THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 16, 1995 TAG: 9502160554
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover story
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 197 lines
WHEN LINDA VASTARDIS looks into the face of a child like Penny Patty, she sees a reflection of herself some 30 years ago.
There, in plain view, is a kindred spirit willing to sacrifice friendships, school activities, whatever it takes to sing for an audience.
Vastardis fully understands when Patty, 14, who attends Salem High School in Virginia Beach, tells a visitor:
``I just want to sing professionally. Sure, sometimes I'd rather be hanging out with my boyfriend than practicing. But I know sometimes you have to give some things up for a bigger goal.''
``Some just want it so badly,'' explained Vastardis, a former professional child singer. ``Singing is so rewarding for them. It's exciting, and it's fun, and it can be a real growth experience. You never know what a child can do, given the opportunity.
``I believe that these kids are our future ... and I want to help them as much as I can.''
As the director of the Old Dominion University Children's Choir, that's exactly what Vastardis has done.
For the last two years, Vastardis, a Portsmouth native who now lives in the Western Branch section of Chesapeake, has almost single-handedly transformed this once-struggling program into a viable organization within which some 32 aspiring singers from throughout Hampton Roads learn the foundations of vocal training and gain performing experience.
To get the ODU Children's Choir where it is today, Vastardis has recruited and auditioned children from 8 to 16 years old, written scripts for them to perform, arranged performance dates, raised funds, organized a Parent Guild, and, at times, served as the choristers' surrogate mother and loudest cheerleader.
``Linda is just amazing,'' said Anne Evans of Norfolk, whose 10-year-old daughter, Kay, is a chorus member. ``She's passionate about everything she does. She starts something from scratch and goes until it's perfect. Still, she creates a very loving atmosphere for these children. They're free to be themselves, and they love being here.''
Vastardis' boss, Michael Murphy, director of the ODU Community Music Academy, said:
``To Linda, nothing is impossible. She has really taken the program and done something with it. Before she came along ... I had just about given up on forming a children's choir. Nobody was really willing to put the time and energy into getting it off the ground. Thanks to Linda, it's turned into a real success.''
After only a year of steady performances, the chorus already has made a name for itself.
The group has performed on locally produced cable TV programs, at The Founders Inn, during the Virginia Zoological Park's Wild Lights presentations, at ODU basketball game halftimes and at a benefit for the homeless. The group has staged productions of Dickens' ``A Christmas Carol,'' Vivaldi's ``Glory for Young Voices'' and a number of other seasonal programs and special performances in the community.
This past Sunday, the group presented an afternoon performance at the Churchland High School auditorium in Portsmouth. March 4, the group is set to perform for the Association of Christian Schools International convention at Regent University. Later this spring, the group will sing for retired university professors at a meeting of the ODU Town and Gown.
But on June 10, the ODU Children's Choir will hit the big time. The group will sing at the White House for visiting tourists.
``It's so exciting,'' one of the younger members of the chorus, 8-year-old Ashley Smith from Chesapeake, cooed about the D.C. performance. ``But no, I'm not worried. Mrs. Vastardis will have us ready.''
That confidence in their leader comes after only a year of training for many of these children. But that year has been spent in practice, practice, practice.
Each Tuesday evening from 7 to 8:30, these kids come to ODU's Fine and Performing Arts Center to practice vocal technique, rehearse selected pieces, perfect their acting abilities. Before performances, they practice even more nights and, often, weekends.
``It's a major commitment for both the children and the parents,'' said Portsmouth resident Judy White, whose daughter, Kristin, 8, is a choir member. ``But it's been worth it for our daughter. She is pretty shy, and we wanted to find something to help her be more outgoing. Being in the chorus has done that for her; she really seems to enjoy it.''
``The main thing I ask of these children and their parents is that they be really committed,'' Vastardis said. ``I'm not looking for perfect singers. ... I'm looking at whether I can help these children or not and whether they are committed to this. It has to be a first priority for them. To work for excellence takes a lot of time and energy. But it also can be very rewarding.''
``She's tough,'' 12-year-old Jahzeel Mumford of Virginia Beach said of Vastardis. ``Especially, when it's late and we've been rehearsing for a long time. But I don't mind. I want to be a singer when I grow up, and I need this hard training to get me started.''
A professional singer most of her life, Vastardis knows firsthand about the strength of youthful commitments and yearnings.
Growing up during the '50s, she performed on local television and at live concerts with her family, Portsmouth's own version of the country-singing Carter Family.
