Texas group denies boy's bid to sing soprano in All-State Choir

Houston Chronicle - AP ^ | June 20, 2005

[Doctor Stochastic]

But you can smack someone really hard with an oboe case.

A blunt instrument? An oboe is an ill woodwind that nobody blows good.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Then what is the controversy?

[AnAmericanMother]

No, he's a countertenor, a rare but very nice Fach.

Our choirmaster can sing both tenor and countertenor. Believe me, they are handy to have in the house.

And he's perfectly masculine. My husband is a baritone who can sing in the countertenor range . . . and he's six foot six, 250 pounds, a 4th kyu in Aikido, and the proud daddy of two . . . any questions?

[AnAmericanMother]

Dammit! You beat me to it!

Pasha Sha Boom was sung by a "bargain counter tenor".

[AnAmericanMother]

First LP record I ever had of my very own was a copy of Alfred Deller and the Deller Consort, singing madrigals and songs from Shakespeare.

[gridlock]

If he has the voice, I say Go For It!

My church choir has me moving from Bass to Tenor for the last year to fill in. I have a new-found appreciation for a guy being able to hit those high notes. My Director sees my temporary assignment as Diving retribution for having denigrated the masculitity of the Tenor Section for all those years.

If this kid really is able to sing the part, I would love to hear him. At 17, he is old enough to decide which part to sing and to make an informed decision about the risks. How many kids get killed playing football in Texas every year, and the school is worried about this boy getting a sore throat?

[gridlock]

Allllllrighty then!

[Starwolf]

Countertenor is a unique gift, and its quite natural. He has been singing in that range for some time and is apparrnetly quite good.

The Texas rules were designed for a different purpose and are being used in a CYA mode here.

Most choral educators would love the opportunity to do arrangements for that kind voice. Not clear why they won't do so here.

[R. Scott]

Castrati?

[basil]

Go back and read it again. He wants to sing the soprano parts. The only time I know of where "guys" sing soprano parts is in boys' choirs before they reach puberty.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

No ,I read it- I think he is being denied an opportunity based upon his gender. And that is wrong.

[tjwmason]

The only time I know of where "guys" sing soprano parts is in boys' choirs before they reach puberty.

Straight off the top of my head - Poppeia, one of the frist operas ever written, and still the most popular of Monteverdi's operas. In fact, you could consider pretty much all opera right up to the classical era.

Then you might want to move onto the English choral tradition. The top line is usually sung by boys, but at the highest levels the alto is universally an adult male.

My only qualm would be about how his voice fits with the others - a counter-tenor is one of the most beautiful sounds known to man, but it is also quite distinctive and may well stand out dramatically in the choir. The whole purpose of choral music is the use multiple voices, but to create one sound; any highly distinctive voices can ruin this effect.

[basil]

If you say so---I'll have to ask Willie Nelson what he thinks---

Just teasing, of course. I'm not a musician by any stretch of the imagination, and other than listening to Pavarotti, have never enjoyed opera.

One thing you said, though, seems to me to be pretty elemental--and that is that a choir is the use of mutliple voices to create one sound. Guess it shouldn't matter who sings what, as long as it blends. I remember Pavorotti referring to his voice as his "instrument". I suppose everyone should be allowed to "play" whatever "instrument" they have.

[You Dirty Rats]

How many kids get killed playing football in Texas every year, and the school is worried about this boy getting a sore throat?

Dying playing football in Texas is perfectly acceptable -- it's FOOTBALL!! Singing soprano in Texas isn't acceptable. Apparently, the Vienna Boys Choir wouldn't be welcome in Texas either. Not that Texas needs culture -- after all, they already have football, big hats, big hair, and tumbleweeds.

[ApplegateRanch]

a part traditionally sung by girls.

And even more traditionally sung by castrati.

Vasity tacklde football was traditionally played by boys, too...but that didn't cut any ice with the Title IX government types.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Apparently, the Vienna Boys Choir wouldn't be welcome in Texas either. ...

There are other choices. When Schroeder visited didn't Bush have the Texas Boys Choir singint "Tief im Herzen von Texas" with Van von Cliburn accompaning on the hammerklavier?

[RedWhiteBlue]

Singing soprano in Texas isn't acceptable. Apparently, the Vienna Boys Choir wouldn't be welcome in Texas either.

What would ever give you an idea like that?

I invite you to take a look at my local boychoir and their accomplishments: Fort Bend Boys Choir of Texas When they performed in Austria, one of the local papers stated "… probably one of the finest American choirs we have heard [at the Salzburg Dome] with precise singing and perfect intonation." —SALZBURGER NACHRICHTEN

We're quite proud of them around here, and they get a tremendous amount of support and donations from the general public. (And I enjoy bragging about them!).

Listening to boychoirs is such a precious experience, because you know it is a fleeting moment -- 99% of them are going to "voice out" as they mature. I do know of one in that rare 1% that didn't voice out and only left the boychoir because it was time for college (voice major, full scholarship, to SMU).

[pyx]

Rawls sings countertenor, a little known male voice part that has surged in popularity in classical and operatic circles in the past decade. He can sing an octave and a half higher than most boys his age, and he feels most comfortable singing in that range.

Woah ! This is indeed unique. The bigger question is, what sort of RANGE does this young fella have ? (Why am I, likely wrongly, confusing a countertenor to a FALSETTO voice ?)

[You Dirty Rats]

It was the Texas Frequency Fascists who decided what ranges are acceptable based on gender, not me. Obviously those morons need a good talking-to from the likes of folks such as yourself. If that doesn't work, smack them upside the head!

[freepatriot32]

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here

I smell a title 9 lawsuit in the making