Remembering Those Who Can’t Remember

I was deeply affected by an occurrence in my church’s worship service this past Sunday.  A lovely woman was recognized on her 90th birthday.  Unfortunately, she was unaware of the attention being paid her since she is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.  She sat in her wheelchair with head bowed as her attendant leaned over to whisper in her ear about what was taking place.  I seriously doubt that it made much difference to her.  This event touched me because I suspected many people in the congregation knew this lady only as someone who is not really “present” with the rest of us.  I wished then that everyone there could have known what I know about this remarkable person.

She was valedictorian of the Class of 1939 at Milton High School, then the only Fulton County high school north of the Chattahoochee, and was named the recipient of the Atlanta Journal Cup for Best All-Around Student at Milton.  She won the statewide essay contest on the importance of signing the U.S. Constitution in the document’s sesquicentennial.  A journalism major at the University of Georgia, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa.  She was a charter member of the Roswell Woman’s Club and twice its president, chairwoman of the Roswell Bicentennial Committee, and chaired the Altar Guild at Roswell United Methodist Church for 12 years.  During Roswell’s sesquicentennial celebration, she was named one of the city’s Most Influential People.  She had a long marriage to a successful lawyer and together they raised four children.

She also was very involved in the Arts in the greater Atlanta community.  She was a charter member of the High Museum of Art and also served as executive secretary of the Atlanta Boy Choir.  One of the most important things she did in my estimation was to be a major voice in the effort to retain Robert Shaw as the Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.   In 1972, after Shaw had been in Atlanta for about five years, the Executive Board of the ASO requested his resignation because they believed he was “out of touch” with the type of music the audiences wished to hear.  What that meant was that Shaw was interested in “stretching” the ears and minds of the concert goers and not just performing the old “war horses.”  He championed an ambitious repertoire of contemporary composers along with a continuation of the standard literature.  This wise and brave lady wrote forceful and cogent letters to the Atlanta newspapers and to the Symphony Board of Directors emphasizing the importance of keeping a man of Shaw’s talents affiliated with the Symphony.  In a large part due to her efforts the public began to take notice and the the ASO collected 3,500 new subscriptions, which helped convince the Board to rescind its request for Shaw’s resignation.

So, as I looked at that small lady in our worship service, fading away from us a little more day by day, I gave thanks for her life and for what she meant to so many people.   We are surrounded by those who came before us and who made large and small differences in the world around them, and hence, had an effect on the world in which we now live.  May we never forget these people.

Oh, by the way, the lady of whom I speak is Rose Polatty.  Her son said this about her several years ago.  “She is the quintessential southern woman.  She leads by example with strength, beauty and grace.  She once told me, ‘I always thought I could do anything.’”  Well, she did.

Are the Arts Really Necessary?

We live in stressful economic times, and our Arts organizations (orchestras, choruses, opera companies, dance companies, theatres, art galleries, etc.) often experience an especially heavy strain on their budgets as people try to keep their own ”financial” heads above water.  Much of the public views the Arts as a frill and, subsequently, support of the Arts (individual, corporate, and governmental) becomes harder to attract.  While I understand why a person, if forced to make a choice, would choose to spend money to feed his body rather than his soul, it is up to those of us who believe in the value of the Arts as an integral part of our well-being to help others understand that the soul requires sustenance as well.   We cannot fully measure the damage in our individual lives, as well as in our culture and society, when the Arts are relegated to a position of ever decreasing importance.  Robert Shaw (Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, 1967-1988) said this: “The arts may be not the luxury of the few, but the last, best hope of humanity to inhabit with joy this planet.”

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., historian and educator, once shared the following story in support of preserving our cultural heritage and the Arts as essential to society.  “In the third year of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln ordered work to go ahead on the completion of the dome of the Capitol.  When critics protested the diversion of labor and money from the prosecution of the war, Lincoln said, ‘If people see the capitol going on, it is a sign that we intend this Union shall go on.’  Franklin Roosevelt recalled this story in 1941 when, with the world in the blaze of war, he dedicated the National Gallery in Washington.  And John Kennedy recalled both these stories when he asked for public support for the Arts in 1962. Lincoln and Roosevelt, Kennedy said, ‘understood that the life of the Arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of the nation, is very close to the center of a nation’s purpose – and is a test of the quality of a nation’s civilization.’”

Barbara Jordan, former Texas Congresswoman, said this: “The Arts are not a frill.  The Arts are a response to our individuality and our nature, and help to shape our identiy. What is there that can transcend deep difference and stubborn divisions?  The Arts. They have a wonderful universality.  Art has the potential to unify.  It can speak in many languages without a translator.  The Arts do not discriminate.  The Arts can lift us up.”

