Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 4, 1994 TAG: 9411040058
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SETH WILLIAMSON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Even though four out of five members of the world-famous ensemble come from single-parent families and are at or below the poverty line, not a few of the youngsters live in ordinary middle-class families.
On the other hand, manager Rick Levin says the number of boys and parents who credit the choir for ``saving their lives'' is probably past counting.
Rescuing kids from the mean streets is what it's all about for the Boys Choir of Harlem, which performs tonight at 8 at the Roanoke Civic Center Auditorium. Fresh from a trip to Kansas and a two-hour NBC television special with Bill Cosby in September, the group will do a benefit concert for the Friends of the Roanoke Symphony, which will use the proceeds in their scholarship fund. After Roanoke, it's on to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
``There are literally thousands of stories of kids who have been taken off the streets of the five boroughs and given some meaning and purpose in their lives,'' said Levin in a telephone interview from his Connecticut office.
``A lot of them don't have male role models, which wind up being the older members of the choir and the alumni of the choir who actually teach there.'' Levin said most of the boys with a single-parent at home come from female-headed households and hunger for older male exemplars.
The Boys Choir of Harlem was founded in 1968 by Dr. Walter Turnbull, now 50. As a Mississippi youngster Turnbull discovered that a fine tenor voice was his ticket out of the cotton fields and went on to graduate with honors from Tupelo College and earn a doctorate in New York City.
After Turnbull's operatic debut with the Houston Grand Opera, he soloed with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. But his life work was to be not on the world's operatic stages but among the inner-city children of New York City.
``He came to this town, and he saw kids killing kids,'' said Levin. ``He decided that something needed to be done to give these kids some self-esteem.''
Turnbull began a boys' choir at Ephesus Church in Harlem, performing at first mainly in other local churches and civic functions. From the start, Turnbull's purpose was character formation as much as musical training.
However, in the early days, being a choir boy wasn't exactly the fastest ticket to status in gang-dominated neighborhoods.
``It's very different now than it was back in the '70s, when our kids would get stopped on the streets and they'd say to them, `What are you doin' that sissy stuff for?''' said Levin.
``Now they can turn around and say, `When was the last time you were in Japan? When was the last time you looked over the edge of the Grand Canyon? When was the last time you met the president?'''
For years the Boys Choir has been a regular on network television. They had their own Broadway show last year, they've performed on film soundtracks, they regularly tour all over the world, and their first major-label CD has just been released.
In the works now is a major motion picture for Disney, which Levin says will be ``a cross between `Miracle on 34th Street' and `Fame.''' The Disney picture will be a musical that follows the stories of four or five boys and shows how their lives are changed by their encounter with the choir.
Turnbull's original vision has expanded to include a girls' choir and a separate school for the singers. The Choir Academy of Harlem, located in one of New York City's tougher neighborhoods, is staffed by public school teachers who travel with the boys on their tours so they won't miss lessons.
The Academy insists on high academic achievement, punctuality, good attendance, proper conduct and grooming. There's even a school dress code.
It sounds tough, but 3,600 students auditioned for a mere 108 positions that opened up last year. Levin said that an astounding 98 percent of all choir members graduate from high school and go on to college.
Interestingly, though the Boys Choir of Harlem now has about 6,000 graduates, none has yet gone on to become a big-name entertainer. The reason, says Levin, is that by the time they graduate, performing is almost old hat.
``These kids are totally apathetic to stars - they're not in awe of anybody, they're probably better musicians than most of the people they perform with.
``They've learned that there are two words in `show business,' and `business' is the bigger word. They go on to other forms of business: lawyers, doctors, professors. They're very secure with themselves.''
The Boys Choir show in Roanoke will open with Romantic-era classical music and move to spirituals. The second half will be all contemporary and all choreographed, with a jazz sequence from their Broadway show, five songs from the CD and even hip hop.
``You'll walk away with the feeling that you've seen a Broadway show in your hometown,'' promised Levin.
Boys Choir of Harlem Tonight, 8 p.m., Roanoke Civic Center auditorium. Tickets, $14, $16, $18 and $20, with students of any age half-price. Tickets are available only from the Friends of the Roanoke Symphony at 343-9127 and cannot be purchased by phone from the Civic Center box office.
by CNB