Ragazzi December concerts

Can art change the world? Last weekend I attended the Berkeley Rep Theatre production of Tristan and Yseult, based on the legend of Tristan and Isolde. The Kneehigh company from England excels in singing, dancing, acrobatics and special effects. As the story unfolded, the actors engaged with the audience to the point that we were laughing with them, blowing up balloons and generally participating. The action moved back and forth from ancient legend to present day foolery. When it came time for the inevitable  tragedy, it was underlain with Wagner’s climactic music from the opera, the Liebestod. Maybe because the actors had loosened us up so much with their interactions with us, we were all completely taken away by the catastrophic sadness when it came. I found myself breathless.

At least for a few days, it changed me. I became conscious of the world around me, of my relationships, of the miracle of music and art.

As Ragazzi presents our holiday program, we have mixed in some beauty, some traditions, some cultural explorations and yes, some tomfoolery. It is my wish that you will join us in laughing and celebrating and that at least once during the concert, we take your breath away. I hope that you leave changed for a moment or an hour and that you are filled with an awareness of the incredible power of music.

Here are our program notes.

Gloria is a dynamic and rhythmic piece written by contemporary composer David Giardiniere.  Mr. Giardiniere is a teacher, conductor, soloist, clinician and composer.  His choral groups tour regularly throughout the eastern United States.  Premiere sings Gloria with the traditional Latin text.

Two French Noels is a beautiful pairing of two well-known and very old French Carols: Patapan and Noel Nouvelet.  Patapan, is a song written hundreds of years ago describing how fitting it is that Willie play his drum and Robin play his flute just like the shepherds played when Christ was born.  Listen for the words Pat-a-pat-a-pan which is the sound of the drum and Tu-re-lu-re-lu which is the sound of the flute.  Noel Nouvelet is presented in French and is also hundreds of years old.  “New Christmas, Christmas we sing here.  Devout people, let us shout our thanks to God!”

Program Notes                       Sarah Wannamaker

Awake, Awake to Love and Work combines an old American hymn tune from the Kentucky Harmony hymnal with a poem written by an Army Chaplain, Geoffrey Studdert-Kennedy (1883-1929). Like other poems from his collection, “The Unutterable Beauty”, this text emphasizes the magic of the world as an expression of divinity. Like many folk tunes, this melody is simple with lots of scale-wise passages. The musical interest comes from rhythmic variations and canonic treatment in the different verses.

The Birds, penned by Canadian composer Eleanor Daley, is a setting of an imaginative poem by Hilaire Belloc. This allegorical text portrays the Christ Child as having a profound depth of wisdom and unworldly capacity for miracles, even as a child. Note the musical reinforcement (key change, running bass notes) to convey the birds in flight. The last phrase is a internal prayer for us to view life from a more timeless perspective to gain a wisdom for our own lives.

Laudate Dominum

Mozart's setting of Psalm 116 is a gentle interpretation of the text, "Praise the Lord." The soprano solo is written in long, luxurious lines over a simple guitar-like accompaniment. The obligato instrument echoes the soprano solo. In this arrangement, the elements (obligato, solo, and chorus) are introduced one at a time, and then combined at the end.

Let Voice and Instrument is the fourth movement from Purcell’s ode Arise, My Muse. Completed in 1690, it was the second of six odes that Purcell was commissioned to write for the birthday of Queen Mary; he was titled ‘Composer to the King’ and organist at Westminster Abbey at this time. The two lines are presented individually, and then combined and developed. This piece was originally written for tenor and bass soloists with a four-part choir, and has been arranged for two voices.

Handel was an English composer working in the generation after Purcell. Praise the Lord with Cheerful Voice comes from his oratorio, Esther. An oratorio is an opera without the staging or costumes, but with the plot and drama. The Old Testament story of Queen Esther is about the queen rescuing her people from persecution (which is celebrated as a traditional holiday, Purim). The music reflects the exuberant mood of celebration.  The text appropriately references songs of praise and the heavenly choir.

Bay Area composer, horn-player, and physicist Brian Holmes dedicated the score of The Mummers to Joyce Keil and the Ragazzi Boys Chorus. This playful arrangement gives space for the singers to take on the persona of mummers - Christmas-season entertainers and actors. The mummer tradition is based in 18th and 19th century England, as seen in the references to Saint George. This is a fun variation in the tradition of door-to-door Christmas caroling.

Creator of the Stars of Night is an arrangement of a ninth-century plainsong chant Conditor Alme. Originally in Latin, the formality of the translated text still evokes an archaic time. Each stanza presents a different unfolding of Christ’s story: the tumult of the world before Christ, the humble birth, the revelation of Christ, and Christ as judge. The music for the voices remains identical between the six verses; the interest and momentum is created by the increasingly-present organ accompaniment.

Ludovico Grossi (c. 1560-1627) was born in Viadana, near Parma. His life as a Franciscan monk is reflected by the sacred music he wrote for use in the church liturgy. Exultate justi is based on the first three verses of Psalm 33, and the buoyant music reflects the words of praise, thanks, and singing. The piece is in two parts - a chordal, homophonic introduction followed by an imitative middle section - and the different writing styles reflect the Renaissance and Baroque periods transitioning between the two eras. The piece is for four voices - there is an alto part, two tenor parts, and a bass line. This distribution is stylistically common as the advanced singers in a church group would be men singing in a bass and falsetto range.

