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 ;void(0)) Senior Choir at Myers Park Baptist Church 1969 Hester McCray Organist. ;void(0)) Senior Choir 1969 Accompanied by Katie Miller. ;void(0)) Christmas Special 1969 Accompanied by Katie Miller. Comments by Rube McCray. ;void(0)) Senior Choir 1970 Accompanied by Katie Miller. ;void(0)) Christmas in Dixie Land 1983 ;void(0)) Christmas Celebration Western Bang-Up Style 1984 ;void(0)) Boys and Girls Homes of NC Share Christmas 1985 ;void(0)) Patriotic Program 1991 ;void(0)) Boys and Girls Homes Choirs Through the Years ;void(0)) Boys and Girls Homes Choirs Through the Years A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BOYS HOME CHOIRS Sometime in the early 1960's Mrs. Hester McCray, the wife of then-director Rube McCray, had several of the boys on campus come to her residence for an informal sing-a-long around the piano. Eventually these informal sessions resulted in performances for a few local civic clubs. Mr. and Mrs. McCray saw the public relations potential of having a "Boys Choir" that could perform around the state representing Boys Home. Therefore, in the spring of 1966 Mr. McCray contacted Bill Thompson about assuming, among other duties, the role of Music Director for Boys Home and organizing a more formal organization to be called "The Boys Home Choir". Bill Thompson came to Boys Home in June of 1966 and began to work immediately with Mrs. McCray to produce a program of music involving the boys. None of the boys could read music, therefore instruction was by rote. In auditioning the boys consideration was given to their natural singing ability and the blend of voices. After the boys were selected they were not allowed to leave the group for any reason and choir performances took precedence over any other activity. Most of the boys stayed with the group for the length of their stay at Boys Home. This was usually two or three years. Practices were held daily including Saturdays during the school year. Mrs. McCray was the accompanist and on days when Bill Thompson was absent, she conducted the rehearsals. The type of program varied. There was a Christmas program which was a mixture of sacred and secular. The spring program was also a mixture but the emphasis was on the sacred music. The program was always presented in a concert format. The model for the choir was a college chorus. The group performed primarily for civic clubs but traveled around the state at Christmas and performed "live" on the various local television stations. The choir uniform was blue blazers and grey slacks with white shirts and red ties. Each boy was responsible for maintaining his own uniform. There was also a small ensemble group of six boys that performed to the accompaniment of two guitars. Mike Lamascus-guitar, EJ Miller-guitar, Mark Lamascus-percussion, Chris Pesta. They sang popular and folk music under the direction of Ed Miller. Transportation to performances was in three station wagons driven by Bill Thompson, Rube McCray, and one of the boys. MR. ED MILLER APPOINTED AS FIRST FULL-TIME MUSIC DIRECTOR In 1969 Mr. Ed Miller was appointed as the first full-time Music Director. In addition to the choir he was also responsible for the school music program and he and his wife, Katie, both spent extra time with those boys that needed help learning music for concerts. Mrs. Miller was also the accompanist for the choir and no doubt worked with some of the boys interested in learning to play the piano. Both Mr. and Mrs. Miller had degrees from Westminster Choir College. Mrs. Miller also had a degree from Penn State University. Mr. Miller’s attendance of a Fred Waring Music Workshop just after they were hired to work at Boys Home helped in working with the Boys Homes Choirs. The general program and schedule of training remained the same with an emphasis on development of individual talents. The Millers developed a more relaxed performing style and placed less emphasis on the sacred music. The Millers organized the first Junior Choir which was an outgrowth of the school music program. This resulted in having the older, more mature voices in one group and the younger voices in the junior choir. At one time there were as many as thirty boys participating in both choirs. Katie Miller developed the Boys Homes Bell Choir at this time. They performed primarily during the Christmas season. The choir uniform included robes as well as the traditional blue blazer. Transportation was still by station wagon. In June of 1971 Leslie Sullivan was hired as music director. He had the same duties as Ed Miller including the school music program. Leslie was a graduate of Campbell College with a degree in organ and music education. Leslie continued to produce the same type of programs involving the senior and junior choir as well as the bell choir. In the course of a year as many as 70 boys (more than half the campus population) would be involved in some kind of musical performing group. The average size of the two choirs was about 50 boys and the average length of stay was two and a half years. Leslie had one full-time accompanist, Bill Ruth, who was the local Methodist minister. Bill attended all rehearsals and traveled with the senior choir, all at his own expense. Gene Burns, who was civic club coordinator at that time, also accompanied the junior choir and the senior choir when Bill Ruth was unable to go. The number of performances increased during this period to nearly 100 during a year. Sometimes Leslie would have one group, Bill one group, and Gene another all in the same day. During this period the choir began to travel by bus. The choir uniform of blue blazers stayed the same. 1975 to 1991 In 1975 Rodney and Sandra Douglas were hired as a team to head the music program. They were both graduates of Campbell College with degrees in church music. They were to assume the same duties as the previous directors. However, because of artistic differences, they resigned after only six months. Following the resignation of the Douglasses, Gene Burns was appointed choir director. Bill Ruth continued as accompanist. Gene was a graduate of Western Carolina University with a degree in art. Gene also continued his duties as civic club coordinator. In June of 1976 Linza Smith was hired as music director, assistant choir director and accompanist. Linza was a graduate of Meredith College with a degree in Music Education. Linza was the first and only woman to serve as music director. Gene and Linza continued the same program as the previous directors with two choirs and the bell choir. The only change was to the production of one Christmas television show which was taped at WSOC-TV in Charlotte and sent to other stations throughout the state. This eliminated the travel to each individual station. In the spring of 1979 Sharyn McSwain served as accompanist for a short while. Upon Gene's resignation in the fall of 1979, Ed and Katy Miller worked with the choir through the Christmas season. A gentleman from Trinity Baptist Church in Whiteville volunteered to serve as choir director for a short period in the early months of 1980. However, there was no full-time director until Jimmie Tutor came in September of 1980. Jimmie is a graduate of Campbell College with a bachelors degree in music and has a masters degree in church music from Southeastern Theological Seminary. Jimmie assumed the full-time duties of choir director and was in charge of the school music program. Jimmie had the responsibility of reorganizing the entire music program. After the reorganization there was only one choir which was usually comprised of 16-18 boys. Jimmie was (and is) his own accompanist and also directed the bell choir. A quartet was also available at one time during the winter months when the choir was not prepared. The spring program became a patriotic presentation and the Christmas television show was done on location for the first time in 1985. The last bell choir performance was in 1987. The attire for the choir was changed temporarily to a brown corduroy suit for the winter and blue blazers with tan slacks for spring. The choir continued to travel by bus but occasionally used cottage vans. From 1985 until the present Jimmie has divided his duties between full-time social work and the choir. The school music prooram was taken over by the school. At least one additional program was presented as late as 1991 when the choir performed a program of patriotic music in February. You can order your CD or Video today by calling 910-646-3083. | Return Home | Message Board | Events Schedule | Choir-CD Catalog | Great Links | FAQ Page | Contact Us | Photo Collections | Members Pages | |
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