Region's only girlchoir formed, thanks to Hill organist

by MICHAEL CARUSO

The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill is poised to play an integral part in the establishment of a new musical ensemble. Mark Anderson, the church's organist and director of music, has been named the conductor of the newly formed Pennsylvania Girlchoir of Philadelphia, which will rehearse at the church. The chorus will form the female counterpart to the Keystone Boychoir which, during only a handful of years since its own founding, has garnered international acclaim.

Anderson, a resident of nearby Manayunk, explained the choir's genesis by pointing out that he and the ministerial staff at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church had discussed the notion of starting a girlchoir several years ago.

"This area is a hotbed of some of the finest musical education in the nation," he asserted, "yet there isn't a single girlchoir in the region despite there being two excellent boychoirs: the Keystone Boychoir and the Philadelphia Boychoir." The Roman Catholic Archdiocesan Boychoir is a third such ensemble, but it functions within the mission of the Catholic Church in Philadelphia.

Anderson's observations prompted him to meet with Joseph Fitzmartin, choir director at Penn Charter School and the founder and director of the Keystone Boychoir. "My intentions for getting together with Joe was simply to pick his brain concerning the starting up of a girlchoir," Anderson said, "but almost immediately we realized that we were operating on the same wavelength, especially after I sat in on a rehearsal that Joe and Steven Fisher (the Keystone Boychoir's assistant director) conducted. It was such a positive experience: it was challenging, yet there was a sense of joy and reinforcement in everything I saw and heard."

The result of this meeting of the minds was a decision to launch the Pennsylvania Girlchoir of Philadelphia sooner rather than later. The Keystone Boychoir's board of directors met and voted to establish the Commonwealth Youth Choirs as the overall organization under which the Keystone Boychoir and the Pennsylvania Girlchoir of Philadelphia would operate. There would be one board of directors, but two separate choirs. Although the two choirs would occasionally join forces for special events, by and large there would be two choirs with two sets of concerts and two tours.

"It's pretty much been shown that separating the sexes is the most effective way to go when you're dealing with young people involved in choral singing," Anderson pointed out. "The kids are freer to express themselves."

Although the girlchoir has been attracting members only through word-of-mouth until it held its first auditions on October 9, it already boasts 47 girls. The plan is to divide the singers into three levels -- early, intermediate and advanced -- depending on the individual level of musical preparation. This will help accommodate the initial rolling enrollment of signing up new girls during the inaugural season. The young singers will be taught theory and sight-singing to complement their purely vocal technical training.

"The inherent problem you have with the boys of a boychoir is the obvious thing: their voices change," Anderson said. "And that happens earlier and earlier nowadays, what with nutritional advancements. With girls, however, you have a longer period over which their musicianship can advance, so there's no sense of having to work fast.

"During the past 25 years," he continued, "there has been a tremendous amount of excellent music for treble voices that has been composed from all over the world. We intend for that music to be our repertoire so that the girls can learn through music about the cultures of the world. It will take a great commitment on the part of the girls because we'll be rehearsing every Saturday right from the start, and we intend to eventually add a Wednesday rehearsal, as well, probably starting in January. But we all believe that music can add tremendous beauty to one's life and that getting a good start is so important. Then there are no limitations to what you can achieve."

 When asked to explain the motivation behind Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church's active involvement in the project, Anderson responded, "All of us here believe, especially since the major renovations of five years ago, that we have an incredible facility here on the top of the Hill on Germantown Avenue, and we believe that it's part of our church's mission to share this facility with the entire community, that it's our responsibility to open its doors and to invite the community in to enjoy what we have here.

We're committed as a church and the Pennsylvania Girlchoir is committed as a musical organization to bring people together, people that represent the full spectrum of diversity that makes up this entire region. The idea of the choir is to bring together through music girls from every possible background, girls who might otherwise never have the opportunity to get to know each other and to make music together as equals. We believe that music has the power to help us all grow together and raise us up together."

For more information and an audition schedule, call 215-849-1762.