Ubi Caritas is about juxtaposition: Latin and African languages, formal and pop singing styles, Western and non-Western cultures, and even different rhythmic ways of subdividing a measure. Paul Halley chose the text “Where there is love, there is God” because it speaks to him personally while also having a universal appeal. He writes: “I tried to bring out the inherent power and optimism of the Gregorian Chant. … Sometimes we need to look at the obvious through other people’s eyes.”  Despite the opposition between the individual elements, the composition works cohesively and emphasizes the fundamental connections of religious sentiment and musical expression. In today’s performance, the blocking of the choir according to part highlights the different melody lines in a spatial way.

All Glory, Laud, and Honor is a single piece taken from the larger work, The Passion According to Saint John. Bach’s mastery of line, ornamentation, independent voices and harmonic flexibility show through even in shorter works such as this. The chorale is stated twice - once as an ornamented solo line with instrumental support, and once as a four-part a capella arrangement. Note the independence of the violin part, which could stand as an instrumental solo. The text, by Paul Gerhardt, is an Advent meditation on the best way to invite God into the singer’s life.

Deck the Hall is a 16th-century Welsh tune celebrating the season - getting ready for festivities and greeting the new year. The ‘fa la la’ refrain is a moment of musical delight; it is about the fun of singing purely for the joy of the art.

Angels We Have Heard on High is a carol of French origin. This hymn is unusual because of the melismatic (many notes per word) setting of the refrain. Hark the Herald is an arrangement of a tune written by Mendelssohn. The final carol is a popular interpretation of O Come, All Ye Faithful by David Willcocks. This arrangement is now part of the core repertoire for the King’s College Festival of Lessons and Carols in Cambridge, featuring both an added descant and a new harmonization. The traditional combined choir, descant and organ accompaniment culminate to remind us how music can transcend the boundaries of time and difference, giving us the tools to find newness, potential, and light in our world.

Ragazzi boys shine in Korea

Korean Tour stories 2013

The boys have been amazing. Their level of maturity, their cooperative spirit, their endurance - in every way they made us very proud.

We found Korea to be very clean. The people are disciplined and yet they are warm, generous and friendly. The Korean Choir (6 boys out of 60 singers!)  is outstanding; they rehearse 3 days a week for 2 hours each and many commute 1-2 hours to rehearsal. They also know how to have fun. The audiences are wildly enthusiastic and participate in performances by whooping, laughing and yelling. We agreed that we wanted to incorporate the Korean rehearsal discipline into Ragazzi culture.

Seoul is dense (44,000 people per square mile) and the buildings are sky high. Most of the people live in apartments. There didn't seem to be any suburbs although when we traveled to Suncheon (6 hours south) we saw miles of greenery. The youth hostel in Suncheon was in a lovely wooded area. The boys stayed in rooms of 5-6 and they slept on the floor on comforters (see picture attached). We learned that traditionally Koreans sleep on the floor which is heated in the winter. They seemed to survive that fine. I never heard a complaint about this or about any other difficulties.

The heat was intense and constant. The air conditioning varied in effectiveness, with the bus being the most comfortable and the eating halls less so. With the humidity we were ringing wet most of the time-especially when we had outdoor concerts. The boys performed every day often in the midst of confusing schedule changes, attenuated rehearsal time and varying stage set ups. We sang mostly informal music as we were not given rehearsal time except for 10 minute staging times. I believe we will receive DVDs of at least some of the performances.

We had the opportunity to observe the beautiful Korean traditional music with costumes (see picture) and at the fair we all got to try on the traditional Korean dress. One of our favorite Korean experiences was watching the dancing drummer who played on the massed choir pieces. He moved with every stroke as he pounded the rhythms adding immensely to the excitement of the performance. We also saw fan dances and hat twirling. There will be many pictures for you to enjoy seeing these things.

The home stay families cared for the boys as if they were their own sons. Many cried when they had to say goodbye. Some of the hosts were at the fair on Thursday where they were eager to meet us, the staff.

Most of the choirs had more adult chaperons (who had to pay their own way) and we are so very grateful to our guides who shepherded our boys through all the events, made sure they had the right clothes, made them go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning. At the end of ten days we felt a love for each other as well as gratitude.

There is a lot of ceremony as each official welcomes us. Today when we left Suncheon for the airport, representatives of the mayor thanked us for making the trip to their city and for accepting their accommodations. He said that while we must leave, our music will remain in their hearts. He talked about how people from so many countries and languages could come together and unite through music. He said that he hoped this would continue to help bring the world together.

Last night our boys wanted to initiate a final evening with all the other kids to share their favorite songs. During the bus ride back to the hostel from the Garden Expo where we had sung, Ragazzi boys shared their favorite experiences. Comments ranged from "I liked the heat" to "It was wonderful to share music with people from other cultures and to learn about them." Ragazzi initiated the group sharing where all the singers gathered together. It was a deeply emotional moment for all.

The food (see picture of my breakfast at the hostel): now we know why Koreans are lean. The basic diet is rice with a variety of sprouts, seaweed, sometimes with some processed meat or an egg. Sometimes there is soup.  The hosts provided the boys with snacks and one night brought them pizza after a late night concert.