The Arts allow our creativity to soar.  President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing into existence the National Endowment for the Arts, said “For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves and to others the inner vision which guides us as a nation.  And where there is no vision, the people perish.”   Finally, I very much appreciate something the great Albert Einstein once declared: “Logic will get you from A to B.  Imagination will take you everywhere.”

For those of us who believe in the importance of the Arts in our lives, we need to accept the responsibility of sharing that message.

Florence Kopleff Remembered

This past week one of the greatest singing voices of the 20th century was silenced.  Florence Kopleff, long-time associate of famed choral conductor Robert Shaw died at the age of 88.  She was for many of us the consummate contralto and I don’t think Bach’s “Agnus Dei” from the Mass in B Minor has ever been sung more beautifully than it was by her.  In my days as a soloist (many years ago) I had the opportunity to share the stage with Florence on two occasions.  I don’t think I ever in my career felt more inadequate as a singer than when I stood beside this amazing person and singer.  At one of those concerts her voice was described by the music critic of the Atlanta Journal Constitution as being “liquid velvet.”  I couldn’t have said it better.  I will always consider myself blessed by having been associated with her in even this small way.

Read a beautiful tribute to Miss Kopleff on the ArtsATL site by clicking here.

Recommitted to Making a Difference

As we prepare to celebrate another July 4th, I ponder how I can best honor the country that has provided so much to me.  Just this past weekend it was my privilege to conduct two Patriotic concerts in which we paid a special tribute to veterans of World War II.  As we acknowledged these women and men, the surviving members of what has been described as the “Greatest Generation,” I was reminded of the enormous sacrifices they endured to protect our country’s liberty at a cruicial time in its history.  I considered also the opportunity each generation has to make a difference in its own time.

The Time of Our Lives: A Conversation About America is a book by Tom Brokaw that addresses the challenges faced by America in the new millennium, as well as offering reflections on how we can restore America’s greatness.  Brokaw weaves together inspiring stories of Americans who are making a difference in small and large ways to revitalize the promise of the American Dream.  As I read the stories of these involved individuals, I recalled something once said by Robert Shaw, Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, when asked why he had concentrated his work in Atlanta, rather than continuing to foster a national presence.  Mr. Shaw said, “I have chosen to toil in my yard of space in my inch of time.”  Of course, Shaw’s contribution was also one of national, even international, importance to the choral art.  Still, what resonated with me when he made that statement was that he had committed to making a difference in his world.  While it may not be as eloquent as Mr. Shaw’s statement, I think we’ve all heard “bloom where you’re planted.”  We are each given that opportunity to bloom on a daily basis.

So, as another July 4th rolls around, I urge us all to think about what we can do to make this a better country, not only for ourselves, but for future generations.

I Remember Robert Shaw

Robert Shaw died on Monday, January 25, 1999.  In the thirteen years since his death there have been many wonderful choral performances that have taken place in America.   Still, it is impossible to imagine what these performances would have been like without the influence his choral genius had on generations of choral singers and conductors.  For the second half of the 20th century Shaw’s name was synonymous with choral excellence, and his life and work continue to influence many of us today.  I was fortunate to have the opportunity to sing under his baton for a number of years and was honored to be one of two persons invited to write a reflection on his life for the Atlanta Journal Constitution on January 29, 1999, just days after he died.  I remember writing this homage through a veil of grief, knowing that thousands of others throughout the country, even the world, were feeling the same sense of loss.  Here is what I said:

Dear Mr. Shaw,

It was in the fall of 1973 that I first met you, and I recognize it today as one of the pivotal experiences of my life.  I was auditioning for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and was thrilled to be meeting you, my idol since age 12.  I recall standing there, a young college instructor just two years out of graduate school, with knees trembling as I heard you softly say after my auditon, “You’re in, and I think I’d like you to come back and audition for the Chamber Chorus as well.”  I don’t think my feet even touched the ground on the way back to my car! Well, the Chamber Chorus audition went fine and even resulted in an invitation to solo in the November performances of Handel’s “Messiah.”  Within several weeks of meeting you, I was standing on the stage of Symphony Hall performing as a soloist under your baton.  I could hardly believe my good fortune.