Known as The Dardens, Mom, Dad, Grandma, a couple of uncles, a few cousins, Vastardis and her brother, Danny, regularly belted out down-home favorites for local audiences at fairs, churches, clubs and on a WAVY-TV variety show.
After a few years, Vastardis and her brother broke from the group to do their own thing. The two teens were a big hit; They even got to perform with Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner once.
``I remember going to school with my hair in curlers, because I had a performance that night,'' Vastardis recalled with a laugh. ``I was always the oddball.''
But it didn't matter; she loved to sing.
When her brother went off to serve in Vietnam during the late '60s, Vastardis began performing solo, belting out soulful folk songs in area coffeehouses like the Raven and the Red Mule Inn.
After a few years, she grew tired of singing Peter, Paul and Mary ballads. When the country's musical mood shifted, so did Vastardis'. By the mid-70s, she had joined a rock band, Black River Circus. For years, the group traveled up and down the East Coast each weekend, performing its electric renditions of rock favorites at clubs in Atlantic City, Nags Head, Virginia Beach.
Eventually, Vastardis married the group's bass player, gave up the rock 'n' roll lifestyle and settled down to raise a family.
But she never gave up music.
While taking care of house, husband and children, she taught piano to neighborhood children and played organ for area churches. Off and on, she would take classes toward a degree in music education at ODU.
``I kept going back and then quitting,'' she admits now. ``It was just too hard; it was a real struggle for me.''
But when she hit 40, Vastardis had a midlife crisis of sorts. She went back to school for the last time. In 1994, she got her degree, magna cum laude.
A year before that, however, she discovered ``her calling.''
On a stroll past Murphy's office one day, Vastardis stopped to talk.
``I was so frustrated that day,'' Murphy recalled. ``I never thought we'd get the choir off the ground. I suddenly looked at Linda and asked if she'd be interested in it.''
Vastardis jumped at the chance.
``This was perfect for me,'' this mother of two said. ``I love children, and I love to sing. And I'm just one of those visionary people. I can just see all this stuff happening. The problem is you have to make everyone else believe it. But when you're enthusiastic, how can they say no?''
So far, not many have. But Vastardis, ever with the vision, already is looking ahead. With the help of her Parent Guild and other volunteers, she's working on raising funds, establishing more formalized protocols and making life for the group ``more stable.'' Fund-raising is particularly critical, she says. The yearly tuition of $224 each chorister pays doesn't extend much farther than paying Vastardis' salary.
``There are so many things kids gain from vocal training,'' Vastardis maintains. ``They learn self-control, how to handle themselves in front of an audience. They learn to speak, sing and use their voices. They learn good posture.
``And it's wonderful for the community that we've got this program for the whole family. It's something we really need to have available ... and I intend on making sure it's around for a long time.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphics
THE CHOIR'S MEMBERS
Norfolk residents: Brendan M. Cross, Erika Cross, Erin Cross,
Taylor T. Denslow, Kay Evans, Cara M. Jackson, Shaunte Jones,
Cameron L. Livsey, D. Claire Molineaux, Sara Posey, Matthew P.
Raytick, Natalie Weil, Krystal M. Wolfe.
Chesapeake residents: Lauren DeNardi, Felicia E. Dixon, Shannon
N. Flowers, Jennifer-Anne Godwin, Nicole C. Johnson, Aubrey A.
Matthews, Renson Maxwell, Christina M. Parrish, Ashley Smith.
Portsmouth residents: Kristin M. White.
Virginia Beach residents: Sarah L. Bowers, Adrienne Hill,
Christine C. Kellam, Jahzeel K. Mumford, Penny R. Patty, Rachel M.
Phillips, Sarah E. Phillips, Erin C. Verhofstadt, Josefina M.
Whitmore.
ON THE COVER
The cover color photograph, taken by staff photographer Tamara
Voninski, shows ODU Children's Choir director Linda Vastardis
listening to Matthew Raytick during a rehearsal at ODU. On the right
is Taylor Denslow, waiting for her cue.
Photos by GARY C. KNAPP
Linda Vastardis directs the choir during a recent performance.
The ODU Children's Choir was on stage to perform ``A Christmas
Carol'' during the holiday season.
Penny Patty, left, works with guest performer Joey Parrish during
``A Christmas Carol.''
Staff photos by TAMARA VONINSKI
Jahzeel Mumford, left, and Sarah Phillips rehearse at ODU.
The rehearsal work of her children brings a smile to Vastardis'
face.
With Vastardis' hand directing them, the choir members rehearse.
by CNB