A glimpse of the confusing scheduling can be seen in one example. At the closing concert in Suncheon which was held outside at the amazing Expo Garden, I was told to choose a boy and come on stage to stand for a speech by the mayor. When I went back to find my place, I was told that I wasn’t needed. No one remembered telling me to come. The director of the Taiwan choir was also there and although she didn’t speak English, we looked at each other and understood that we both had been given confusing directions. We went to the back of the arena and met Hee Churl, the music director of World Vision. He shrugged and laughed. So I went back to my seat. About 5 minutes later, someone came up to me and rushed me up on stage. Hee Churl came along and we wended our way through the orchestra to climb up for the ceremony. Things changed constantly.

I wanted to share with you the pride we all felt in your sons. In spite of confusing changes in schedules, occasionally odd food,  strange sleeping arrangements, stifling heat, daily performance pressure, the boys remained cooperative and cheerful. They were mature and represented the United State beautifully. They were strong in their endurance through difficult situations and willing to conform to the necessary regimentation that tour requires.

I am so grateful that you allowed them to share this experience with our singing colleagues from other countries. We made new friends and we learned a lot not only about other cultures, but also about music and performing.

Singing means so much to me, from a Ragazzi alumnus

From Lukas Elzayek

Singing to me means more than notes on a paper; as a child growing up during the civil war of Lebanon, singing was an escape, a blessing, and a way to keep the mind and the heart alive. My earliest memories with singing were when we would be rushed to the bomb shelters, terrified by the horrific sounds of canon fire, gun shots, and chaos, we would sit there in almost complete darkness, and, to lift our spirits, and mask the sounds of War, we would all sing. We would sing nursery rhymes, popular songs, even make up our own songs; we would sing until we knew that the world was safe again, and [we would] leave the shelter with peace in our hearts. In a way, it saved our lives. When I joined Ragazzi under the superb direction of Joyce Keil, all those memories came back, and no matter how bad my day seemed, singing with Ragazzi always made me smile through my heart. One year, after my family received citizenship, Ragazzi was invited to sing the National Anthem at the Giants game. A day that literally brought tears to my eyes as I sang on that field: to be a citizen with the choir that brought me so much joy, and peace, I felt a joy that can never be explained through words, but maybe through song (haha).
To this day I remember the friendships, the songs, Joyce and her passion and dedication to Ragazzi. I remember Italy tour, all the fun times we had, a Nun named Sister Maria that yelled at me for "sagging" and the beautiful memories that will stay in my heart for ever. Ragazzi is a family, a friend, and peace of mind for me, that I can never forget, and that I, to this day tell all my friends about. And once in a while, you can catch me singing along to the Raggazzi CD at the top of my lungs.
Thank you Joyce Keil, and the entire Ragazzi family for helping preserve the gift of music that means so much in my life.

Thank you! Boys singing together, what a concept!!

Thank you! Boys singing together, what a concept!! 

25 years ago the only Bay Area boys chorus was located in San Francisco. Getting there from the peninsula was almost impossible, so for many boys  there was no opportunity to sing.

Meanwhile, the schools and childrens choruses were having trouble recruiting male singers. What was going on?

I  learned that in order to give the gift of singing to boys, they needed to be together and separate from the girls. They form a unique camaraderie and love the freedom to express themselves in song. That is how Ragazzi was born. We exist to help develop the other side of boys' natures, their spiritual, artistic and emotional sides. As Plato said, Gymnastics for the body, music for the mind. In our world today, there is so little opportunity for boys to nurture this side, so we are glad to provide that opportunity. 

It is amazing to me that we have grown from seven to 170 in these 25 years, but it shows the power of music to feed the souls of our young males.

Thank you parents for your hours of time driving, setting up events, chaperoning, selling raffle tickets and everything you do to give this gift to our boys. And because we cherish excellence, we work hard and create something that can be shared with a wide and appreciative audience hungry for beauty.  We couldn't do it without your presence and your caring. 

Ragazzi Alum Jeremy Weinglass Speaks

From Jeremy Weinglass, original Ragazzi member, professional musician with permission to use media from his website as needed: www.jeremyweinglass.com

 "Ragazzi was monumental in giving me the well-rounded music education I was very fortunate to have at such a young age.  The musicianship training, music theory and experience performing in front of people regularly, really complemented my piano studies which I was doing simultaneously at that time.  From age 10, Ragazzi gave us countless opportunities to mature into young adults.  Touring out of the country for the first time to Canada, a 2 week summer camp to Camp Gualala, and multiple appearances singing the National Anthem at Giants' games are just some of the incredible highlighted memories I will cherish forever.  But even after I graduated (due to my voice change), Ragazzi continued to support the development of my music career; specifically as a pianist.  I was thrilled to have my first job with Ragazzi both as a camp counselor at Gualala and as the accompanist for some of the choirs.  By the time I was 15, I was leading the boys in sport activities, playing the piano in rehearsals and I even got to teach my own theory class!  Because of Ragazzi, I was able to accelerate my piano studies at an even greater rate and I believe the experiences I had gave me a significant advantage in becoming a professional pianist and composer.   Looking back, I can't say enough about how Ragazzi influenced me in my development as a musician as well as a human being.  Ragazzi got me started doing everything that I still love doing today.  That is playing music, performing, teaching, creating, singing, traveling, working with children and continuing to share music my with the world! "

Ragazzi 25 years of Boys who Love to Sing

I am moved by the stories I am hearing from our graduates as to how Ragazzi has impacted their lives. I have always loved music and specifically singing and I wanted to share this musical joy with boys because when I was teaching high school, I found it so hard to recruit male singers. I have learned that putting the boys together, alone, without girls makes it safe for them to explore their voices and their emotions. Beyond that, through Ragazzi, in addition to their musical achievements, they have created life-long friendships and developed other skills like  discipline, focus. We just had to build it, they have come by the hundreds.

