Choirs for Change: The Boston City Singers

By Maggie Chang | April 19, 2019
<em>The Boston City Singers Tour Choir performing for MLK Day at the MFA, 1/21/19</em>
The Boston City Singers Tour Choir performing for MLK Day at the MFA, 1/21/19

I joined my first choir in middle school, 7th grade, and it changed my life. I was lucky enough to attend a school that had a strong performing arts program, because it developed into such a defining part of my grade school education. Throughout middle and high school, I travelled to several countries and continents, singing with my school’s choir.

The longer I sang, the more obsessed I became with the power of choral music. I loved its diverse range in genres and its presence in every culture. I loved the complexity of the arrangements that could be accomplished with multiple voice parts. Most of all, I loved the overwhelming feeling of unity and compassion that swelled whenever I sang with a group.

A few months ago, when I sat in my first rehearsal with the Boston City Singers, I felt that same nostalgic feeling that I came to familiarize myself with in high school. I thought I was having an out-of-body experience as I watched the kids settle down for rehearsal. The playful banter before practice started, fingers accusing people who left their sheet music at home, the accompanist shooing kids away from the piano to their seats: it all felt so similar to the choir I had left a year ago, halfway across the world in Shanghai.

Some things, though, were different. My high school’s choir was a lot narrower in terms of diversity. Not necessarily ethnic diversity, since both choirs have plenty of that. But socioeconomic diversity. Attending a private institution in Shanghai, all of the families had to be considerably well-off to afford the tuition. Therefore, most of us grew up in similar backgrounds and lived similar lives. The Boston City Singers, however, hold a congregation of children from all over Boston that commute every week to attend practice. “It ranges to the extremes,” said Carmen Piedad, the manager of the choir, “So we have people who are very, very low income and people that are extremely high income.”

Carmen Piedad, manager of the Dorchester program

The whole program encompasses several choirs of varying age and skill. The youngest choir starts at age 4 to 6. As the children gain experience, they “graduate” and are placed into older and more advanced choir groups. The most advanced group is the Tour Choir, ranging from ages 12 to 18. Every other year, the Tour Choir travels to another country for almost a month, performing at various churches, schools, and other venues. Last tour, they spent three weeks in South Africa. Two years before that, they toured Costa Rica. This summer, the Tour Choir plans to travel to the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Bosnia[4]. Therefore, the choir puts a strong emphasis on cultural understanding and acceptance. “One thing that we always do is we learned the national anthem,” says Carmen, “in other countries they sing the national anthem often, so it's really special to them if we know it. It teaches the singers to value and respect the culture of the place that we're going.”

<em>A traditional South African piece</em>
A traditional South African piece

The Epiphany School, Dorchester MA

Jane founded the choir in Dorchester in 1995, meaning the organization has been running for almost 25 years. Since then, a few associate choirs have been established in Jamaica Plain and Cambridge[1]. I chose to focus my research on the program in Dorchester, the original location and where Jane spends most of her time. The surrounding neighborhood is comparatively low-income in relation to Boston, with 46% of residents being African-American and 76% being ethnically non-white[2]. Dorchester is connected to a long history of immigration. Initially, the community was predominantly white and Jewish, with most immigrants originating from Ireland. This changed after the “white flight” in the 1960s, when almost all the ethnically white residents moved out as African-American families replaced them. Since then, Dorchester has seen a range of immigrants from Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asian countries[3]. By 1995, Dorchester had become a vibrant and well-loved community. When Jane moved to the United States from New Zealand, this is where she established her home and family.

Often times, public schools don’t offer performing arts programs to students, meaning children of low-income families lack access to musical training. Jane founded the organization to combat this. She has been directing choirs for over 30 years and singing in them since childhood. After raising her own children in Dorchester, Jane noticed that there were a handful of adult choirs in the area, but very few choral opportunities for children. “Children are our future,” Jane says, “music is so important for each and every one.” Thus, the Boston City Singers was founded to fill the gap that many American schools lack: an education in performing arts.

Jane Money conducting the Tour Choir rehearsal

The Boston City Singers is accessible by families of all background, demonstrated by the $100,000+ in scholarship funds are given to students per year. Scholarship money is funded by a flexible yearly tuition, as well as donations from individual sponsors and grant money from national conferences. Overall, Jane ensures that there are no barriers for low-income families to participate in the program. “We do most of our outreach in public schools,” Carmen explains, “so we’ll audition the kids in the school. Doing that gives us access to kids who are really low income.” Carmen credits this for the extensive participation of low-income families. The choir also sees its fair share of higher income, well-off families as well. “[Some kids] don’t even need us, because they have music programs in their own schools,” Carmen says, “but they are drawn to it anyway because of its musical excellence. In the past, we’ve even had former Mayor, Thomas Menino’s granddaughter.”

