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Heidelberg, Germany

Heidelberg, Germany

KSB takes to the road on Tuesday, June 20 for a 15 night/16 day tour of Germany and the Czech Republic. The boys will be visiting and singing in Mannheim, Heidelberg, Mosbach, Stuttgart, Schwetzingen, Nuremberg, Prague, Terezin, and Frankfurt, including a sold-out Grand Concert at Rokokotheatre Schwetzingen Palace! Follow the tour on the KSB Tour page or the see the latest blog posts and itinerary on the Germany/Czech Republic tour page! And receive notifications of new Blog posts by subscribing to KSBlog – sign up to the right on the KSBlog page.

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The Children's MArch - animated slide show

On Tuesday, May 2, 2017, fifty-four years to the day after the Children’s’ Crusade of Birmingham, Alabama, began, hundreds of young singers from Find Your Instrument! Choir, Keystone State Boychoir, and Pennsylvania Girlchoir continued the message of heroism and hope when they performed The Children’s March at Girard College in Philadelphia. In the 1960s, the Children’s Crusade was a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement that exemplified bravery by hundreds of children who used non-violent protest in the face arrests and fire hoses. 

The Children’s March was written by two Philadelphia artists: composer Andrew Bleckner and internationally renowned storyteller and librettist Charlotte Blake Alston. A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) helped fund this performance of The Children’s March, which was originally commissioned by Singing City in 2013. Many remember news reports and TV footage of the heroic actions of hundreds of children in the face of police dogs, fire hoses and batons which brought national attention to the Civil Rights Movement and helped end segregation in Birmingham. The youngest marcher, who was jailed for a week, was only 9 years old.

Some of the singers performing at Girard College are the same age as the protesters were at the time. “The message of this piece is powerful,” said Steven Fisher, founder and artistic director of Keystone State Boychoir. He added, “We want our singers to know that they matter, that their voices matter, and that by singing together, they have the power to change the world.”

The Children’s March garnered public attention including articles in The Philadelphia Citizen, The Philadelphia Tribune, and coverage by 6ABC.

 

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Early in my career, I was fortunate enough to spend a week with Alice Parker in a summer workshop at Westminster Choir College. Alice is a legend in choral music, our choral matriarch, if you will.

The pearls of wisdom she offered us on a daily basis were an embarrassment of choral riches. But one pearl stood out to me and has stayed with me, continuously revealing its wisdom to me over the years. At the very end of the week, Alice said, “I’m going to leave you with this parting thought and it’s the most important thing I will have said all week.” I was hanging on every word. “Above all,” she said, “be musical in your mistakes.” She went on. “It’s easy to be musical when all is going well. The mark of a great musician is to be calm, collected, and musical while the mistake is happening so that you can do what is needed to ‘right the choral ship.’ Teach yourself and your singers to ’embrace the mistakes.’ That is musical greatness.” As a young conductor, I remember being a bit deflated by these imparting words. I thought, “Isn’t the ultimate goal as a choir director and as a choir to be PERFECT?” I was determined to reach a point in my career where there were no mistakes.

Since then, I’ve learned there is no such thing as “perfect.” There is no perfect person, no perfect job, no perfect life. There are no perfect choirs, no perfect singers, no perfect parents, and certainly no perfect choir directors. As conductors, as much as we try, as high as our standards are for ourselves, as often as we do our job well and get it right, there are times when “life happens” and we fall short – perhaps in poor repertoire selection, or in our lack of effective rehearsal preparation, with our less than perfect concert programming, in less than perfect conducting, or less than perfect tour planning. Choir Directors are human. We make mistakes. A lot.

Over the years, I’ve imparted Alice’s pearl of wisdom about mistakes to the boys of the Keystone State Boychoir. Before and after every performance, I remind the boys that the measure of success is not whether we were perfect – though “near perfect” is always a laudable goal and wonderful when it happens. The ultimate goal is to at all times be musical – and especially to be musical in our mistakes. I remind them that in the history of live performance – no matter how stellar the ensemble or performer – there has never been a 100% perfect performance. In the choral art, sometimes we do get to bask in a perfectly performed piece. Therein lies one of the great beauties of our art form. Our performances are typically made up of a bunch of musical “moments” – aka, songs or movements. With each new one on the program, there is the possibility for perfection, even if the piece before it was less than perfect. I’m reminded of the lyric by Stephen Sondheim: if life were only moments, then we’d never know we had one. And so, ironically, we actually need the less than stellar performance of a piece so we know when a stellar one happens.

