THE ALL SOULS CHILDREN’S
CHORUS
—by Lois Chazen
The
Children’s Chorus has been receiving rave reviews.
Most recently, they performed at the All Souls Family Christmas Services on
Sunday, December 14 and 21, at both the 10:00AM and 11:15AM services. They
performed a rousing rendition of “Pablo the Reindeer,” a Mexican
cha-cha, with rhythm instruments. On Sunday December 14 in the afternoon, they
took part in the Christmas Pageant along with 60 other youngsters in the All
Souls Religious Education Program. The story of the Nativity was told from
a unique Unitarian Universalist point of view. The chorus, which includes first
to fifth graders, showed its mettle at the pageant. For some reason, the angels
appeared several minutes late. Avoiding an embarrassing silence, the third
and fourth graders already on stage filled in the time spontaneously. They
improvised with music on the xylophone, glockenspiel and recorder.
Perhaps, the success
of the chorus has something to do with David Freiman. He joined All
Souls in 1998. Delighted with Walter Klauss’ music and
the choir, he wondered why there was no children’s singing group. Some
other congregants were aware of this need and were already looking for someone
to organize and conduct a young people’s chorus. Trained at the University
of Michigan in musicology, ethno-musicology, cello and conducting, he plays
the piano and has worked extensively in children’s theater. As a child,
he sang at New York City’s Amato Opera and now conducts there several
times every year. On Christmas and New Year’s Eve, he played a talking
part in Die Fledermaus. Voilà—a choir master for
young people appeared on our doorstep!
David addresses
a challenge that he relishes. Besides a core group of chorus members, there
are some new members who join the chorus during
every six-week
session of the Church School Religious Education Program. Formerly, the
Children’s
Chorus was an elective that competed with rotating creative workshops in the
second hour. This year, the Chorus is a rotating workshop. Many children also
elect Chorus, and therefore, he continually has some new students. David said
that occasionally, several students choose to remain for a second or third
go-round, although children in the All Souls Religious Education Program are
encouraged to sample the range of electives offered. Another test of David’s
dedication is the range of ages. The chorus includes students from first
to fifth grades. This presents a challenge in selecting music appealing
and appropriate
to every age. David also enjoys a multi-cultural approach in his musical
choices.
The repertoire of the Children’s Chorus includes selections from the
hymnal, popular songs, sacred music and folk music of the Americas. Concerts
have included music from Spain, Japan, China, Singapore, Arabic countries,
Israel, Australia and Iran, England, France and Germany. Thanks to the Chorus’ rehearsal
accompanist, Judy Chang, who volunteers to play regularly, the children learned
to pronounce reasonably well a song written in Mandarin that they prepared
for the opening concert last October. On occasion, the Chorus joins the All
Souls Choir and performs annually with the New Amsterdam Boys Choir. Generally,
the Children’s Chorus is ready to go before audiences after five or six,
45-minute rehearsals .The Christmas Pageant, however, is an enormous undertaking
that involves many others. Walter Klauss is at the organ. Sixty children from
the Church School take part. There are two stage directors, an instrumental
music teacher, paid professional and volunteer musicians, and behind the scenes
the assistance of dozens of parent volunteers.
“I could
not do my work without the support and encouragement I receive from Walter
Klauss [Minister of Music] and Melanie Mashburn [Director of Religious
Education],” said David.
“Teaching
music is only one of my goals,” he explained. “I want
to emphasize the spiritual aspects of the work—music as ministry.
I insist on musical discipline and try to instill confidence as well as
a feeling of
pride and purpose in these young singers. Stage presence, understanding
the meaning of the songs and singing with proper technique, harmony and
music history
are some other elements.”
“They learn
from me,” he added, “that they are sharing their
unique musical gifts with their families and other congregants. I can count
on them
to stand tall and sing well.” His daughter Kirsten, 11, and a son,
Nicholas, 7, regularly attend church school and services. Naturally,
they have sung in
the chorus. The next performance of the chorus is scheduled for the Intergenerational
Service on February 9.
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David
Freiman rehearsing with members of the Children’s
Chorus
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