Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 29, 1990 TAG: 9006300418
SECTION: SMITH MOUNTAIN TIMES PAGE: SMT-12 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: ELLIE SCHAFFZIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And she'll tell you that the whole thing is a fluke.
The "fluke" started when Harris, a freelance flying instructor from New Jersey, thought Smith Mountain Lake would be a good place to retire. She was joined by her boyfriend, Edward Harris, and they were married in summer 1988 right on the lake, at the spot where their log cabin would be built.
The couple moved in by December 1988, and at a New Year's eve party shortly afterward, Harris heard someone lament that he would like to see a chorus perform at the lake but he had no chorus director.
Enter Harris, with an education from Westminster Choir College in New York as well as years as a Westminster Choir member and as a choral music teacher. Under her direction, a 45-member choir performed a patriotic cantata called "Liberty" at the lake last July. It then went on to become Thee Chorale Societe, growing in number and performing at Christmas and in the spring. It plans to return to the lake's state park for a repeat performance of "Liberty" on Tuesday.
A fluke? Sounds more like destiny.
There's more. Although Harris was born and reared in New York, her parents are both from the South. "I have the Blue Ridge Mountains in my blood. . . . I feel like I've come home to roost," she said.
Harris said she has found a home for her musical philosophy among the folks at Smith Mountain Lake. She is attempting to prove that singing is inseparable from life, and that choral music is an inherent part of humanity. Harris says she believes that music has a unifying effect on people.
"The human voice is a tremendous cohesive force. You experience an extended family when you sing together," she said.
Harris has found proof among her choir members, who range in age from 18 to 72 and are everything from farmers to physicians. She says the music created a spiritual harmony among the group. Part of the unifying experience were the obstacles they had to overcome, such as the challenge of singing a Bach cantata in the original German.
But whether it's Bach or "Yankee Doodle," Harris says music has the same effect. Her choir may have thought it was impossible to sing Bach, she said, but Bach is no deluxe commodity, accessible only to the elite. Years ago, Bach taught his cantatas to peasants and blacksmiths.
The association of music with snobbery is a fallacy Harris wants to dispel. To sing, she said, "You don't have to be part of the elite. You can be the you and the me."
The Liberty cantata itself is a 50-minute medley of songs that express a celebration of freedom and portray America's musical heritage. There is a narrator to guide the audience through the piece, and characters such as George Washington and Uncle Sam appear on stage throughout the show.
"It's peanuts and popcorn and hot dogs and baseball games. . . . It's accessible to the public, . . . but its a vehicle for what we believe," Harris said.
The performance is co-sponsored by the Smith Mountain Arts Council and the Smith Mountain Lake Partnership, and is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. with a performance by the "No Grass Band," a folk group from Moneta.
Spectators should watch the skies for two antique PT-17 Stearman planes, open-cockpit trainers from World War II. And, of course, they should continue to look skyward for a fireworks finale.
Last year, at the Liberty debut, 6,000 spectators in cars and boats alike enjoyed the show in the state park.
And amid this success, Harris continues to credit the music. "I feel that the vehicle is the singing. If it weren't for that, none of this would have happened," she said.
by CNB