When KSB was invited to perform in Minnesota at the ACDA National Convention, despite that pearl of wisdom from Alice I’ve always held on to, I immediately began having hopes (delusions) of choral perfection.   That is what all choral conductors dream of when such a high stakes opportunity comes. And somehow implicit in that dream is the secret hope that our choir will be considered one of the “better” ones, and that we will be deemed one of the “ better” conductors. Certainly, some degree of competitiveness and ego is healthy – necessary even. It’s what gets us out of bed in the morning, what drives us to persevere through the thousand challenges that come with attempting to do something extraordinary. But gone too far, competitiveness can cause us to lose sight of what’s important. I definitely experienced some of that blindness as we arrived in Minneapolis.

Enter Eph Ehly, twenty-five years after my crossing paths with Alice Parker. Eph is another choral legend. He also lost all his worldly belongings in a terrible house fire, and shortly after lost his beloved wife. He’s known success, and he knows all too well that life is not perfect.

At the ecumenical service where the Grads were singing, Eph, who was preaching, ended his sermon by telling the congregation to listen carefully. “I don’t have a lot of important things to say,” he said modestly, “but this is really, really important. In fact, it’s the most important thing I’m going to say today.” These words sent me back to Alice’s almost identical words on the final day of the workshop so many years ago. I hung on every word once again. “Stop competing with each other!” he ordered us. He named the elephant that is so often in the middle of these kinds of events. Eph went on to point out, with great eloquence, that each of us is placed in a specific corner of the universe, assigned to care for and nurture and lead a specific group of singers at this moment in time. And therefore, we and our singers are the most important, “best” choir director and choir there is. Wow! This was a new pearl of wisdom, one that upon hearing it, I knew immediately would inform and inspire me and my work with KSB in the next twenty-five years. They were words I needed to hear. I was nervous about KSB’s national ACDA debut, worried about whether we would be considered “worthy” and “good enough,” and at the same time was secretly hoping audiences would place my choir and me in the “better” category. With Eph’s words, all of that worry fell away, and I was able to take a deep breath and just be happy to be performing at such a wonderful event with wonderful people like him, and also be at peace with however KSB would do, knowing that we had prepared well and would give it our very best.

Sure enough, in the four performances we had in Minneapolis, along with all of the incredible, stellar, musical “moments,” there were a few mistakes. But thanks to the combined wisdom of both Alice and Eph, I am able to embrace them as part of the experience. In fact, my proudest moments came when, with me in the audience powerless to help the boys, they remained musical all on their own, during mistakes that were not theirs. I know Alice would have been pleased. I certainly was. What skills choral singing gives our boys for life! In both live performance and life itself, you have to keep going. There is no “stopping the world and getting off” when things go wrong. You just have to take a breath and work together with those around you to right the ship. Learning how to do that is, I believe, choral music’s most valuable gift to us all.

As a choir director, I’m always striving for stellar performances of the highest musical standard. But should I strive for a “perfect” performance if there is no such thing as “perfect?” Should we strive for a perfect anything in life? I think Alice and Eph, with their words, are encouraging us to perhaps redefine our notion of perfect. I think they are asking us to do a little less comparing, a little less labeling of “better” and “best” and “less than.” They want us to bask in the important, vital, and unique work we are doing in our place and our time with “our people.” And to embrace – in music and in life itself – both those stellar moments as well as those moments where mistakes are made, and to meet them with calm, with musicianship, with grace. When we do that, maybe, we will have finally attained PERFECTION.

Let me add another pearl of wisdom, another one of my new favorite – a paraphrased lyrics by the great, late Leonard Cohen:

Sing the choir that still can sing

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

That is how the light gets in

So THANK you staff, chaperones, parents and especially the boys, who all made this national success possible.

The KSB Trebles and Tenor 1’s knocked it out of the park singing Ceremony of Carols with the Cincinnati Children’s Choir (CCC). They have never sounded better, and their professional poise on stage was stunning. Doreen Rao, an icon of children’s choirs, sought me out to rave about the boys’ musicianship, presence, focus (#therecanbemiracles), and “most importantly, their joyful performance.” Those words from Dr. Rao are the highest praise one could ask for. (She gave a shout out to The Eight Sopranos,” describing their sound as heavenly, floating and free.) KSB and CCC received standing ovations at both concerts – not easily earned at an ACDA convention.

Likewise, Eph Ely sought me out to declare the Grads the best high school young men’s group he’s ever heard. “Astounding in every way … musically, their energy, their breadth of repertoire.” Agreed!

Finally, our joint concert with the Minneapolis Boychoir was one of the very best KSB concerts I can remember. The audience was on their feet twice – once for “Baba Yetu” and then at the end of the program. Like ACDA, this was earned. And as we know, you can’t just yearn it, you gotta earn it. Viva KSB!