Here is a testimonial from one alum. From Patrick Wong, to the Ragazzi Family: 

My name is Patrick "Pawkit DJ" Wong.  I was an active participant and member in Ragazzi for about 4-5 years (1997-2002); a picture of me is even still on the website in the "about" section!  To this day, I am so honored and proud to have been a part of such a gifted and talented group of individuals.  The extensive musical training and education we received still proves useful to me even today!

 In addition to singing with Ragazzi, during my adolescent years I also studied the violin, piano, clarinet, and saxophone.  Having paid tens of thousands of dollars for over a decade of private lessons in all these instruments, I can still say with full conviction that none of it compared to the amount of musical knowledge and wisdom Ragazzi  Boys Chorus provided for me.

 Today, I am currently a full-time college student by day, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in audio production and music recording, and a seasoned DJ and music producer by night.  I started DJing in May of 2011, and so far have achieved unimaginable degrees of success on a multitude of levels in just under two years of solid dedication and commitment to the craft.  For example, as of this moment as I'm typing this, my online SoundCloud profile has generated a whopping total of 17,875 plays/listens!  (soundcloud.com/PawkitDJ) I am just now testing the waters with music production (starting with mashups) and the classical training I received in Ragazzi over a decade ago still pertains and is extraordinarily relevant in helping me to create musically sound pieces and compositions.  For example, my most recent release was a "duet" I created combining Britney Spears (pop singer) and Skrillex (dubstep).  I was so proud to see that it exceeded 200 plays/listens on the very first day I uploaded it!  In addition, I have been and am currently the resident DJ at a local venue in the South Bay Area called Britannia Arms Cupertino where I play live every Thursday night from 10pm-1:30am.

 One thing I am thankful for is how much Ragazzi truly enhanced my ears and gave me the gift of trained performance listening, which I need to accomplish my daily tasks as a music producer.  It is critical that I am always on high alert for any unmatched pitches or chords that clash, which are frequent obstructions that occur when trying to be creative.  Fortunately, with my experienced musical ear, I am able to extinguish these problems quickly.  Also, it is absolutely necessary that I pay close attention to all major and minor chords and the key signatures of each track that I choose to work with.  For example, if I am working with a track in A-flat minor, then I would need to compose a countermelody in the same key or, using the circle of fifths, harmonize with something in E flat minor or even B Major.  Fortunately, there is now computer software that can help supplement and aid in speeding up this process.  But as we all know, technology and shortcuts aren't always perfect and can never match or replace real life experience.

 Overall, I am so grateful for all of the hard work and dedication from all of the staff and parents at Ragazzi, especially Joyce Keil.  If it weren't for all of you, I probably would not have attained such high success so early on in this competitive industry.  Even though it's been so long and I was so young, I will always remember my experience at Ragazzi as my personal blessing as I continue to pursue this passion and chase my dream.  Sincerely, Patrick "Pawkit DJ" Wong From Patrick Wong

Sincerely,

Patrick "Pawkit DJ" Wong

http://www.soundcloud.com/PawkitDJ

http://www.facebook.com/PawkitDJ

pawkitdeejay@gmail.com

Choristers sing TOGETHER

From Jesse Buddington: I'd like to borrow Joyce's blog this week to talk about one of choral singing's central concepts - it's something so innate, so obvious, that we rarely actually mention it. It's something so central to choral singing that it makes up half of the name - the choral part. I'd like to talk about the difference between being a good musician, and being a good chorister.

Wait, what?

See, that's what I mean - most people assume (as I did for many years) that good musicians automatically make the best choristers. I experienced that in my high school choir, at San Francisco's School of the Arts. For those of you unfamiliar with SOTA, it's an audition-based public school where everyone has to "major" in an art. When I began attending, our vocal program was filled with the best young soloists the city (and its surroundings) had to offer - pop, rock, gospel, classical, etc. The then-choir director put a lot of the department's resources into small ensembles and individual voice lessons for everyone - better musicians are simply universally better, right?

Unsurprisingly, the choir often sounded like a bunch of soloists who were asked to sing something at the same time. In my senior year, we got a new vocal director who spent a lot more time on group blend and collective decisions within each section and each song. The change in the choir was remarkable.

Choral singing is a special kind of music, and it caters to a special kind of artist. Whereas many artists seek art as a way of expressing themselves individually, still others throw themselves into a collective whole, trying to feel out in colors or chords the strings that bind human beings to one another.

