Boys sing for charity

Press, 6 July 1983, Page 15

Boys sing for charity

The San Francisco Boys’ Chorus, often called “San Francisco’s Singing Ambassadors to the World” will present a charity concert at the Christchurch Town Hall on Sunday, July 17. The chorus, founded in 1948 by Kurt Herbert Adler and Madi Bacon as a resource for the San Franciso Opera, has developed into one of the Bay Area’s foremost musical organisations. For more than three decades it has supplied the Opera with highly trained boy choristers and soloists, who sing the treble roles specified for boys’ voices.

From its original 25 boys, the San Francisco Boys’ Chorus has grown to over 200 members in five groups. It has earned professional recognition and critical acclaim performing in scores of operas and with symphony orchestras under such conductors as Leopold Stokowski, Bruno Walter and Seiji Ozawa. On the retirement of its founder Madi Bacon, the chorus came under the guidance of its present music director, Dr William Ballard, in July 1974. Dr Ballard has broadened the scope of the chorus to include national and international concert touring. In 1975 the boys sang in nine cities in Romania

under the auspices of the Romanian government. This was followed in 1977 by a singing tour of Alaska under the sponsorship of the Anchorage Concert Association.

In July 1979 they participated with choirs from 20 other nations in the eleventh Zimriya, in Israel, and a year later won top honours in choral festivals in Scotland and Wales. They appeared the same summer with the London Symphony Orchestra in Derby. The chorus has, over the past two years, toured Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Italy, singing before capacity audiences. At present the boys are on a singing tour of Australia and New Zealand. Their concert at the Christchurch Town Hall is being sponsored by the Port Hills Kiwanis.

All proceeds from the Christchurch concert will go to S.P.E.L.D. (Specific Learning Difficulties Association). The programme will feature a wide selection of both serious and light music.

In 1976 English handbell ringing was introduced to the programme. A selection of music for bells alone will feature in the programme together with solo numbers by the harpist.