 

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Keystone State Boychoir New Jersey Holiday Concert!

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With soloist Bobby Hill! Saturday, December 3,  2016 | 5:00 pm

Unitarian Universalist Church in Cherry Hill
401 Kings Highway N, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034

Order your tickets online today!
General Admission $15.00 | Students under 12 Free | For more information call 215.849.1762

Auditions for Garden State Girlchoir and New Jersey Boychoir will be held immediately following the concert for 2nd-8th graders

Download and share the flyer! (pdf)

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Do you know a boy who loves to sing?

2017 KSBoychoir Festival!

What: A one-day festival for boys in grades 4-7 with unchanged voices who love to sing, who have found their singing voices and who have some choral experience.

When: Saturday, January 28, 2017, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (3:00 pm concert). A second festival will be held Wednesday, May 24, 2017.

Where: First Presbyterian Church in Germantown (KSB rehearsal home) 35 W. Chelten Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144

Who: Hosted by the Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) and led by its directors, Mr. Joseph Fitzmartin and Mr. Steven Fisher

Why: The boys will spend the day singing great music with other boys. When a boy sings with a mass choir of two hundred boys, it is empowering beyond words. Such an experience builds his esteem as a male singer and will motivate him to keep singing in his current choirs and in choirs throughout his life. The KSBoychoir Festival will culminate with a concert that will feature the Festival Choir and the world-renowned Keystone State Boychoir. Families and friends are welcome to attend.

Download a flyer (pdf – opens in a new browser window)

Learn more on the Festival website!

There’s a Festival for Girls, too!

GETMusic Festival

What: A one-day festival for girls grades 4-6 who love to sing, who have found their singing voices, and who have some choral experience.

When: Saturday, January 14, 2017, from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm (6:15 pm concert). A second festival is planned for Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Where: Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118

Who: Hosted by the Pennsylvania Girlchoir (PG) and led by Festival Conductors Mr. Vincent Metallo and Dr. Elizabeth Parker.

Why: The girls will spend the day singing great music with other girls. When a girl sings with a mass choir of one hundred girls, it is empowering beyond words. Such an experience builds her esteem as a female singer and will motivate her to keep singing in her current choirs and in choirs throughout her life. The GETMusic! Festival will culminate with a concert that will feature the Festival Choir and the world-renowned Pennsylvania Girlchoir. Families and friends are welcome to attend.

Download a flyer (pdf – opens in a new browser window)

Learn more on the GETMusic Festival website!

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Whosoever Gospel MissionTonight we launched our “Song IS Home” Concert Series. The first performance of the series was held at the Whosoever Gospel Mission in Germantown, just two blocks from First Presbyterian Church in Germantown (FPCG) – KSB’s rehearsal home. Well over a hundred years old, it turns out that the Mission was founded in the late 1800’s by a member of FPCG.

Our KSB Grads brought a lot of joy to some admirable men who are striving to better their lives.

The purpose for the “Song IS Home” Concert Series is four fold.

  1. To help our young singers realize that there are many different kinds of places people call home.
  2. To remember that home is wherever one sings a song. No matter where we are in the world or in our lives, when we have a song on our lips, we are home in a way. This is the great gift of song.
  3. To bring the joy of song to people who might not always have the opportunity to enjoy choral music and whose spirit very well may need lifting through music.
  4.  To bring joy to our young singers by giving them the opportunity to sing with whom they might not ordinarily get the chance and, by doing so, expand their view of the world around them.

And so, we have invited the men of Whosoever Gospel Mission to join with our Grads to form a new ensemble …”Men On A MISSION!” We will rehearse each Wednesday at the Mission, with the goal of making our debut at the Germantown Friends School a cappella fest this coming February.

Stay tuned (get it?) for “Men on a MISSION!

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KSB Open House!

Know a boy who loves to sing? We had so much fun last week that we’re holding another Open House this Saturday!

9:00am – 10:15am Boys in 3rd and 4th grades
10:00am – 12:30pm Boys in 5th – 8th grades (unchanged voices)
12:00pm – 2:30pm Boys in 8th – 12th grades (changing & changed voices)

35 W. Chelten Ave. | Philadelphia PA 19144
First Presbyterian Church in Germantown

Please register using this form:

Questions? 215.849.1762

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KSB Open House

Know a boy who loves to sing?
Open House this Saturday!