When people can't make group rehearsal dates, I often hear the argument that they'll practice on their own, or with their voice teacher. While this does indeed speak to an artist's dedication, it makes them very dedicated musicians - it does not make them dedicated choristers, because there's more to being in a choir than just being a good musician. There are plenty of musical avenues for soloists; what makes a choir special is the vocal blend, and that blend is only possible through mutual, collaborative work. It's something that can be guided, but cannot be taught(especially not in isolation)- it can only be learned through regular practice with the same group. Every choir makes many, many decisions in rehearsal that simply cannot be replicated or practiced at home.

The commitment-argument holds some weight where an effort is made to organize the whole group or at least members of a section outside of rehearsal, but most people who miss rehearsals end up working on music alone or with their voice teacher (probably because organizing one's section outside of regular rehearsals is next-to-impossible - that's why we have regular rehearsals!). Although these people will continue to grow as musicians, I don't see how they could possibly be as prepared blend-wise as a person who has been at every rehearsal at which an important musical decision has been made - which is pretty much every rehearsal.

To draw the ever-popular sports analogy, imagine that you have every member of a baseball team train alone, with a separate coach. Imagine that they attain Olympic-level physical condition and learn all there is to learn about the game of baseball. Now, put them on a team against a team that practices together every day, and see how well they do. I imagine there will be more than a few dropped balls, if not outright outfield collisions.

When I sing with Continuo, or conduct YME, I sometimes experience this sixth-sense of where everyone is and what everyone is doing - it's a common phenomenon in driving ("feeling" the external dimensions of a familiar car), and that sense transfers over pretty well to choral singing. When you crescendo through a chord, or take a breath at just the right time with everyone else, you experience a sense of collective awareness. It's a wonderful feeling, and I bet that every single boy in CG or higher can immediately recall at least one story of having felt that sensation.

I think it's a huge part of why generation after generation of Ragazzi boy keeps putting in the long hours of hard work to achieve those magic moments.

Music Knowledge is Fun!

Musical knowledge is fun!

Last week I attended a movie - new release.  I will keep the name of it secret as there are some plot twists that you will want to discover for yourself if you see it.

In one scene, one of the male leads is in an elevator.  The plot has indicated that he may be questioning some of the decisions he has made and that he might be uncomfortable with the situation he is in.

In the background is the Allegri Miserere which our boys sang a few Decembers ago.  It was one of their favorite pieces, featuring a glorious high “C” in a repeating refrain.

I recognized the music (as would the boys) and knew that the director was telling us something about the mind of the protagonist.  He was actually really upset and in a difficult situation.

Isn't it fun to be an insider?  Our understanding of the world is enriched because we know about music and we pay attention to it! 

Choral Music is Vital

As many of you know, I recently returned from my third visit to Cuba. I have been drawn to this country because of the incredible commitment to arts education even though there is a shortage of basic supplies and food. The music and particularly the choral music is outstanding and the children with talent and interest are nurtured and given rigorous training which is tested regularly. For those who persist and survive the testing, there is a guaranteed job in the professional music world, singing with a band, singing in a chorus, or conducting.

In the last year and a half, the city of Havana has started a revitalization project to maintain the beautiful buildings that have been crumbling due to lack of attention. Under Raul Castro there is a new openness to private enterprise and some families are opening restaurants, bed and breakfasts and even retail stores.

As Cuba moves to incorporate the positive aspects of capitalism, which are sorely needed to help the vast number of poor people in the country, there is an economist who is advising the process who cautions Cuba to take best of free enterprise, but to avoid becoming its slave.

As I read this article written by an American student in high school about the importance of choral music in his life, I applaud Cuba’s dedication to this art form and I am reminded of the critical nature of the work we do. It is my belief that Ragazzi is a positive force for connection among young men who are seeking understanding and meaning in our modern world. I am glad that there are Americans who understand the importance of choral music.

WHY CHORAL MUSIC IS VITAL TO TODAY’S YOUTH by Reilly Dougherty

The world today is changing at a swift pace. Every day we are advancing as a whole technologically, but as we progress in these areas, it seems that we are regressing in others to a point where personal human understanding is no longer prevalent. There is an endless amount of solutions to this problem, but my personal savior would have to be choral music. Unfortunately, despite popular belief amongst my fellow students, sheer participation isn’t enough. You must immerse yourself in the art form. I have found that a looming fear of failure is a contributing factor to the decline in the arts as a whole. Being an artist of any form requires effort, and students can save themselves from the possible embarrassment by pursuing something far less complicated. Examples of which might include video games, or avid tweeting.
 

My experiences in choir are what saved me from mediocrity, complacency, and a great deal of ignorance. Whether it is during a performance or in the classroom, I’ve gained much more than I ever could have hoped to through the internet or television. Singing has taught me humility through error, reward through success, feeling through understanding, and most importantly, how to use singing to identify with the piece I am performing, and the audience I am performing for. This creates a bond of emotions that helps me realize that each individual has their own story, along with a series of battles in which they were forced to contend. A strong sense of community is provided and that is what our youth needs most to prevent a fracture in today’s society. Choral music helps us remember what is significant, while maintaining a development of our natural qualities and existence, cohesively as a race.