Interview with Carmen

The first rehearsal I attended was the Training Chorus, ages 6-11. The music itself consisted of folk songs and spirituals, as well as a few songs with easy melodies and quirky lyrics used to warm up the voices and dispel any tension in the room. One of the songs they sang was “Little Sally Walker,” which is a common warm-up exercise that requires one child to dance around the circle before pulling someone else in to take their spot. The children were clearly hesitant and shy in the beginning, but slowly became more outgoing and unafraid to look silly. While the children were singing, I had the opportunity to talk to one of the parents sitting around the edge of the room. Her son, aged 7, had just joined the choir this year and quickly fell in love with it. His mother explained to me, in a jokingly exasperated tone, how her child would drag her to take him to rehearsal after he finished school on Wednesdays. I didn’t doubt her: as I observed the rehearsal, it was surprising how focused the children were for the duration of an hour. It was apparent that the majority of the children were eager to sing and learn. It was comforting to see that the children weren’t being forced to participate in the program, since that often leads to a developed distaste as they grow older. At the end of that first rehearsal, Jane asked me to come by for one of the Tour Choir rehearsals, saying “it’s really a whole ‘nother…. They’re really….” And then trailing off and nodding in affirmation, which left me slightly confused and very curious.

I found out what she meant when I sat in on one of the Tour Choir rehearsals, which last for two hours twice a week. From the warm up alone, I could tell that this group was considerably experienced and well trained. The tone and clarity of their voices was good, and the 6-year age span yielded a respectably wide vocal range. As I flipped through a copy of their repertoire, I saw a wide range of genres and cultures represented. The choir started off singing a Japanese folk song called Akai Hana, which had a minor tonality and was accentuated by sharp, staccato notes. They moved to a traditional South African song, followed by classical choir pieces and spiritual. My favorite piece has to be “All the Things You Are,” arranged by Michael Neaum. The song features a beautifully lyrical melody, accompanied by dissonant harmony lines that diverge to form resonant chords.

Akai Hana

Arranged by Nashiko Terashima, sang by the Tour Choir

Apart from conducting interviews, my participation in the choir was very limited. I would partake in the vocal warm ups, quietly sight-read the music and make an occasional suggestion to Jane. Otherwise, I just walked around the room, taking fieldnotes and pictures. The rehearsal space was a large circular room, about a third of it was covered with a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. Most of the books were young adult novels, ranging from sci-fi to historical, mystery to fantasy. I picked up many books discussing the subjects of self-empowerment, racial injustice, and mental health. During the breaks, some children would browse the shelves and take a few books home, or return previously borrowed books. The décor hung around the room reflected a similar theme of social justice, with hand-made posters and paintings depicting words like “Black lives matter” and “Black gurl magic.” A bulletin board in the back of the room read “If you could change one thing about the criminal justice system…” with the children’s responses pinned on colorful speech bubbles below. Even in my first year of college, I haven’t formed a solidified opinion on the criminal justice system. To see such a young generation being exposed to these topics felt strangely reassuring.

<em>Books line the rehearsal room in the Epiphany School</em>
Books line the rehearsal room in the Epiphany School
<em>"Black Community" "Black GURL Magic"</em>
"Black Community" "Black GURL Magic"

The experiences that students gain through the Boston City Singers go on to shape the course of their lives. Many of the students start when they’re in elementary school and remain in the program until university, graduating from younger choirs as they grow older. Carmen herself started singing with the Boston City Singers when she was in 7th grade. After going to university, she remained closely affiliated the program and eventually shifted to working full time as the manager of the Dorchester branch. Alumni of the choir are frequently invited back to travel on tour or attend performances.

The Boston City Singers aims to influence their students’ lives beyond musical training. As I sat in the room before rehearsal started, I observed two of the older, more experienced students teach simple music theory and composition to the younger kids. This is part of their Peer Leadership program, which enables kids to learn several crucial leadership skills that are hard to develop independently. The organization also assists its students with college applications, including preparation for interviews, auditions, and scholarships. Astoundingly, 100% of their graduates get accepted into four-year colleges, including institutions such as Julliard and Harvard[5].

(Left to right) Helena, Brooks, Alaina pose together at a Tuesday night rehearsal

Indeed, the importance of performing arts education for young students is immeasurable. The Boston City Singers offers value that extends past just choral participation and into numerous other aspects of the child’s life. I felt this personally, singing in high school and middle school for 6 years. To understand how life changing it was for me, I can’t begin to imagine the impact it may have on the underprivileged children that the program supports.

Acknowledgments:

I would like to thank the Jane Money, Carmen Piedad, and all the staff and students of the Boston City Singers for their time, enthusiasm, and wonderful voices.

Endnotes:

  1. “Boston City Singers Inc.” Boston City Singers Inc. - GuideStar Profile, www.guidestar.org/profile/33-1046833.
  2. “Overview of South Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts (Neighborhood).” The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States - Statistical Atlas, statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/Massachusetts/Boston/South-Dorchester/Overview.
  3. Johnson, Megan. “So You Want to Live in Dorchester.” Boston Magazine, Boston Magazine, 23 Oct. 2018, bostonmagazine.com/property/2018/10/23/dorchester-neighborhood-guide-2/.
  4. Singers, Boston CIty. “Major Achievements.” Boston City SIngers, bostoncitysingers.org/achievements.html.
  5. Money, Jane E, and Jocelyn P Heywood. “Boston City Singers Annual Report 2017-2018.”
Posted in Spring 2019 and tagged