9:00am – 10:15am Boys in 3rd and 4th grades
10:00am – 12:30pm Boys in 5th – 8th grades (unchanged voices)
12:00pm – 2:30pm Boys in 8th – 12th grades (changing & changed voices)

35 W. Chelten Ave. | Philadelphia PA 19144
First Presbyterian Church in Germantown

Questions? 215.849.1762

download and share the flyer (pdf)

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With minimal wifi,  we will have to wait until we get home to see the rest of Laurie’s pictures.

Back in Helsinki after our third and final overnight ferry, with our final concert on Sunday night, and the end of tour.

St. Petersburg left a huge impression on all of us such that everyone is struggling to come up with words to express what we just experienced. From the Winter Palace to the Cathedral on Spilled Blood to the Hermitage,  it’s just so much larger than life.

We saw the city from the top of St Isaac Cathedral, from the water, and from walking between our various destinations. The scale of the city certainly reflects the dreams of the Russian Imperial family, especially Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, as we learned from various tour guides.

The Hermitage is a pretty good representation of the scale of St Petersburg, and the grandeur we experienced. To start with, it’s by far the largest museum in the world, with over 3 million objects in the collection. Add to that, one of the buildings is the Winter Palace, which has 1,057 rooms. One of the Ceremonial Halls that we saw was so big that boys decided the they could have played soccer in there when the weather was bad, and would have room to spare. And then there’s the chapel. So much gold…

Throughout, we’ve enjoyed our connections with Russians. Remember the response of the audience to the post-concert South African sing, where they sang back to us? That happened on Friday, too, in a most unexpected way. We had gathered on one of the bridges to head for some shopping at an open air market near the Cathedral on Spilled Blood. The bridge is a natural destination for wedding photos, with the cathedral in the background. As the photographer captured the bride and groom’s special day, Mr Fisher called the boys to standing order, and started Shumeyela, and the bride and groom started dancing, clearly loving the serenade for their photo session. Then the grads surrounded another couple and sang “In the Still of the Night”. As the boys started walking away, the groom, the bride and a couple of their friends broke into song themselves, a beautiful song in that incredible Russian harmony. We returned the gesture, and the grads sang Salvation is Created, in Russian. Cheers back and forth, with good wishes for the bride and groom, and for our safe travels.IMG_2639 (1)

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Final view of the port of St Petersburg, with a vestige of Soviet days – Wiley pointed out the sign that reads Leningrad in Russian

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When last we blogged, Keystone State Boychoir was enjoying a final day in the idyllic quiet of Rättvik, Sweden.

Since then? Two overnight ferries, 600 miles across the Baltic Sea, a brief stop in Helsinki, and now? Russia!

There’s been lots of informal singing, lots of rehearsing. Boat Adventures! A brief pass through Helsinki, with more to come on Sunday.

And then we got to Russia.

St Petersburg is beautiful with a grandeur and scale unlike any other city. Our first day was taken up with getting everyone settled in four different hotels, and then in getting ready for the biggest concert on this tour at Kapella Hall. St. Petersburg deserves nothing but the best for KSB, including a great venue, even if we have to rent it ourselves.

What you can’t see in pictures, or even in videos, is how great the choir sounds on this tour, and how enthusiastically the boys have been received by the audience at every concert, each one more than the last. Last night was no exception! The Russians LOVED the choir, from the prelude — our two talented pianists, Ben and Immanuel each played a piece —  to the end, an additional 45 minutes of singing in the courtyard outside the concert.

Over the past couple of years, the South African set has moved from its longstanding place at the end of the concert to a post-concert party outside the venue. On this tour, Mr Fisher has been introducing the final(ish) song, Shosholoza by asking the audience to name a song with a similar place in their country’s culture as Shosholoza for South Africans. Last night, the Russians did more than name the song – the whole audience sang the song themselves. It’s a rare moment on tour when the audience sings back to the boys!

A final note to highlight one of our boys who has been a star on this tour, and who leaves us today, not only from the concert tour (heading to Italy for a performance) but also (for now) from KSB, as his family is moving to Texas. Immanuel Mykyta-Chomsky joined KSB as a trainer in 2009, is one of the 8 Sopranos, and for this tour, is our accompanist. In addition to being a standout singer, Immanuel is an accomplished pianist, and an amazing young musician. His sight reading of the 1st movement of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms during rehearsal last week will be the stuff of KSB legends. While we say goodbye to Immanuel today, we expect that we haven’t seen the last of him wearing a KSB jacket, at least as an accompanist!

Lots of sightSINGing today!

Once again, the wifi is very slow, but at least we have some!

We’ll be adding photos to this blog, hopefully tonight. For now, keep an eye on facebook and instagram for pictures!

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