La Salle University - Explorer Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

Page 31 text:

voice of the Choir, is made up of thirty men, mostly college- age. Members of the Chorale, in addition to adding their vocal talents to those of the boys, perform a second function: they serve as chaperones for the younger singers on the group ' s many trips abroad. The Choir first found its way to La Salle about four years ago, when the Philadelphia public schools, who had been providing the organization with a place to practice, told the Choir it could no longer use school facilities to rehearse. A parent of one of the singers, Charles Gross, was a part-time teacher at La Salle, and he told the College ' s administration about the Choir ' s problem. Brother Pat had heard the Choir, Hamilton recalls, and said, ' We ' d love to have them at La Salle. ' Hamilton says that his group is now considered the foremost boys choir in the world, even exceeding the renowned Vienna Boys Choir in reputation. That reputation is quite an achieve- ment for Hamilton and his singers, especially considering that the group has existed for less than two decades. Hamilton start- ed the Choir in 1963 and took it on its first world tour in 1969. Since then, the Choir has toured the Soviet Union as well as all of North, Central, and South America, and is the only Choir ever to have gone completely around the globe in one trip, a tour lasting only three weeks. This past summer, the boys and men were at Disneyworld taping a television special for Disney which was aired this past fall on NBC. In 1979 the group made history when it became the first American choir to visit the People ' s Republic of China. Aside from giving concerts in several Chinese cities, the Choir ap- peared on Bob Hope ' s TV special taped in Peking. Because the singers performed some of their music in the Chinese language, Hamilton says, they established a good line of communication with their Chinese audience. We were the only thing on Hope ' s program the Chinese understood. He had Big Bird and Shields and Yarnell, and the Chinese didn ' t understand any of it. Hope had to use canned laughter from the West Coast. While in the People ' s Republic, the Choir put together their own TV special in addition to Hope ' s. That special was broad- cast several times throughout China. The group, Hamilton com- mented, was always careful about its selection of music for the specials and concerts. We did a repertoire that would be in no way detrimental to their ideology or philosophy. The Choir exercises that same care in every country it tours. It also makes a point of singing in the native language of its host nations, Chinese bringing to fourteen the number of languages in which the Choir has sung. We had an easy time with most languages, Hamilton said, noting that Japanese was a particu- larly easy tongue to master. The singers try to choose music by the best composers each country has produced. The Choir members enjoy singing even in such difficult lan- guages as Chinese, Thai, and Singaporean. It ' s novel, Hamil- ton commented, and it fascinates them. They therefore spend a lot of time perfecting the languages. When a choir member sings in the language of the country that he ' s in and he does it impeccably, he ' s the finest ambassador we could have. Just as La Salle welcomes the Choir, the Choir shows its appreciation for La Salle ' s hospitality. Last year, as part of La Salle ' s celebration of the Christian Brothers ' Tricentennial, the group performed the special Mass of Saint La Salle at the Cathe- dral of SS Peter and Paul. Some of the boys are involved in Masque productions. And the singers are so impressed by the La Salle community that many of them want to attend the college after they finish high school. It ' s emulation, Hamilton says, adding that the boys express an interest to participate in the activities they see going on around them every time they visit the campus. La Salle, by being the present home of the singers, inspires many of them to want to make the college their future home. KEN COHEN

Page 30 text:

The Universal Language

Page 32 text:

Art happens! J. McNeill Whistler