MUSICIANS' GALLERY

This is our wonderful, wonderful Western New York native, Marcia Giambrone. She was the director of Buffalo Choral Arts from 1987 to 2023, so that's 36 years. Before that, she directed the Orchard Park Chorale. The new Orchard Park Chorale director is here, by the way.

 

Marcia, you did that for about ten years and taught for 33 years at West Seneca West High School.
The face of choral music is changing so incredibly - I know three people here! And I've been in this business for 56 years. And if you add it all up it's 97 years!
 

And how many musicals at West Seneca West?
Thirty
 

Thirty musicals!
And we never repeated one!
 

That is amazing! And you started the annual Mothers Day Concerts, first at the Basilica and now at the Cathedral, and many other fine things! You have taken the BCA on several tours, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the Kennedy Center in Washington, the Normandy Cemetery, and the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July. You received a Bachelor's and an MFA from UB and completed additional studies at Fredonia and Westminster Choir College.

 

You often talk about your time with Robert Shaw at Westminster and Carnegie. How did you get started in choral singing?
I always loved to sing. My family wasn't happy about it, but I could still sing, and I had a music teacher in elementary school; her name was Melva [Seeble] (phonetical spelling). In the last few weeks, you've probably heard stories about the anniversary of the Cleveland Hill fire in 1954. Well I was in that fire. Yes, I was a third grader, and the day before the annex exploded and killed those outstanding students, I was in that room the day before at the same time.

As I grew up loving music, I played the violin (I have a very funny story about the violin to tell you). And what kind of went through all of that. I just loved to sing. I started singing in my High School Chorus. I remember attending my planning conference at UB in 1963 (I'm 78 years old; I'll save you from doing the addition). So, I went to my summer planning conference at UB, and we were standing in line, and they said, "Declare your major." (Pause) I loved sports. I could run like the wind (always falling) and play many sports: baseball, tennis, all of it. But I won an Erie County Music Educators Scholarship in 1963. And that was $400! In those days, it was a whole year [of funding]. And it was like God spoke to me! I get goosebumps every time I tell this story. It was like, "Marcia, choose music." And I chose music. That's how I got my start.

What's the funny story about the violin?
I was a first-year student at UB in music education with Dr. Irving [Shyett] (phonetical spelling). You need to be older to know that name; he wrote many methods books on education. He was the guru of music education. And, poor Irving, he had one eye that went this way and one that went that way, and what was I, 18 years old? In the first semester of your first year, you took violin; in the second semester, you took the other strings. You took the trumpet, then you took the brass, etc. So I'm in the violin class and thought, "I'm not going to tell him I play violin." So I was the class clown - and I did this every week (I'm sure he died every time I came into the room). And for the final exam, we had to play The Bluebells of Scotland (sings melody), so God loves Dr. [Shyett]; he says to me, "Marcia, I know you can do it; open D string, open A string," all of that. And I went (mimes playing and singing the melody with us, too) with the vibrato and everything. This poor guy looked at me and said, "Marcia, you practiced!" The joke was on me! All I had to do was play that for him on the first day, and I would have been exempt!

That's a great story! You often like to talk about your experience with Robert Shaw. Are there any memories you'd like to share?
Yes. I was a musician when I first studied, but then I became a serious choral person after ten years of singing with Robert Shaw. In his Mostly Mozart Concerts during the summers at Princeton University we performed major works. In those days, Dr. [Flemmerfel] (phonetical spelling) would come in, and he'd work for the first three or four days, and then Mr. Shaw would come in for the last three. And major work after major work after major work. He was truly a genius. I think the choral world has yet to find a replacement for him, nor will we ever, until someone of his ilk comes along. There are fine choral people, but this man used to say, "Some people have perfect pitch; I have perfect rhythm." And he did. And that's why he came up with his rhythmic [count singing] one-e-and-a, two-e-and-a, one-and-a-two-and-a. It flew in the face of our Tometics person, who says you can't go one . . . and a two . . . and a, . . . anyway, Mr. Shaw would have us count-sing, for four straight days, the Bach B minor Mass. On the fifth day, we'd put the text in. On the sixth day, we had the dress rehearsal.

 

On the seventh day, we performed with the NY Orchestra at Carnegie. And to watch how that went today, there are DVDs out of six or seven of the major works that Mr. Shaw conducted, first at the Manhattan Center in New York City, which is considered to be the most perfect acoustic place on the planet Earth; all the rock bands went there, and sometimes we heard them. We were in this huge ballroom, and we sang in two circles. I sat next to some of the world's finest conductors from all over the country.

 

How did I get in? I have no idea. They were looking for choral directors and singers. And you had to do a little tape, and I had to do something from the Bach B minor Mass with a lot of (she imitates vocal ornaments) and all that stuff because when you're young, you can do that. And somehow, I got in, and my dearest friend, Nancy Seel, also got in. By the way, Nancy was supposed to be here today; she had a temperature of 102 degrees. I wanted her here very much because this woman, my sister from another mother, probably kept me on the straight and narrow; as Mr. Shaw did musically, she did personally.
 

To an extent . . .
She failed often, but . . So, back to Mr. Shaw, if you ever need rehearsal techniques or anything that will help you get your choir that just can't feel the rhythms or put the syllables of the text where they belong, watch some of his tapes and learn how he would install that. Tim, that was long, but . . .
 

No, that's great!
After ten years of singing with him, you would sit up straight. He would come into the room, and the whole chorus would go (serious expression), and these were conductors from all over the world and the country, organists, and singers. Can I tell another story?
 

Yes, please do!
So one day, this gentleman, a tenor, comes into the room, late by about thirty seconds. We're all ready, and Mr. Shaw's eyes follow him to his seat. We're not breathing. We're not breathing because, in those days, he had quite a temper. But he straightened out after a while; his wife, Caroline, helped him. The next day, didn't the guy do the same darn thing? He comes in, walks right in front of the podium, and sits down to the tenor section and sits down. (She imitates Shaw's demeanor.) "Did you wash your hands?" And we thought he go bombastic, you know, whatever. I saw him remove a soloist from the stage once. She came in late to rehearsal, and he replaced her; I believe it was the Beethoven Missa Solemnis. But she missed it, and he took a singer from the alto section whom he knew [to replace her].

 

That was the other thing about Mr. Shaw; he gave young people chances. In my teaching career, I devoted my teaching career to providing young people chances -- while only sometimes going with the tried and true. I would go out on a limb for some young, upcoming musician who needs a break. And that I learned from Mr. Shaw. And I learned how to count to four . . . and a . . .
 

This was wonderful!  Are there other questions for Marcia? Is there anything you'd like to ask?
Audience member: I didn't want to ask anything, but we spent the day with you, and I'm amazed at all you've done. I want to thank you. You have molded music in this community, and it's just incredible; your career is amazing.
 

Thank you!
(Standing ovation)
Recorded and transcribed by Patricia Hills