MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO
A song in her heart: A tribute concert by the Syracuse Children’s Chorus (below) for Barbara Marble Tagg,
photographed inside Syracuse University’s Crouse College, takes place this Saturday.
“We did a lot of historic work because we were one of the early
choirs in the country,” says Tagg. After 29 years as the artistic
director, Tagg is passing the baton to a successor, the search for whom
is under way. To celebrate her years of commitment, SCC is holding a
concert in her honor, titled “Encore: A Tribute to Barbara Marble
Tagg,” on Saturday, March 6, 7:30 p.m., at Most Holy Rosary Church, 111
Roberts Ave.
Courtney Chiavara, vice president of the board of directors and an
SCC alumna, has been coordinating the concert since last spring. She
says it started with the question, “What can the alumni do to
give back to the chorus and Dr. Tagg?” Since “an encore by nature is a
tribute,” Chiavara says, an alumni concert seemed a fitting answer. The
performance will include current and former members, with
representation from each class in SCC’s history.
The closing piece, “My Own Song,” is a sentimental tradition at SCC.
“It’s the first song that you learn in the chorus, and the last song
you perform in May,” Chiavara says. As a special treat, Crystal
LaPoint, who wrote the piece for SCC in 1982, will be returning as the
piano accompanist.
Tagg will conduct a few of the pieces in the concert, but many other
details remain a secret to her. Some of it, after all, is a surprise.
“I’m very excited about it,” she says at her office in Crouse College,
on the Syracuse University campus. “I can’t wait to see what’s going to
happen.” Tagg is an instructor in the Music Education department in
SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. She also is the conductor
for the Syracuse University Women’s Choir.
She is eager to catch up with the SCC alumni after the concert. “I
can’t wait to sit back and talk to them and hear the stories about what
they’re doing,” she says. “Some of these children are 8 years old when
they start, and then by the time they leave, they’re 17. You watch them
grow, and you always wonder what they go on and become. What do they do
with their lives?”
She looks forward to finding out. “These children are bright, they
are gifted. These are kids that are going to make a difference in the
world.”
Research reinforces Tagg’s optimism. According to a 2009 study by
Chorus America, child choristers—of which there are 10.1 million in the
United States—reap many mental, social and emotional benefits,
including improved memory skills, discipline and self-esteem.
Forty-five percent of parents whose children are in a choir—compared
with 38 percent whose children are not—report that their child earns
“all or mostly As” in math and 54 percent (versus 43 percent) excel in
English and other language arts. Furthermore, 90 percent of educators
agree that chorus “keeps some students engaged in school who might
otherwise be lost.”
The study also supports Tagg’s belief that choral singing is “a
lifelong art.” An estimated 32.5 million adults participate in choral
music today—up from 23.5 million in 2003. In the 1980s, there weren’t
many community-based children’s choirs anywhere in the country. In
fact, Tagg says, “You could count them on one hand.”
The Syracuse Children’s Choir “started at my kitchen table with a
typewriter and a dream,” Tagg says. That dream was to “give communities
a vision of what the potential was for young singers—that they could
share that stage with an orchestra, as equals in terms of artistry.”
Music played a formative part in Tagg’s own childhood; she began
singing in choirs at age 5. “Mom and I used to go to concerts all the
time,” Tagg says. “I grew up listening to the Syracuse Symphony
Orchestra; I went to every concert. I sang in church choirs and in
school choirs. When I did All-City Chorus, that’s when I decided I want
to do what that conductor was doing.”
Years later, a young Chiavara remembers a similar scene—this time,
with Tagg as the conductor. “I remember watching Dr. Tagg when I was 7
years old, before I auditioned for SCC,” Chiavara recalls. “I remember
saying to my mother, ‘I want to do that. I want to sing for that lady.’”
Since its early days, the SCC has come a long way—and gone a great
distance. Travel has been an integral part of the choristers’ musical
education, though, Tagg says, it’s always with a purpose. “Not just
traveling for traveling’s sake.” For example, when SCC went to Wales
for their first international tour in July 1988. “I wanted to go
because there were many children’s choirs involved from all over the
world, and it would give us a global view of what children do in choral
singing,” says Tagg.
She has made sure that her choir experiences not only new places,
but new music. “Since the second year of the choir I’ve been premiering
new music every year,” she says. With four premieres scheduled for
May’s concert, “this year is no exception.” The SCC has received
recognition for its diverse repertoire, including the ASCAP Chorus
America award for Adventurous Programming, both in 2002 and 2007.
“I think it’s important to do many styles and many kinds of music,
but always music of the highest quality,” Tagg says. “For children,
only the best is good enough.” And the best, says Chiavara, is what
Tagg has consistently delivered.
“Working with Dr. Tagg helps you understand not only music, but
emotions and making sense of life around you,” she says. Tagg’s legacy
at SCC will be “her artistry, hard work and dedication to the children
and the community.”
Other former choristers share Chiavara’s gratitude and respect for
Tagg. There is even a Facebook group titled “I Love Barbara Marble
Tagg!” “After June 1, when I have more free time, I’ll have to go check
it out,” Tagg says with a laugh.
She has a few other items on her to-do list as well. “I have some
writing I want to do, and I want to do more guest conducting,” she
says. “Also, more time to read, and adding exercise to the list would
be a good thing.” Tagg will still be plenty busy teaching on the
faculty at SU. “The ‘retirement’ word is not in my vocabulary,” she
says. “I still have a lot of work to do.”
And she is still loving every minute of it. “I get to make music every day. That’s such a joyful thing to me.”
Tickets for “Encore: A Tribute to Barbara Marble Tagg” will be
available for $18 on Saturday night at Most Holy Rosary Church. Advance
tickets cost $15 and are available by calling 478-0582, or online at
www.syracusechildrenschorus.com.
