Eugene weekly., June 21, 2007, Page 24, Image 24

Anton Armstrong and some YCA participants having fun
Rilling and Executive Director Royce
Saltzman started the academy in 1998 to
introduce young musicians to the music
and meaning of J.S. Bach while provid-
ing tools and techniques to help them
become better singers.
For Taryn Curry, a soprano who has
always lived on her family’s farm in
Madison, Kansas, being away from her
family was difficult. “It was hard the first
couple of days,” she says. “But I got to
know everybody, and then they weren’t
as different as I thought we were. It was
eye opening.”
Curry says that the YCA “is the expe-
rience of a lifetime.” She thinks people
her age aren’t often into classical music,
but “if anybody ever experiences it like
we did in those 10 days, I think they
would love it forever.”
B ACH M EETS K ELLY C LARKSON
AND G REEN D AY
T RANSFORMING L IVES
Anton Armstrong’s Youth Choral Academy fosters community
STORY BY ED DORSCH • PHOTOS BY MICHAEL MCDERMOTT
It’s showtime.
“Oh my God. I’m going to faint,” says a
girl, one of 85 high school students about
to go on stage at the Hult Center. They’ll
be singing with professional musicians in a
hall with more than 2,000 seats, in front of
an Oregon Bach Festival audience.
Overcoming stage fright is just one
part of the learning experience at the
Stangeland Family Youth Choral
Academy. Every year, festival devotees
look forward to a warm, entertaining
performance by young musicians. What
they may not know is that the academy is
among the best in the nation and quite
possibly the preeminent youth choral
program for ensemble performance.
Each summer, the academy brings
some of the nation’s best high school
singers to Eugene. For 10 days, they live,
work and perform under the baton of
Anton Armstrong, a professor of music at
St. Olaf College in Minnesota and con-
ductor of the prestigious St. Olaf Choir.
A handful of youth programs in the
U.S. offer this level of vocal training and
performance, but most are about solos,
says Armstrong. No other program
emphasizes the ensemble experience —
or community — quite like this.
“This is more than just making music
for simple, naïve, artistic excellence,” says
Armstrong. “It’s about producing music
and art so that it transforms lives. It builds
bridges. It makes us better human beings.”
Recipient of the 2006 Robert Foster
Cherry Award (the largest award in the
U.S. for teaching excellence), Armstrong is
known worldwide for his remarkable abili-
ty to work with great young singers and
make them even better. “Back home, these
students are the leaders,” says Armstrong,
“the best singers in their schools. Here,
they are surrounded by others just like
4 O REGON B ACH F ESTIVAL
themselves. We set the bar high.”
“What I think is so distinctive about the
Oregon Bach Festival,” says Armstrong,
“and the thing I’ve been drawn to is, first of
all, this is really a family. We expect them to
reach the highest level of excellence they
can — not for selfish reasons, but to
become better people and to share a musi-
cal experience that enriches others.”
Armstrong holds the baton, but he is
only one part of a teaching trio that makes
this program more than just a summer
camp or a choir competition. Movement
instructor Therees Hibbard and director
Richard Clark also serve as teachers,
mentors and counselors, guiding the stu-
dents through 10 days of intense intellec-
tual, emotional and spiritual growth.
V ENI S ANCTE S PIRITUS
Preparing for their big night, the stu-
dents rehearse in a classroom at the UO
music school. “I want you to know what
you’re singing,” Armstrong tells them as
they sing Mozart’s Veni Sancte Spiritus,
a work the composer wrote when he was
just a few years younger than most of the
students.
Mozart’s first language was German,
Armstrong explains, so they will sing in
Latin — with a German accent. He
explains that Veni Sancte Spiritus is the
Latin sequence for Mass at Pentecost, a
celebration of the Holy Spirit.
“This is a story of unity,” says
Armstrong. “A song of unity. Veni Sancte
Spiritus. Come Holy Spirit. Fill the
hearts of your faithful. Kindle the fire of
your love.”
Perhaps it’s his passion for perfection
or the respect he shows his students.
Somehow, Armstrong has achieved
something most teachers only dream of
— total discipline coupled with the
respect and admiration of his students.
They trust him. They do what he says.
And they laugh at his jokes.
Abruptly, Armstrong interrupts. “It
doesn’t spark! Again. Kindle the flame
right there. So can you fire it up? Fire it
up, baby. I want that ‘Li’ to have a little
special-ness. You’re treating it like a mid-
dle child. How many of you are middle
children?” The students laugh. “Treat it
special now,” he scolds them in jest. He
tells them to stand. “You look like, ‘I
think this is crap,’” he says. “You’ve got
to have alleluia faces. Make your eyes
look like the stars of Christmas trees!”
“You have to respect young people,”
says Armstrong. “They’re like dogs. If
they smell fear and incompetence, they’ll
bite you. They understand when there’s a
phony in front of them. They’re much
smarter than we are.”
OBF Artistic Director Helmuth
Sun pours through high windows into a
cavernous dance studio at the university.
Shoes and backpacks are piled along the
wall, and music fills the room. Then silence.
“Good morning,” says movement
instructor Therees Hibbard. “You were
wonderful yesterday, but we have more
to do. Hand on heart. Draw your sword.
You must always open, open, open.” She
turns the music back up and leads the
students through some basic dance
warm-up exercises. Though not perfectly
in sync, the students make an effort to
wake up and follow Hibbard. They move
their arms and feet to the music, back
and forth, walking in tandem. They put
their hands above their heads, sway their
hips, flap their arms.
A longtime member of the OBF choir,
Hibbard is an assistant professor of
music at the University of Nebraska. She
has worked as a music teacher, choral
conductor and singing instructor at all
levels of music education, from nursery
to primary and secondary vocal music,
and on through to college, university and
adult professional instruction. And she
has always included dance and move-
ment as an integral part of her teaching.
“Tall bodies. This is going to help us
stand on those risers forever. Come on.
Wake up. Smile. Express yourselves.
There you go. Those are the people I saw
yesterday.” Why do singers need tai chi
YCA ’06 participants celebrate after
their big performance
For tickets and more info, visit http://bachfest.uoregon.edu