria" from the Coronation Mass in B), American Spirituals ("Over Yonder" and "Ol' Time Religion"), the Scottish folk classic "Loch Lomond" (truly moving), and a grand finale with all 120 boys and young men singing "Play for Me a Simple Melody" by Irving Berlin. The performances were staged, paced and sung with a definite sheen of professionalism in various locations of my parish church, which never looked or sounded better. The PBA is a polished vocal organization, that won a Grammy recently for a recording with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra of Mahler's Third Symphony.
As well as being a summary performance of the year, this concert also featured the group that will be going to Argentina for the Summer Tour. It is amazing how much music, how sophisticated, how enthusiastically, and how beautifully the boys sing.
William's group, the Intermezzi, leave for a three day weekend tour of Monterey this Friday. They will be singing three times over the weekend, plus sight-see at the Monterey Aquarium and other "boy" summer leisure activities (swimming, baseball, reading). The singing performances will at Mission Monterey (Saturday at 5:15 PM) and the chapel at the private Stevenson School (Sunday morning at 9:30 AM; formal title of the chapel Church in the Forest). This is a big step for the little guys of the Intermezzi group, and I hope you will join all the parents in a brief prayer for successful performances and safe travels.
William auditioned for the PBA the last week of January 2007, and he has really taken to the rehearsal, training, and performing as a member of the PBA. We are very proud of William and the other boys. |
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