American BoyChoir to Close!!

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frankstuart
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American BoyChoir to Close!!

Post by frankstuart »

I received this like via another group and it is extremely bad news for an American tradition. While reading the release I did not realize that they had been in such poor shape number wise and financially.

Boy Choir music in America will be much poorer without this historical group.

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Surpinto
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Re: American BoyChoir to Close!!

Post by Surpinto »

This is sad news. For those unfamiliar with the group, they were the choir on whom the 2014 film "Boychoir" was loosely based. The choristers of the American Boychoir School sang all of the music on it and were actually extras in the film as well. In fact, I remember reading somewhere that the main child actor in the film studied for a short time at the American Boychoir School to better learn his role - though he does not do any of the singing (overdubbing). From what I understand, they accepted many talented boys for very much reduced tuition, and no boy was rejected due to an inability to pay tuition.

Although in the case of the American Boychoir the lack of financial donations was not the sole reason for closing, this should remind all of us just how precarious many of these choral and singing programs for children are. Our society seems to have a nearly endless supply of cash for all sorts of outrageous things but not for programs impacting the people who will make up 100% of our future. So this helps to serve as a stark reminder of how much such organizations, including Libera, require financial support to remain viable.

While Libera is no danger to go the way of the American Boychoir, after reading about this I have decided that they shall be receiving a regular monthly donation from me. I have given before in small quantities from time to time, and, while my donation will still be rather modest, I will at least try to do my part.
bachmahlerfan

Re: American BoyChoir to Close!!

Post by bachmahlerfan »

I have to admit that while this is unfortunate, I'm not surprised. While declining interest in the arts certainly played a factor in terms of financial support and enrollment, I think there are a couple other major factors that led to this situation. One is that it functioned as a boarding school for any students who didn't live close by. Boarding schools are not as popular as they used to be, so this was probably a factor. The other big factor is sex abuse scandals. A New York Times article in 2002 publicized the abuse allegations that were part of a lawsuit filed against the school by former students. Although the school took serious measures to better protect students after the scandal, I don't think the school ever fully recovered from it.
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Yorkie
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Re: American BoyChoir to Close!!

Post by Yorkie »

My exposure to their music is limited. I have a CD called "Choirboys from Heaven" (where is the vomit emoji when you need it?), which is a mix of King's College, Libera, American Boychoir and WSK. The American Boychoir tracks are all dreadful to my ear, both song choice and singing. I never felt the need to investigate further.
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Padmachou
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Re: American BoyChoir to Close!!

Post by Padmachou »

Wow it's a sad new indeed. I like the movie they made about that school, athough it wasn't a really happy story and it showed a lot of things I don't like to see in choirs... (god, Libera is NOTHING like that...).
The songs they recorded for the movie were pretty good ! I listen to them a lot, and I secretly hope that Libera would sing the "Adiemus" or even better, the "Spem in Alium" (which is amazing).

I agree with bachmahlerfan though, that's the kind of scandal you'll never recover from...
frankstuart
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Re: American BoyChoir to Close!!

Post by frankstuart »

I had no idea!!!

I am so sorry to hear of what happened to the young boys at the school. No wonder they had such problems and could not rebuild very well after that. The adults involved in the abuse need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent - unfortunately the statutes of limitations has long ago run out but hopefully they were never again allowed in positions of trust.

How could someone do something like that, especially to a group of young boys that they were supposed to be guiding and developing into the premier boy's choir in America?
kinda_k00l
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Re: American BoyChoir to Close!!

Post by kinda_k00l »

Even though I haven't listened to much of their music, I feel really sad for them. :(

Ending it is a difficult thing for all the dedicated people - the fact that it is a historical tradition just makes everything even more painful. :cry: I personally feel bad for the current members who can't wait to sing with the choir in the next semester, they must have been very disappointed.

I'm just too fed up and disgusted with the idea of abusing young kids, so I'm not going to talk much about it.

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P/S: May I ask if the school has ended its activity permanently or just this year? (Although I guess it's permanent, based on the last lines of the post, I still get a little bit confused)
Aliens: What does the humankind have that can be given out for the sake of the universe?
Me: *shows LIBERA, KALAFINA & DULCIS VOX :lol:*
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