William W. "Bill" Walker, 32°, K.C.C.H.
730 Westminster Place, Lincoln, Nebraska 68510-2366, bwalker@lps.org

The members of the Valley of Lincoln, Nebraska, have shown how forming a boys choir can achieve many worthy goals for the Rite.

Several years ago, our Valley's Foundation was given a sizeable bequest with the condition that the interest from it be used for the benefit of young people. In addition to making contributions to several Masonic youth groups, we have established a boys choir. Because sponsoring such a group makes so much sense for the Scottish Rite, this article reviews the general history of how the choir came to be and records some things we have learned in the process.

From 1952 to 1967, there was a boys choir in Lincoln that was sponsored by the Lincoln Public Schools. It was disbanded shortly after its founding director retired. I was privileged to sing in that choir and still vividly recollect after 40 years some of the experiences and benefits of being in it. When the President of the Lincoln Scottish Rite Preservation Foundation expressed an interest in doing something more for young people, it was very natural to suggest establishing a boys choir. Casual conversations with a few key people revealed an immediate strong support for the idea. Informal discussion of the idea within the Masters and Wardens group and the Preservation Foundation (which was charged with overseeing the bequest) led to preparation of a formal proposal that was presented to both of those groups to obtain their financial support.

The proposal stated a purpose for the choir, listed benefits expected for the boys and the community, identified specific goals for the first two years, and set down some fundamental operational guidelines. After gaining support for the funding, we established a committee to interview candidates for director. The music consultant for the public schools announced to the vocal music teachers that we were seeking a director.

Two men expressed an interest and were interviewed. The one hired was given the freedom to select an associate director and accompanist. Auditions for boys were announced in a short item in the local newspaper. In addition, elementary school teachers in public and parochial schools in Lincoln and the surrounding communities were encouraged to send letters, provided by the Rite, to the parents of their five best male singers.

Auditions were held one weekend in March; rehearsals began in April; parents were invited to the last rehearsal in May before the choir recessed for the summer; rehearsals began again in late August; and the boys gave their first, free concert on October 27, 2002, at the Scottish Rite Temple in Lincoln for about 400 family and friends. We did not publicize this first concert generally because it became obvious we would fill the space available with just family and friends. The concert was videotaped and shown over a local-access television channel on November 3, 2002. Because of the quality of the performance by the boys, the program was aired again three weeks later, the first time a program has been repeated by the producer of the show. The videotape has been made available for cost through a local video company. The concert was professionally recorded, and copies were ordered by parents and others and will be used in our publicizing of the choir. A past Venerable Master is the general manager for a local radio station and wants to air a series of interviews and music programs featuring the choir.

The boys gave their second concert on February 9, 2003, for 600 people. Then they performed at a regional conference of 800 pastors and their spouses held in Lincoln in late April and at a May luncheon of Daughters of the Nile. They also gave their third concert in late April, and they are looking forward to singing the National Anthem at the Shrine football game in July.

The following are some highlights from our first year.

• The responses from boys, parents, Masons, music teachers, and the public have all been extremely positive and supportive. We believe we are already seeing many of the benefits, such as better positive recognition of the Scottish Rite by the public, we expected to come from this activity.
• Getting the choir organized took a good deal of time on the part of a few men. We worked with a committee of former educators and school administrators who had music backgrounds. They were able to consider what qualities we needed in the director.
• We started with unchanged male voices, boys in grades three to nine, because by third grade they can read reasonably well.
• We hired a director who was experienced in working with unchanged boys' voices and who knows how those boys should and should not sing in order to develop their voices without hurting them.
• We allowed the director to select an associate and accompanist with whom he had worked before and with whom he knew he could work successfully.
• We were surprised at the number of boys who wanted to be in the choir. Lincoln and surrounding areas have about 250,000 people. We had 110 boys call the director and sign up for an audition time. We invited 96 to participate, and 86 appeared for the first rehearsal. We are currently at 81.
• We were selective in who we invited to participate. We have tried to make it a group that will be expected to work hard and do very well. The director set down his expectations for the boys in a contract that each boy agreed to and signed. We have demanded intense concentration from the boys throughout the rehearsal time.
• We have held the rehearsals on a weeknight from 5:00 to 6:15, beginning and ending them on time for the convenience of parents who quickly started to carpool. The time seems to have worked pretty well to allow many of the boys to continue with their other (mainly sports) activities.
• One of reasons we were excited about working with young unchanged voices was that we had heard that boys were often reluctant to sing in a natural way because of teasing they got from girls and older boys. We found that the boys quickly adjusted to singing in their natural high range as they heard each other doing so.
• We have often sent home informal communications about the progress and activities of the choir as things arose about which parents needed to be informed.
• We have gone slowly with involving parents in support activities, like fund-raising or newsletters. We want their participation to be a positive experience for all parents.
• We have seen substantial vocal support and enthusiasm by parents, family, music teachers, and the Brethren. Most importantly, we have seen growth in the poise and self-confidence of the boys as they realize that they can create something excellent and beautiful.

William W. "Bill" Walker is a Past Master of East Lincoln, Nebraska, Lodge No. 210, Past Venerable Master of the Lincoln Valley of the Scottish Rite, Degree Director of the 18°, a member of the York Rite Bodies of Lincoln, and a member of the Ritualist Divan of the Sesotris Shrine. He is also a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, Masonic Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis, and the Philalethes Society. He is a licensed psychologist and works as a program evaluator for the Lincoln Public Schools.