BOB CHILCOTT AND AREA CHOIRS AT THE BELHAVEN ARTS CENTER, SEPTEMBER 13, 2003

   The evening of September 13 saw the auditorium of Belhaven College's
Center for the Arts comfortably filled for a program of choral music by
three choirs: Belhaven's Concert Choir, the Mississippi College Singers,
and the Mississippi Boychoir-each led by its own director in one or more
selections.

   Eight of the 13 offerings involved two or three choirs; all of these
were under the baton of Robert Chilcott. This well-known English
composer and conductor had been in the area for most of the week,
working with these three choirs and two others in what was billed as a
"Mississippi Boychoir Master Teacher Workshop."

   The evening's program spanned the centuries-from Gibbons to Chilcott.
The numbers that seemed to move the audience most were the late Moses
Hogan's rhythmic "I'm gonna sing til the Spirit moves in my heart," and
the haunting "Past Life Melodies" - a repertoire-stretcher by Sara
Hopkins, based on the music of the aboriginal people of Australia.

   The Mississippi Boychoir was to a very large extent the raison d'etre
for the evening - indeed for the week's workshop. This choir sang once
alone and with other groups in three numbers. The 18 boys, ages 8-14,
and from scattered locations around the state (!), sang with sureness,
producing the appealing sound that can only come from young boys. The
boys also proved themselves capable of holding their own when singing in
the massed choir.

   Selections not sung a cappella were expertly accompanied by pianists
and, in one case, a talented young cellist, Charles Patton.

   The recent acquisition of what is now its Center for the Arts was a most
welcome step forward for Belhaven College, and one of great benefit for
the larger community. A stage that requires the audience to look up is
not ideal visually, but the space is great for sound. The venue, the
musicians, the selections, and the camaraderie of so many of the area's
lovers of choral sound, all made for a most rewarding evening.

                                                      - William S. Smith