What We're Up To: Paying Tribute the Best Way We Can

Editor's Note: Today we are sharing two blog posts about our singers' experience at the Massachusetts Remembers 9-11 Commemoration. BCC was a featured performer at the event. More information can be found on our website.

By Isabel Koyama, Premier Choir
Isabel has been in BCC for 9 years. She is sixteen years old.

Sunday was the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, and appropriately, BCC was there as a musical voice of Boston to bring hope to a confused yet reflective city. It was a hot day, and we wore our black uniforms, which didn't make the heat any easier. But just as we did in Jordan three years ago, we tolerated the heat like true professionals! Although we were shaded by the arched Hatch Shell, I sat near the end of my row, right where the sun decided to shine only on my seat. But even through the baking penetration of the sun, I could not have been more glad to sit through the event from the stage. From my seat I watched the Pops play patriotic songs, and Deval Patrick offer reflection. I watched people of all different religions unite in one prayer. I watched a black female vocalist sing from her soul. I heard the family members of victims tell inspiring stories of how they have overcome the unconscionable death of their loved ones ten years ago.

BCC singers perform with the Boston Pops Brass Ensemble at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade

In preparing for our first concert, we practiced songs such as "Let There Be Peace on Earth" and "This is my Song." My first impression of these songs bordered on disgust -- they were so predictably corny. Everything about them was sappy and cliche. But after hearing the speakers I looked at the lyrics to "This is my Song" with a new outlook:

"My country's skies are bluer than the ocean
And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine
But other lands have sunlight too, and clover
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine"

I considered these words as I sang them, how they can bring hope to victims' families in a time when they are brought back to hopelessness; how much it must mean to them that I am singing this song. I thought about the beautiful idea of equity behind this verse - We spend so much time trying to protect what is labeled ours, but in actuality we all live under the same sky. Anyone should be able to look up and see a beautiful, refreshing blue sky above them. Yet war and violence can, metaphorically and literally, turn a blue sky gray.

As I pondered these lyrics I began to sing not for myself, but for them. And by "them" I mean the victims, the victims' families, or any person in the world who is victimized. I felt myself beginning to tear up from the lyrics that I had scoffed at the day before.

In my 9 years of participating in BCC, I have heard our mission statement hundreds of times. It is important to me to interpret it and try to make meaning from it. On Sunday, I felt that our mission, for me, was accomplished. It was accomplished by using music to bring hope to the city of Boston when it needed it most. Through song we exemplified compassion, understanding, unity, and humility; and even if this message of understanding was only internalized by one audience member it was still worth it. BCC was a shoulder for Bostonians to lean on; and if that isn't social change, I don't know what is.


By Allana Matthews, Premier Choir
Allana has been in BCC for nine years. She is seventeen years old.

On Sunday, we had the wonderful opportunity to sing with the Boston Pops for the ten-year anniversary of the tragic event that shook our nation on September 11, 2001. Premier Choir and Young Men’s Ensemble lifted their voices in song, singing patriotic songs as well as songs of hope. Although 9-11 is not a happy day, our music sang to the souls of the fallen, and spoke hope and encouragement for the future to their families.

To be part of such an amazing event was very rewarding. It was an opportunity to reflect on the mission of the Boston Children’s Chorus - we harness the power of music as a catalyst for social change, and that is exactly what we did on the stage at the Esplanade. Ten years ago, there was a terrorist attack against our nation that screamed hate. It was in this time that our nation joined together to promote peace, and spread a beacon of courage, hope and strength for the future. It didn’t matter what the race, the religion, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background or economic status- we ALL needed one another in that sad time.

On that stage, that is what we stood for. Singing for peace and love, and using music to spread the message of a world without hate.

“Imagine all the people, living life in peace” – John Lennon

What We're Up To: The David Howse Edition

If there is one thing that you should know about David Howse, it’s that he doesn’t like to dwell on the accolades he receives. Instead, he looks for the next opportunity to raise the profile of BCC through public recognition. While the staff appreciates his humility, we are proud of his leadership success and would like to share two examples in this post!

First, David was interviewed on Magic 106.7 this past weekend for their show Boston Life. The host of the show read David’s recent Boston Globe article and was inspired to talk to him further. He spoke about the history of the chorus, his involvement in it, and our upcoming tour to the UK, among other things. You can hear the full interview here, on our website.

Second, David has been handpicked to be part of National Arts Strategies’ Chief Executive Program. This two-year initiative will bring together 100 global cultural leaders to address key issues of competition, investment and relevance.

Russell Willis Taylor, the CEO of National Arts Strategies, said the following about the program, “Our cultural institutions are at a crossroads, in which their relevance and even the role of the arts in civil society are being questioned. The Chief Executive Program will create a leadership community to reframe issues and develop new opportunities for individual institutions and create meaningful models for the field at large; and helping a set of outstanding individuals re-imagine what cultural institutions will be and how they can contribute to civil society.”

Clearly, David is honored to have a stake in shaping the conversation about arts and culture in our society. Also, as a very young and still relatively small organization, BCC stands to gain a lot from the exposure that this opportunity will provide. We look forward to sharing more about this program when it begins in the fall.

David’s reputation as a community builder and a progressive thinker is quickly cementing his future as a key leader in the cultural sector. We are so gratified to have him as our Executive Director!

We encourage you to Get Vocal! Support BCC’s efforts, or congratulate David by commenting below! If you are reading this post on our website, please visit bostonchildrenschorus.blogspot.com to make a comment.

What We're Up To: Building a Mentorship Program

One of the things that we see an opportunity to improve at BCC is the mentoring aspect of our youth development program. We hope that our readers know that we do A LOT more than sing here at BCC – if you need a reminder of what our mission is exactly, check it out on our website.

