By Courtney M. Holbrook
The key to a great musician lies in their intelligence.
At least, that’s the view promoted by Bernard Schade, the director of the Singing Boys of Pennsylvania, a boys’ choir featuring children from third to eighth grade. For Schade, it is not enough to hold a note — his boys must be smart.
“When I hold an audition, I’m really trying to find out if I have a bright kid,” Schade said. “For instance, they may be able to carry a tune, but if they don’t have a good memory, I don’t want them.”
Schade’s view has led to the success of the Singing Boys. Since their founding in 1970 — under the name, “Pocono Boy Singers” — the group has given more than 100 concerts across the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Holland and Japan.
“We’re a pretty much self-supporting group, and we’ve managed to make it work,” Schade said. “We’ve toured all over … it’s great for the boys, who get to learn so much, not just in choir, but around the world.”
Now, the Singing Boys of Pennsylvania will make their Sag Harbor debut, when they perform during HarborFest on Saturday, September 10 at the Old Whalers’ Church at 7 p.m. General admission is $25, with $20 for students and seniors; children under age eight are free.
Schade uses his audition process to create the foundations for his young troupe. Aspiring singers first perform “something well known, like “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” or “Jingle Bells,” just to see what they can do,” according to Schade. But the real test comes in the form of a game.
In order to test a boy’s memory, Schade says a phrase — which is kept secret for future choral audition — and the boy repeats. The phrase is lengthened — the boy repeats it. The phrase grows longer and longer — the boy repeats and repeats. This goes on until “the whole thing is one awful tongue twister,” according to Schade.
After that, Schade tests the boy’s ear, and tonal memory. He starts with four notes, and the boy repeats them. According to Schade, the average adult can “keep up with four to five — I’m looking for a boy who can get six, seven, even eight notes right.”
Schade’s desire for musical excellence is what inspired him to found the Singing Boys.
“I was teaching music at East Stroudberg University [in Pennsylvania] back then,” Schade said. “I noticed that there wasn’t a strong music program in the area. So, I went to the superintendent of schools and said I’d like to create this choir.”
Schade’s background opened doors in the school system, and he soon had more than a hundred boys. Although he now teaches a girls’ choir as well — known as the Keystone Girls’ Choir, who often perform with the Singing Boys — at the time, he specifically aimed for a boys-only group.
“There are so many girls’ choirs,” Schade said. “Even when a choir was co-ed, it was really unbalanced. I felt we needed something that would get boys involved in music — and especially classical music … I wanted them to be saturated in that.”
Schade continues to emphasize classical music in his repertoire. He noted that through practice and simple repetition, the boys came to love those difficult pieces.
“In the beginning, some boys in this season didn’t like certain songs; they thought they were too difficult,” Schade said. “But after they’ve practiced so much, they start to request them.”
The choir is divided into three groups, corresponding with beginning, intermediate and advanced levels of musical ability. Within each group, the singers are divided into four vocal parts — soprano one, soprano two, alto one and alto two. The Singing Boys sing everything from “Shenandoah” to Handel.
Of course, Schade still has to deal with the inevitable vocal changes that come with the prepubescent boy. When some boys mature faster, Schade is sometimes able to bump them down to alto two, which can mimic the tenor — a higher male vocal range. However, since Schade does not have bass or tenor parts, if a boy’s voice transitions fully, he has to “shake their hand and wish them well.”
With the numerous tours, practices and concerts, the boys develop a bond as deep as any Little League. The amount of time they spend together develops “a real friendship. They don’t want to quit to join the football team — they’d miss their friends,” Schade said.
That connection amongst young people has continued for many years and many futures. Quite a few of the boys have grown up and entered careers in music. One sings with the acapella group, “Straight, No Chasers.” Others perform with the U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps; some men participate in the U.S. Navy Sea Chanters. Schade notes many have become teachers of music themselves.
Today, the children of this year’s Singing Boys are still touring around the world. And in Sag Harbor, they will perform a wide variety of pieces, including New England sea shanties, selections from “The Sound of Music” and Shaker Spirituals and Hymns. Schade hopes the community of Sag Harbor will see what he sees in these singing boys — a community of young musicians and friends.
“They’ve worked so hard on everything,” Schade said. “They put so much energy and steam into their performance … this is what music is about, getting kids excited and educated.”
