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| Bonnie Henry: Boys Chorus: |
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[ 2009-12-18 9:03:00 | By: qrst685 ] |
Bonnie Henry: Boys Chorus: 70 years of harmony – and rope tricks
The cowboy hats, the rope tricks, the clear, sweet voices cowboy hatsof boys in harmony — it's all here. ? Still, some things have changed in the 70 years since Eduardo Caso began what is now known worldwide as the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus.
Today, iPod buds get popped into boyish ears during those long bus rides from city to city. ? The dreaded paddle has been replaced by push-ups when discipline is called for. And song lists now include odes to rockers ranging from the Beach Boys to Michael Jackson. ? You really haven't seen "Thriller" until you've seen it performed in high treble by 25 boys, all in zombie mode.
The question, of course, is what would Caso — the English-born music teacher who in 1937 sought the cure for his tuberculosis in Tucson — think about all this?
"I would say Mr. Caso would be proud," says Julian Ackerley, chorus director for the last 29 years. "He mixed Western and popular songs, too."
It will be more of a traditional mix when the chorus performs its annual holiday concert later this month — a tradition that goes back to Christmas Eve of 1939.
That year, 10 high-pitched voices filled the air, two of them girls — the only time girls would ever sing as part of the chorus.
"When we go into the schools to audition, I always tell the girls about the Tucson Girls Chorus," says Ackerley, 55.
The walls surrounding him at chorus headquarters on East Pima Street are filled with old photographs of past chorus members — including the late John Denver and former Tucson police chief Peter Ronstadt.
Over the years, says Ackerley, "We have had hundreds of boys coming to this building from Southern Arizona, some from as far as Willcox."
Some 150 boys currently practice here in one of four choruses. Everyone begins in the training chorus, ages 8 to 11. From there, they graduate to the intermediate chorus, which gives town performances.
Next comes the touring chorus, usually made up of boys in middle school grades, who give both out-of-town and town performances.
Traditionally, the chorus was limited to boys ages 8 to 15, but in the last few years, a young men's ensemble was started for ages 15-20, when voices are usually deeper and more mature.
"With Caso, when the voices changed they were out, but I don't do that," says Ackerley. "I see a lot of value in them being part of the musical scene."
Jim Pfersdorf, the first boy recruited by Caso, cowboy hatsstill recalls when his voice started to crack.
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