(Reilly Dougherty is a senior at Firestone High School in Akron, Ohio)

Ragazzi sings Rutter Mass of the Children Mar. 23 and 24

Choral music stands alone among performing arts in at least two ways. Communal affirmation and healing after tragic events are expressed through choral music, an art form uniquely and equally suited for both. Recall the Congressional chorus on the Capitol steps singing God Bless America after 9/11, expressing a nation’s resolve to stand together. This December, a usually irreverent Saturday Night Live responded to the shootings in Newtown with a children's chorus singing Silent Night. Touchingly, the Sandy Hook Elementary School choir itself led a moment of healing by singing America the Beautiful before February’s Super Bowl.

Together, Masterworks and Ragazzi offer our own moment of healing today: John Rutter’s Mass of the Children was his first large work following his own son’s death. Choral music has the power to transform perspective and emotions… and lives. Is there another performing art form where children and adults can collaborate as equals? Where present and future mingle so expressively? Choral music is so much a part of our culture that it’s often taken for granted. We invite you to experience it – and truly hear it – anew.

Joyce Keil, Artist Director Ragazzi Boys Chorus

             David Jones, Executive Director Ragazzi Boys Chorus

What if it's gasp (!) entertainment!!

Ragazzi sings classical repertoire, “pop” songs and world music. Here is a fun article from the February 5 San Francisco Classical Voice, an online magazine for classical music lovers, considering what constitutes “real” music or “high” art. What if it’s (gasp) entertainment?

For your amusement, here is the URL if you want to read readers’ reactions to the article: http://www.sfcv.org/article/classical-what-if-its-gasp-entertainment

From SFCV:

It just may be time to give up on one of the most exhausted, long-lived cliches about classical music: that it is “high” art, uniquely deserving respect and support for its greatness. Otherwise, we risk smothering the thing we love and missing avenues to pull it out of its financial doldrums.

The last few years have been difficult ones for classical music in America, if by that term you mean the fortunes of the opera houses and symphony orchestras that usually symbolize “classical.” Almost everywhere you look, organizations face budget battles, cutbacks in programming, worries about the future.

As SFCV has been continually reporting, however, renewal is arriving through the back door: smaller, more mobile groups that are light on overhead and also generally do away with one or more of the rituals that define so many classical concerts. A few months ago, the readers of Greg Sandow’s blog began to weigh in on classical organizations that were “breaking the mold” in one way or another: Choice of venue, interest in new music and in popular and world music, and discarding old rituals of presentation and concert etiquette were the common themes in that series of posts. And one of the things that most impedes our getting to that place is adherence to high art ideals.

“High” art as an idea has gone through several definitions in the centuries of writings on aesthetics, but the most current usage refers to art that is the most autonomous (individual, thought-provoking). It still heavily depends on the idea of a genius author with enormous insight, grappling with the big issues of human existence. In presenting art of this sort, performers should efface themselves, to let listeners focus on the greatness of the musical work.

The classical tradition is made of entertainments seasoned occasionally with philosophy.

An immediate problem crops up with this definition, which is that it’s too restrictive: It would probably exclude Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony, Ravel’s Bolero,Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore,various capriccios espagnole or italienne, all the so-called “light classics,” and much more that features dancing, slapstick, sentiment, and moonstruck romance. The classical tradition is made of entertainments seasoned occasionally with philosophy.

You can try to liberalize the definition — for example, by declaring that classical music’s complexity and craft qualify it generally as high art, while other music is too simplistic to stimulate our brains. But this definition is significantly compromised by modern neurological studies and in the generally observed phenomenon that quite a lot of great classical musicians, not to mention numbers of eminent composers, think of great “popular art” musicians as their equals. (See a related story.) If highly trained musicians don’t believe in the “complexity divide” and, in fact, “cross over” all the time themselves, then it’s not easy to maintain intrinsic value differences between “pop” and classical — you end up simply comparing unlike traditions and stating a preference.

Most of us are looking for an emotional connection, a hit of adrenaline, indulgence in fantasy, an experience that resonates with our lives.

Many works with high cultural prestige violate the implicit and explicit rules of high art: Think of Charles Dickens’Christmas Carol. His little prefatory statement — “I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it” — emphasizes entertainment over the message that, in the text, the author delivers with a heavy hand and much sententiousness. Dickens was exactly right: We love this great story for itself, not for the improvement it has made in our minds. Scrooge’s nephew says as much, arguing for the value of Christmas: “There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say.”

In the end, the biggest problem with “high art” is that it is irrelevant to the way most of us approach culture. Most of us are looking for an emotional connection, a hit of adrenaline, indulgence in fantasy, an experience that resonates with our lives as we live them — that’s entertainment, in the wide sense of the word. Sometimes we can get that by contemplating sublime things and the deep-set psychology of human beings, and sometimes we can get it by cutting a rug.

When classical music presenters think about the value of their productions, they need to proceed from this idea of entertainment, rather than from the notion that their core audience is made up of superior human beings who are willing to forgo entertainment for enlightenment. Many of the musicians and executive directors I’ve talked to already think in this fashion, asking the question where that entertainment value is coming from, not only whether the music will be satisfactory. And if that means that “high art” distinctions are driven out of critical discourse, so much the better.

Michael Zwiebach is the senior editor/ content manager for SFCV. He assigns all articles and content, manages the writing staff and does editing. A member of SFCV from the beginning, Michael holds a Ph.D. in music history from the University of California, Berkeley.

Out of the mouth of babes: excellence is worth working for!