Edward Clapp

Over the summer, we are going to be working with Harvard Doctoral candidate Edward Clapp to launch an Omni-Directional Mentorship program (more on what that means later). It will be active starting at the beginning of next season. Over the past few months, Clapp has held one-on-one conversations with singers, parents, staff, and board members about how we relate to one another at BCC and how we can improve our interactions. He presented his initial findings this week in a discussion-oriented session at BCC Central, open to the same broad range of people.

He pointed out that when we typically think about mentorship, we imagine a top-down relationship (i.e. from a more experienced person to a less-experienced person). Omni-directional membership is different because it considers other directions, like bottom-up and lateral (i.e. peer) relationships. An organization that effectively uses omni-directional membership creates a web of learning, where “all leaders are learners, and all learners are leaders.”

Clapp presents his thoughts on the
points of "resonance"
and "dissonance" at BCC

In developing this program with BCC, Clapp is using a very appropriate metaphor – the voice! He asked attendees to think about how they “hear voice” and “have voice” within the organization, as well as the areas in which the very broad BCC community has “resonance” (i.e. agreement) and “dissonance” (i.e. disagreement). The greater the resonance within the organization, the more likely we are to have “harmony,” which Clapp defined as a powerful expression of the mission, vision, and/or purpose of the organization.

Singers, parents, staff
and board offered ideas.

The group in attendance talked about a lot of ways that we could foster relationships within and across stakeholder groups. Singers expressed a strong interest in getting to know the board, newer parents wanted an opportunity to interact with older parents, parents were interested in experiencing what singers are learning in rehearsal.

However the program takes shape this fall, all of us can count on being asked to be involved, including our audience, funders, and alumni! Clapp is intent on enhancing our community through knowledge sharing and “curiosity about the other.” We hope you’ll come along with us on this journey, because our community has something to learn from your voice!

Why not start Getting Vocal now? Leave a comment about your role in BCC’s community, the ways you would like to see it grow or change, and your suggestions about how we should get there! If you are reading this post on our website, please visit the blog at bostonchildrenschorus.blogspot.com to make your comment. Thanks!

What We’re Up To: Building a Community of Boston Music Educators

Last year, BCC was awarded a grant by EdVestors, an organization that drives change in urban schools through strategic private investment. The grant was part of the Boston Public Schools (BPS) Arts Expansion Fund, a three-year $2.5 million effort whose mission is to empower BPS schools to embrace and expand arts instruction in schools.

Each month, five BPS music teachers met with BCC’s Artistic Director Anthony Trecek-King and Assistant Artistic Director Michele Adams to discuss a wide range of topics related to their work. The final meeting was held recently at BCC Central, where each teacher presented a project they’d been working on throughout their time in the Study Group. Project topics included curriculum development, integration of solfege for young singers, and the effect of music training on language fluency. 

The teachers were (from left to right in the photo): Kelly DiGrazia - Orchard Gardens, Sharon Hamel - F. D. Roosevelt, Sonya White Hope - Winthrop Elementary, PK Egersheim - Condon Elementary, Tamiko Everson - Murphy Elementary. Cleo Knight-Wilkins, BPS Senior Program Director for the Arts, was also in attendance for the final presentation.

While tempting to call the presentations a capstone, the teachers had many other important experiences together this year. Artistic Director Anthony Trecek-King remarked that, “From the first session, it was obvious to Michelle and I that this group needed this time to build community together, and we adjusted accordingly.”

The outcome was clear: these educators had developed a profound connection to one another, based on a rare opportunity to intensively discuss their work with peers. Lest we assume that music teachers have lots of opportunity to connect, in the teacher’s lounge or in their classrooms, the Study Group highlighted the following:

• Nearly all schools have a single music teacher, and many are not even dedicated to a single school
• Many teach during nearly every period, with few “inactive” minutes during the school day
• Many do not have their own classrooms

In light of these facts, it’s easy to understand why this Study Group relished their discussions as they did. BCC considers it part of its mission to build community in this way, and hopes to expand this initiative next year and for years to come.

What BCC Means to Me - The Importance of Connections

By: Ell McGrath, Concert Choir 
Ell has been in BCC for 4 years. She is 16 years old.

Editors Note: Ms. McGrath recently went on an excursion with her choir to Worcester, MA and Shrewsbury, MA. The text below is from her speech to concert attendees about the impact of Boston Children's Chorus on her life. 

The BCC mission statement says that BCC inspires social change through music. It is my belief that social change is not created though ideas, but through connections formed between individuals. For example, when I study for school, I absorb facts (ideas) through a book, by myself. But when we sing together, as a chorus, we do it together, and I believe that that creates social change. 

When you walk into any rehearsal at BCC there's that connection - a bond between us all; a sort of language our hearts already know how to speak.  In our Chorus, there are a number of different cultures and ideas. Everyone is different, yet we harmonize; not only with out voices, but with our hearts as well.

It is that same harmonization that has brought us all together, who would probably never have even thought to give each other the time of day. This is how BCC has affected me.

Elizabeth shares her perspective on BCC's impact during a recent excursion.

What BCC Means to Me - "Before and After"

Editors Note: In the upcoming weeks, we will feature posts from our singers on what BCC means to them. The first in this series is a poem by Spencer Boisvert titled "Before and After." Spencer has been singing with BCC for four years. He is 13 years old. 

Before and After

Day by day I see

I see the differences

in people

In their culture

In their physical appearance

I see all of the personalities

Before singing I saw in black and white

I saw people who were different

It scared me

Now

Now I see in color

The colors of the rainbow

Day by day I see

I see the differences

in people