THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 14, 1995 TAG: 9501130056
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Maddry
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
FOR SOME TIME now, I have made it a policy never to willingly listen to children sing.
I formed after hearing three horrible renditions of ``Way Down Upon the Swanee River'' by my son's elementary school choir.
The policy is now 20 years old. And when I think of all the yowls, shrieks, and off-key screaming I have missed from the lips of children bearing down on everything from ``Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail'' to ``Red River Valley,'' I count myself a lucky man.
It is not that I hate children. Far from it. It is simply that singing is not something the average child does willingly or well. What most children do best is whine and complain. They are good at both. And it takes very little to set their machines in motion. Maybe a refusal to allow the child to wear a ``Beethoven Sucks'' sweat shirt to school. Or simply having to eat broccoli.
I have known children whose whining excellence reached extraordinary heights and was louder than the squeal from a tractor wheel with smoking ball bearings.
Lady luck has spared me confrontations with children at song for many years now.
But my luck ran out on Tuesday morning when - having been told by an editor that a trio of juggling nuns would appear at WGNT-TV 27 - I made my way to the Portsmouth station where rehearsals were under way for The Catholic Elementary Education Foundation Telethon, which will air today.
Instead, I found that the morning was devoted to choral renditions by Catholic school kids. There is something to be said for Catholic education because the children truly seemed to enjoy themselves, and they were extremely well-behaved. Even their singing can be listened to for short periods without permanent injury.
If you are a singing children addict, that telethon - which will be broadcast from noon to 4 p.m. today on Channel 27 - is going to be right up your alley. There will be other entertainment as well. A trio of singing nuns from St. Mary's in Hampton will perform along with a juggling priest, pianist Sylvia Chapa, and a dance troupe of Philippine-Americans, to name a few.
The telethon is an all-volunteer effort led by producer John Langlois of Tele-Video Productions with the help of WGNT's production manager Larry Harris. Its purpose is to give exposure to children enrolled in Hampton Roads' Catholic elementary schools. Proceeds benefit the Catholic Elementary Education Foundation.
Before going in front of the cameras for taping, the school choirs sat quietly with their teachers, listening politely, without chewing gum or frogging each other on the arm. And no whiners, either. I view that as a tribute to Catholic education. Maybe it's prayer that does it.
Sister Carol Durkin, the bright and affable principal of Portsmouth Catholic Elementary, said prayers are said regularly at her school, at the opening of class, before and after lunch, and before students leave for the day. I forgot to ask whether the students were doing the praying. Maybe it was the teachers, given the amount of singing by children going on in Catholic schools.
I guess the hymn I enjoyed most was ``All Things Bright and Beautiful,'' delivered by the songsters from Portsmouth Catholic. The singers from predominantly black St. Mary's Academy got my vote for dress. They wore kinta cloth scarves of bright yellow around their necks that their teacher - Sister Barbara - said was a symbol of unity with their brothers and sisters all over the world.
Before I left, John Langlois mentioned that Norfolk lawyer Peter Decker could also be heard on today's broadcast. I assumed that my friend Decker - whose ego is larger than the national debt - had joined the Catholic Church just so he'd be allowed to sing during the telethon. But it turns out he has been a Catholic for a long time now. Miracles never cease.
Anyway, be sure and tune in to Channel 27 at noon today - if you'd like to see and hear the best singing by children I've heard in 20 years. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Jim Walker, Staff
Director Marisa Manthey rehearses with the St. Matthews choir.
by CNB