Our Mission: Ragazzi Boys Chorus is committed to excellence in musical performance and education.  The Ragazzi experience instills self confidence, cooperation, leadership, sensitivity and tenacity, helping our boys develop into young men of character and distinction.  Ragazzi serves our boys and the community by performing a diverse selection of choral works to the highest artistic standards.

Recently I attended a children’s theater production with lots of costumes and many children running around in many directions. My ten year old granddaughter who has been a part of another theater company was with me and she commented how imprecise everything was. She then talked about her experience rehearsing, “It was really boring to drill and drill every detail of our play, but now I see that as a result of what may feel like tedious work,  the audience enjoys it much more. So do the performers!”

I mentioned this to the boys this week as inspiration. As we drill and fuss and fix every little thing, we are creating something we can be proud of and the boys know that at the end we are sharing an experience that we are satisfied with, one that will express our emotions as well as our ideals through our technique and move our audiences. And then it is worth it.  

Music awakens us and connects us

For this week's blog, I would like to share an experience Dustin Hoffman had when he was a young man working as a nurse's aide at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. In the January 21 2013 New Yorker he tells a story of an old man who had been a brilliant doctor in his day. Now, due to several strokes, the man was practically vegetative. "He would shuffle up and down the hall mumbling--endlessly repeating numbers or just going, 'Budabudabuda.' 

His wife visited him every day and Dustin Hoffman often played the piano for the patients. One day he played 'Goodnight, Irene.'  "Suddenly, and he [the patient] had never done this before, he started singing...'Irene, goodnight, Irene, goodnight.' Then he saw her [his wife] and he got up, and he walked towards her, and he put his arms around her. and she was deeply touched, deeply moved, and she said, 'Sit down, we'll have lunch, we'll talk.' And--I swear to God--he looked at her, so sadly, and he cried, 'I can't! I caaaan't' And he went right back into his state."

While this is in many ways a sad story, it moved me to see the power of music at that moment. It gave that couple a window through which to connect, if only ever so briefly. As I ponder the "isolation of consciousness" (a term referred to by Radio Lab's Jad Abumrad), I see that we strive to overcome that isolation and connect with each other. Music gives us those moments. We don't know what mysteries of the brain creates those moments, but for now let's be grateful that they are there and that we have music to share with each other. 

Who knew? Boys Chorus leads to connections and success in many areas.

Who knew? Boys Chorus leads to connections and success in many areas.

Read how Ragazzi helped alumni succeed in two contrasting and surprising directions. Jesse Buddington was able to enter the music field of gaming thanks to his music theory background from Ragazzi. For another and very different story, read what Zander MacQuitty accomplished at Harvard due to his sight reading abilities learned here in Ragazzi.

From Jesse Buddington:

I recently returned from a week at MAGFest - a convention centered around video game music. The event lasted 4 days and drew over 9,000 people, including many video game musicians, composers, and other industry professionals. I was invited to represent the video game music label I co-founded, Joypad Records (joypadrecords.com), and to participate in a panel on cover songs and how to properly license and sell them.

While I was there, I ended up meeting many game composers and cover artists alike, many of whom were classically-trained musicians. I was able to talk to these talented people on a very high level of musical understanding thanks to my knowledge of music history and especially theory, which I gained through Ragazzi. Moreover, we were able to sign at least one major artist while at the convention because he had gotten his start in a boys' chorus and we were able to share common ground.

Additionally, and somewhat unexpectedly, I ended up having an impromptu jam session with many of the composers, which resulted in several of them expressing interest in my abilities as a vocalist. Had I not received training in harmony and sightsinging at camp, I don't think I would have been able to hold my own against these highly-skilled people, even in an informal context. Certainly not well enough to impress them!

Ever since I was little, I've wanted to participate in some way in video game music - I initially gave up on that dream due to the alien complexity of working with electronic synthesizers, but as game music has gradually shifted toward fully-realized orchestral and even choral soundtracks, I've come to realize that the Ragazzi-essential skills of taking and interpreting direction, producing a wide variety of vocal styles, and not being afraid to try new or unusual things can help achieve that goal.

Finally, had I not learned the discipline, drive, and ability to work with others that Ragazzi teaches, I doubt I would have been able to be effective at the conference in ANY capacity. Somehow, being on an unsupervised, largely-unscheduled trip to the East coast isn't quite as daunting when you've been touring internationally since you were 12 - nor is lecturing to a room of a thousand fans a particularly daunting task when you've had to sing a solo part in front of thousands of musicians. I have Ragazzi to thank for that preparation, as well.

I can rarely predict the direction in which life is going to pull me, but I know that I can always rely on what I learned (and continue to learn!) in my time with Ragazzi. It's immensely comforting to know that those skills really do translate to an unlimited number of real-life situations. Highly awesome real-life situations.

From Zander MacQuitty:

Ragazzi's musical legacy has stuck with me through college. The entire first tenor section of the Choral Fellows

of  Harvard University was composed of Ragazzi graduates. That is, James Williamson and I were the first tenors. This was a professional musical organization. We were all paid and we all received free weekly voice lessons.

