By Connor Lesniak
“Hoooold and off is right there!” Linda Appleby screams. Appleby trains 28 student voices through nine months of choral perfectionism to cut off the sound coming from their vocal chords on the spot.
I mean, this is Buffalo Select Chorus we’re talking about—not some sissy chorus with easy harmonies and three voice parts--and definitely not one with a laid-back director. The Buffalo Public High Schools Select Chorus, with Appleby behind the piano, hands-a-flying and orders-a-streaming, is preparing for its third annual end of year concert, and there's no time to fool around. “Stop!” she shouts, hoping at least half of the chorus will cease its singing. “Let’s try to have a little bit of energy in this piece!”
I’m listening to Jay Althouse’s “Oye La Musica,” and as I sit in the balcony of Asbury Hall, the main performance space in Ani DiFranco’s Babeville, I can’t help but savor my distance from the considerable amount of tweaking taking place onstage. Only a year ago it was me there, and on top of that, there were about ten less singers and five less male voices. “Bass, this is you!” belts Appleby. Once again, I listen to the bass line, a goose bump inducing ostenato of Spanish-style “ohs” fluttering up and down, into and out of the song. Wow, these guys are good.
Since 2005, Linda Appleby, her musicians (Walter Kemp III on keyboards, Odell Northington on bass, DaShawn Jackson on percussion, Andre Killian on saxaphone), and a selection of singers from Buffalo Public High Schools have been performing for amazed Buffalo audiences, but this year something is different. There are almost 30 kids, 7 schools represented, and for the first time, coverage of seven voice parts.
“We’re doing really well…this chorus is energetic, enthusiastic, and truly unique” says Appleby, “there isn’t much that we can’t do with a little work and some spirit.” That marginal bit of undoable material won’t be undoable for long. One can feel the energy in the room, let alone hear it.
The kids, almost all of whom I sang with during my years in BSC, are equally as happy with what they are a part of. When asked to give one word that describes their experience with the chorus, exuberant, inspiring and uplifting came from members. The broader picture here is that, now more than ever, the Buffalo Public High Schools have something in common—besides controversy in the news. Julia Register, a sophomore and second year singer in BSC says, “We look forward to Buffalo Select. We might complain, but it’s a highlight of our week.”
As I listened, I thought: this chorus is a metaphor for life. We might complain, we might hate going over dissected and scrutinized exercises, we might even scream a little (these kids are loud), but there aren’t many who would refuse the choice to be here in sincerity. “The Music of Life es la Vida” suddenly interrupts in a powerful harmony. “Thank you! That was it!” Wow, these guys are really good.
Linda Appleby, her fantastic ensemble, and The Buffalo Select Chorus are performing their FREE annual concert June 4th. The event, sponsored by the Righteous Babe Foundation, takes place at Asbury Hall at Babeville beginning at 7:30PM, with a reception to follow.