What transpired during the next ten years of singing for you as both a chorus memeber and a soloist was a succession of musical epiphanies, each one somehow illuminating my life with brightness and clarity.  I remember Florence Kopleff, your alto soloist of choice for several decades, singing ‘Agnus Dei’ from Bach’s “B Minor Mass” and thinking that if I closed my eyes I might be transported to heaven.  I also remember a time when the Chamber Chorus was performing Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion.”  During a section of exquisite beauty, I felt tears cascading down my cheeks.  Somewhat embarrassed at my lack of control, I glanced quickly to my left, only to find my neighbor also in tears.  A quick look to my right found that singer in a similar condition.  You had led us to a place indescribable in its poignancy.  I remember your spoken and written words, which helped us understand that we were part of something much larger than ourselves.  I remember you saying that God was not pleased with wrong notes and that things would go much more smoothly if we would just go ahead and sing what the composer had requested.  You were right.

As you know, you were often praised for your sensitivity to humankind and for your thoughtful reflections on our relationship to God and God’s relationship to us.  At the same time, you were criticized for your sometimes callous treatment of individuals, a seemingly contradictory behavior considering your affection for us as a group.  I recall a conversation you and I had shortly after one of those blistering attacks on a chorus member, an attack I considered unjustified.  We were in one of our ‘friendly periods,’ and since I had recently performed as a soloist in an ASO subscription concert, I felt qualified to help you learn something about interpersonal communication.  (You must remember, I was much younger then!) I approached you and said, “You know, Mr. Shaw, you have such an affection for humankind; it’s a shame you don’t like people very much.”  I awaited your response with a bit of trepidation, but you laughed your tremendous, hearty laugh, slapped me on the back and said, “You may be right, Mike.  It takes a lot of effort to be nice.”

Well, you were very generous to me that day, and I want to thank you for being kind, the very quality I had just suggested you did not possess.  It’s true, you didn’t always choose the most socially acceptable way to show you cared about people.  However, you showed it in more profound ways.  For example, you opened my eyes, ears, heart and mind (and those of many others) to the truth and beauty of choral music.  And you taught me, by example, to never give less than my all – that this art of making music deserves, even demands, our total effort.  Oh yes, you cared deeply for all of us, individually and collectively.  I was just unable to understand it then.

It is difficult for me to imagine now a world without your presence – leading, correcting, encouraging and chastising.  But you are still with us and will continue to be, as long as we have your recorded performances of more than 50 years from which to learn, and as long as we have singers and conductors who try to pass on what they have learned from you.  So, thank you, Mr. Shaw.  You have enriched my life in ways I can never begin to express, and I will be grateful to you every time I study a score, lift a baton or open my mouth to sing.

Rest softly, Mr. Shaw.  Softly rest.

Robert Shaw and Choral Technique

It was my good fortune to sing under the baton of Robert Shaw for a span of nearly a quarter century.   During that time I experienced some of the most well planned and executed rehearsals of my entire musical life.  Mr. Shaw was a master at knowing how the music should sound and what needed to be done to accomplish that sound.  He believed there were four foundations of choral technique and that for successful performance we must always keep them foremost in our minds.

1 – Intonation is the sine qua non (without which nothing) of choral singing.  In other words, correct pitch is essential!

2 – Time is divisible, and must be particularized with a precision similar to that given to intonation.  Count singing anyone?

3 – Vocal tone (in addition to being capable of absolute pitch at an absolute moment) is also capable of a variety of dynamics and colors.

4 – Choral music has words and the distinct and successive sounds which form these words must be given their moment of time.

These four basic concepts, followed carefully and constantly in rehearsals, can produce some fine choral singing.  It sure worked for Mr. Shaw!

The Importance of One Singer

It was my good fortune to sing for many years under the baton of Robert Shaw.  As the unofficial, but widely accepted, Dean of American Choral Conductors, Mr. Shaw was in a firm position of authority to remind choristers of their responsibilities to their ensemble, and even more importantly, their responsibilities to the composer and the music.  I’ve never forgotten his lectures on the subject, which came in both written and oral versions.  They were always sincere, heartfelt, and often stinging, for they usually came in response to a less than acceptable rehearsal by his chorus.  Those of us in the chorus often felt ashamed following such admonitions, as we were reminded that the music deserved no less than our best effort, and that we were risking the success of the upcoming performance and showing a lack of respect for our fellow singers when we came to rehearsal less than fully prepared.  It was also noted by most of us that Mr. Shaw always came to rehearsals fully prepared and it seemed only proper that we should do likewise.

