Keystone State Boychoir

In the timelessness of the tour bubble – it just occurred to us that it’s Friday, and there’s only one more day!

Last night, all the choirs gathered again, joined by a local men’s choir, the Eugene Gleemen, this time for a chance to watch Fernando work with each choir on one piece in their repertoire. With members into their 80s, Eugene Gleemen, were just back from TOUR. Think about it. “Choirboys” going on tour into their 70s and 80s!

Once again, KSB brought their A game, as the Chamber Choir guys sang D’Animals. Fernando ended his session with them noting that we’re neighbors, and that he looks forward to seeing us at home, for which he and I laid the groundwork.

As for today’s music making, instruction has been turned over to Male Ensemble Northwest , a vocal ensemble made up of music educators/choral conductors committed to encouraging male singers in schools throughout the region. The grads are wrapping up an energetic session with the ensemble – imagine two hours with a dozen Mr Fisher’s leading a tag-team rehearsal, with a most kinesthetic approach to vocal instruction. The room is exploding with teenage boy choral energy! The trebles are up next, with a tutti rehearsal tonight.

For fun today, we went to a local pharmacy called Hirons. Ask your son about it when we gets home!

University of Oregon’s Hayward Field is hallowed ground, where Nike was invented, and where the US Olympic Track and Field Trials are held. It’s only open to the public from 6:00 – 9:00am, but that didn’t deter our two runners, John and Jaleel who went for run before breakfast.

Looking forward to our final day, and to the concert tomorrow night! 

Not much to say about the concert other than it was TERRIFIC! with praises from all for KSB’s performance. And really, it was an honor to share the stage with the other boychoirs, some SATB, some just treble, but all doing what we do – making excellent music with a great group of boys.

Imagine the post-concert reception: You know that thing that happens when our boys can’t stop singing after a concert is over? Lobby of the Kimmel Center after the Jerusalem Youth Chorus concert comes to mind…

Now multiply that by five boychoirs, and you’re there. South African, improvised, Festival rep — you name it!  This is the first all BOY PICfest, so the post-concert Jam seemed like a novel experience for the organizers, who had dreamed of this night for a long time. For the directors of the boychoirs, especially those of us with changed voice boys, a “welcome to our world” moment.

The tenors and basses from KSB, Florida’s Singing Sons and Boychoir of Ann Arbor can’t get enough of singing together, so when Fernando announced that the tenors and basses would be released after the mid morning break, they all headed to a lounge with a piano and kept singing together for the rest of the morning. By the way, when we saw each other perform last night, we all realized that we sang with the Boychoir from Ann Arbor at the Baltimore Boychoir Festival last year.

It’s a free afternoon, so KSB and Florida Singing Sons headed to a park to play ultimate frisbee, or to keep the card game going, and now they’re off to go swimming. We’ll be back to the singing tonight. Everyone is healthy, happy and having a great time!! 

 

 

 

Here in Eugene, we see signs of the earliest settlers, from the Oregon Trail to the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery that we pass on the way to rehearsal. With the music staff back in Philadelphia, our singers are have struck out for new KSB territory.

The music making is under the baton of picfest conductor Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, but what about tonight’s sharing, where each choir presents a 20 minute set? In the spirit of pioneers, KSB will be blazing a new path – performing under the direction of one of their own, Jimmy Paolini!

Along with Thomas and Patrick Flynn, and with treble support from Calvin Wamser, Jimmy led two rehearsals we had for our own repertoire. As an educator, there’s nothing more satisfying than what I am witnessing. From every single boy – excellent musicianship evident everywhere, starting with Jimmy as he works with a new accompanist to rehearse each group. Focus. Self-discipline. Generosity. Encouragement, but holding each other to the high choral standards of KSB. The 9 trebles traveling with us are being coached by the Anonymous 8 boys, passing on what they have learned about small ensemble singing to their younger brothers. I have lost count of the ways that boys remind each other of what Fisher/Fitz/Hoenig/Sheridan say about breathing, diction, dynamics, performance, that tricky part where the coda is different and so on.

This is exactly what we strive for: excellent musicianship, leadership, collaboration, boys who have internalized thousands of hours of instruction, now making music their own. 

We rehearsed three pieces with Mr. Malvar-Ruiz this afternoon (each choir has their own 30 minute workshop with him) The boys impressed the Maestro with how well prepared they are, and he clearly enjoys, as he says, what any conductor would want for his choir, ownership of the music. This team of pioneers are on their way!

More after the concert tonight!

PS – Last night all of the picfest boys went to the Oregon Bach Festival for a concert. Andy Neale did a little research on the three pieces we were hearing and imparted that what he learned on the way to the concert. (Best factoid: Mozart wrote the symphony we heard — his 25th — when he was 17!)

KSB was treated to seats in the front four rows of the beautiful venue, so it was a good thing the boys had taken naps after dinner! The concert concluded with Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass (renamed Nelson Mass-dela by KSB), and then a CY reunion with Zerrin Martin, former conductor of PG Trouveres, who is singing with the Oregon Bach Festival choir!

…and we’ll get a serious picture one of these days! For now, they are having too much fun!

 

How can you tell?

Lanyards on, always with a tour buddy.

Jobs assigned, no technology in sight.

Old friendships deepening, new friendships forming.

Card game that was paused when we came home from the last trip has restarted

Smiling Chaperones

Life lessons learned — like what to do when you are waiting! 

Even a tiny tour moment – one of the suitcases full of garment bags is on its way back from ALASKA right now! Good thing we don’t need formal attire until Saturday. 

The boys made a strong first impression, and have had the highest praises from the PICFest Staff and from festival conductor Fernando Malvar-Ruiz even before the first rehearsal.

Why?

Because the boys were so totally SILENT when we moved into our dorm rooms at 2:00am — so much so that the other choirs thought we hadn’t arrived! Maestro Malvar-Ruiz said that their silence spoke volumes about the boys’ character. Well done, KSB.

We’ve had our rehearsal making great music together, this time with boys and young men from four other great choirs, and there were even Philly Cheesesteaks (Philly Beef Sandwiches?!) for lunch.

Hoping to make as good an impression with our music as we did with our silence!

 …while he deals with a tie emergency at Boyds

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Nice place. Is it new?

I thought Macy’s is where you go for ties.

Perhaps more of a non profit kinda tie place.