We warmed up for Morning Prayers every day at 8:15 and performed at 8:45. Sight-reading was *essential* to being in this group. We learned entirely new music half an hour before we performed. Without my training in Ragazzi, I wouldn't have had a chance to be in this group and experience this level of professionalism. People always talk about the personal legacy of Ragazzi being purely disciplinary or intellectual. While Ragazzi undoubtably prepared me to appreciate "classical" music and to discipline myself to achieving long term goals, Ragazzi is a performance-oriented musical organization that can and does product professional

calibre musicians.

So continue to study music, sing with Ragazzi and prepare for the adventures that await you in your life! 

Music heals; Ragazzi commits to working intensely and beautifully and devotedly.

Is Ragazzi irrelevant and old fashioned in today’s society? The money and the crowds are going to songs by singers like Drake or Riahanna. Check out the words on the top Billboard hits of the year and know this is what our young people are hearing. There are certainly some great pop songs today, but there are many with words full of violence and despair.

Boethius (480-525 C.E.) wrote  “Music was given us either to purify or to degrade our conduct.” What does Ragazzi offer us in this world?

Modern 21^st century culture has become the bastion of noise and chaos.  On holidays, we are told to shop rather than encouraged to enjoy our families and friend. When we go into stores, we are often blasted with loud, pulsating music. When we go to the movies, we see  violence, gun shots, blood flowing.

Does it matter what we allow in the minds of our young, impressionable citizens? Mick LaSalle, the SF Chronicle film critic, in a column January 2 2013 has refrained from commenting on violence in movies in his reviews, thinking that it is too subjective a subject. After the shooting in Aurora Colorado and Newtown Connecticut, he questioned himself in his hesitation to comment on violence in movies and he decided to speak up, recognizing the impact that our movies and games have on our consciousness: “…let’s not fail to recognize that today, violent media is the new regime. The industry, in cinema and gaming…monstrously profitable, is a mechanical, repetitive neural training ground for action…targets disenfranchised young men and boys who are unformed and weak in personality.” He suggests that to mitigate this effect that we create a rating system for violence that is at least as powerful as that used for pornography in films and games. Then parents can make an informed decision about what their children encounter.

Many crimes are committed by males feeling isolated. While participation in sports  involves working in teams and creating community, a recent disturbing trend offers some cautions to how our society is engaging in these sports.  We have seen an uptick in fan violence at sporting events and according to Jay Sterling Silver in the December 5 2012 SF Chronicle, we might be creating a brutal atmosphere with the  “fanatical importance we attach to winning sports competitions…”  “Indeed, many of our most popular spectator sports are unabashed celebrations of violence….all this can breed a sense of empowerment, entitlement and invulnerability on the part of the athlete..[who is being pushed]…into what WE want.”  ….”Why do we worship, reward and contort athletically gifted boys and men ....at any cost?”

Ragazzi helps young males express their feelings and form bonds with others.  A recent  year-long study conducted in the U.K. by Tal-Chen Rabinowitch and Ian Cross, who are both on the music faculty at Cambridge, found that children between 8 and 11 years old involved in different types of group musical activities were more likely to develop empathy than those in control groups where music was not included. “Empathy is considered to be a precursor of prosocial behavior, a crucial ingredient in our daily social lives, said Rabinowitch. “Empathy keeps us ‘together,’ connected, and aware for each other.”…. “The Rabinowitch work helps reinforce the intuitive notion that engagement in music is beneficial in terms of ethos, pathos, and logos,” said Jonathan Berger, co-director of Stanford University’s Institute for Creativity and the Arts. “The important notion here is that, in this age of ‘removed listening,’ in which the vast majority of engagement with music is done through earbuds and on the run, the importance of true engagement is critical.” (For complete article see: http://www.sfcv.org/article/is-music-the-new-social-media-empathy-entrainment) Singing in a chorus like Ragazzi is a positive social experience increasing our capacity for understanding our feelings and the feelings of others.

As we see a growing sense of entitlement among members of our society, Ragazzi resists that by rewarding boys for effort. Quoting Ruben Navarette Jr. in the SF Chronicle January 2 2013, “These days it seems as if parents and teachers are more reluctant to reward good behavior in children….in an era where building a child’s self-esteem is the ultimate goal, we’ve become terrified of words like ‘good’ and ‘bad.’  Are we producing a generation with a sense of entitlement?” Certainly not in Ragazzi, we are not. We are helping to build young men of character.

Ragazzi teaches boys to study music beyond the four chords that make up most of popular music. Ragazzi singers engage deeply  with the mysteries of composition, the building blocks of great pieces. We sing classical songs, folk songs; we sing about love, and friends, and sharing and loss and recovery and triumphant.

By singing with our friends music that is based on texts which explore the human condition in all its phases, we are part of the solution to a society of isolation and chaos. At the very least we are infusing the brains of our young men with more positive images.

Leonard Bernstein said, “This will be our reply to violence; to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” In response to the Connecticut tragedy December 14, the December 15^th opening to Saturday Night Live was presented by children’s chorus singing a quiet “Silent Night.” Music heals. Here is our mission for 2013, to work intensely and beautifully and devotedly.

Ragazzi Boys Chorus is committed to excellence in musical performance and education.  The Ragazzi experience instills self-confidence, cooperation, leadership, sensitivity and tenacity, helping our boys develop into young men of character and distinction.  Ragazzi serves our boys and the community by performing a diverse selection of choral works to the highest artistic standards.