From: Harris/Larkins
Date: May 6, 2008 10:40:40 PM GMT-04:00
To: HPHSChoir57, HPHSChoir58, HPHSChoir59, HPHSChoir60, HPHSChoir61, HPHSChoir63,
HPHSChoir64, HPHSChoir65, HPHSChoir66, HPHSChoir67, HPHSChoir68, HPHSChoir69,
HPHSChoirFriends
Subject: To Choirmates and Friends/Comments on “Hears To You”
Dear Choirmates, classmates, family, and friends:
Mr. Sturdevant has often expressed his pride in the stellar performance delivered by the 1961 concert choir before a national audience at Cobo Hall. Well, now he, the choir alumni, and the extended Highland Park community have one more reason to be proud. On Monday, May 5th 2008 we made our international debut before the entire nation of Canada as well as CBC's internet fans across the world. The producer of “Hears To You”, Alison Howard, was generous in allowing “outsiders” a slot on their Canadian Music Education day program and the show's host, Catherine Belyea, did an excellent job summarizing and extracting from my long three page letter the pertinent details. It also appears from scanning through the playlist found on their web site, that we were the only high school or amateur group they selected to play. Now, that is quite an honor in itself. All other music came from CDs that were professionally produced.
They chose to showcase the 1967 concert choir singing two short pieces, Ah Thou Poor World by Johannes Brahms and Echo Song by Orlando Di Lasso. They performed with beauty and precision. Their polish, enunciation, intonation, and delivery is something to marvel at for a high school choir. We showed the world why we were awarded straight “One” ratings during the 1967 Michigan high school choir festival, following in the footsteps of numerous concert choirs before us. See CBC's playlist CBC's Heres To You. (We are listed in the second of three hours of music, and I have highlighted it in white so that you can easily find it).
I sure hope you were able to hear the show, but I know that wasn't easy for anyone who lives outside the range of CBC's radio broadcast and who isn't tech savvy. I am now in Lake Ann, MI out of range. I had never listened to a radio broadcast on a computer, but out of desperation I configured my computer to do it in two days. However I then found that a dial up modem doesn't work well with live streaming broadcasts, as they call it. I finally got smart and called my local library. They informed me, no problem! I took my laptop to the library and they had me “hardwired” and tuned in to “Hears To You” in no time. I was so happy I could have kissed all of the librarians. But, I wasn't the only one happy to hear that broadcast. Read the e-mail message below:
From: Hassel, Aaron '69
Subject: RE: To Choirmates and Friends/Heres the play list for HPHS/Here's To You
Date: May 5, 2008 11:47:24 AM EDT
To: aharris1@emich.edu
I heard it, I heard it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man thank you for all the joy you've brought us with this music. And to find out that it still can be appreciated all these forty years later. I only wish that Jerry had been here to hear it.
But thanks again.
Aaron Hassel '69
For those of you who don't know, Aaron is referring to his brother Jeremiah (Jerry) Hassel '67 who is now deceased. Jerry was definitely a choir star from his first year in the choir, his sophomore year, until he graduated in 1967.
My only regret is that Mr. Sturdevant didn't hear the broadcast. It appears that he could hear CBC Radio 1 but not CBC Radio 2, the station we were on. This is sad. Did anyone tape our segment of the show? More news soon.
Love, Clifford Larkins '67