Following a recent rather challenging rehearsal in which I felt an inordinate amount of time was spent correcting notes and intonation, I was led to write a note of my own to my chorus.  First, I told them that much good had been accomplished as we fine tuned (both literally and figuratively) a number of spots in the music.  The progress made during the rehearsal was substantial and I appreciated very much how hard everyone was working.  Still, much of that work should have been done outside of the rehearsal and that brought  me to my next point.  It was to understand the importance of corporate and individual responsibilities in a choral rehearsal.  This was something Robert Shaw discussed often with his singers and it recognizes that what we present to an audience is a group effort made up of personal contributions.  I reminded my chorus that a favorite phrase of mine is that the “whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”  That phrase reminds us that in a choral performance we must perform as a unified whole.  But prior to achieving that unified whole there is an individual responsibility that must be accepted by each of us.  Our corporate responsibility as a chorus to do honor to the composer and the music will always be controlled to a degree by each singer and his commitment to that corporate responsibility.  Therefore, the old adage about a group being only as strong as its weakest member resonates strongly in choral ensembles.  We become our best self (chorus) when each singer decides it really depends on him or her.

And Now For Something Completely Different

My life as a musician has been filled with many amazing and gratifying experiences. Many of those experiences have come about through my association with excellent musical mentors. From a high school choral director who instilled in me a life long love of choral music, to a college choral director whose connection with singers was a model for me to emulate, and finally to a twenty-year musical relationship with the foremost American choral director of our age, Robert Shaw, from whom I learned to strive to always give my best effort – I have been fortunate indeed in my musical life. But it all began as an eight year old choir singer in my church and in Sunday evening services where I would sing gospel hymns similar to the ones that will “bookend” the opening concert of The Michael O’Neal Singers 2011-2012 Season. As the centerpiece of the concert, MOS will perform The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass by Carol Barnett. The “bluegrass” style was something very familiar to my early days of music making, and while I have journeyed far from that style in the ensuing years, I return to it in this concert with the joy that seems to be in every measure of such music. Carol Barnett explains beautifully what led her to compose the piece with librettist Marisha Chamberlain. Here are Barnett’s words:

“To bring the solemnity of the classical-based Mass together with the down-home sparkle of bluegrass – now there’s an assignment. My highest hope is that listeners coming from one tradition – classical or bluegrass – and perhaps dubious about the other, might discover something new and wonderful in the combination, as I have. Composing the music for ‘The World Beloved’ has given me the chance to write cheery sacred music – all too rare in a medium rife with staid and even lugubrious settings. It’s brought me back to memories of music heard while visiting my grandparents: country music with a church flavor that told stories and came out of a scratchy old record player. Grandma would not have allowed dancing, but under the table I tapped my toes.”

It is my hope that our audience will be tapping its toes as well, as we perform a concert quite different from our normal fare.

Limitless Listening

From time to time I think about the changes that have taken place in the world since I was a child. I’m specifically thinking today about how much easier it is to listen to the music of our choice, and whenever we want to do so. We have the internet, mp3 players, CDs, and seemingly hundreds of music channels on television and satellite radio. In fact, we can go to YouTube and both hear AND see almost any musical performance that can be imagined (whether or not it should be is not the case). I contrast all that to my listening possibilities as a child and young teenager. I played old 78s found in our attic of musicians such as Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, 45s of Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson, and 33 LPs of my favorite choral groups (Robert Shaw, Roger Wagner, and Norman Luboff). Yes, I’m afraid I was a choral nerd at the age of 10! Yet, even with that number of listening possibilities, it couldn’t even begin to compare with what we have today. Why, I didn’t even have my first FM radio until I was 13, and it only picked up one station.

So, as I’m feeling nostalgic today, I’m interested in hearing from those in my age group (above 50) what your listening experiences and possibilities were as a child or youth. If nothing else, your responses should provide entertainment for our younger readers!

Time for a Community Messiah Performance

MOS will soon hold its 5th Annual Messiah Sing-Along and the approaching event has caused me to think a bit about this whole experience of a “community” Messiah.  I conducted several of these Sing-Alongs back in the 1980s, but hadn’t done another one until The Michael O’Neal Singers began its version several years ago.  From what I’ve been able to discover, the concept of a Messiah Sing-Along caught on in the USA in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Certainly there have been really BIG performances of Messiah dating back to the early and mid nineteenth century, but these took place primarily in England.  The Brits loved big choral societies and they really adored singing Messiah with big choirs and big orchestras!  I believe there were even some performances with a thousand singers or more.  There were also unrehearsed performances where the audience served as the chorus, and in Great Britain these were called “scratch Messiahs,” as in cooking from scratch.

The Messiah Sing-Along has now become a very popular event in many American communities, and especially during the Christmas Season there will be hundreds of these celebrations.  What makes them so popular?   I have several thoughts as to why that might be.  One is that Handel’s Messiah is a work that most choral singers have performed.  Another is that during the Holiday Season a Sing-Along provides a wonderful shared experience, whether one comes to participate as an individual or as part of a group.  And finally, I suggest that people enjoy participating in Messiah Sing-Alongs just because they are fun!

What is your most memorable Messiah performance experience?