Interviewed
and reported by the entertainment team
of the LA Center, USA (Originally in English)
On December
18, 1998, the benefit concert "One World ... of peace through music"
was held by the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association at
the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. In the symphonic portrait "The
Peace Seeker," with words by Supreme Master Ching Hai and music
by Oscar-winning composer Fred Karlin, the Pasadena Boys Choir was among
the performers of this grand composition.
Founded
in 1925, the Pasadena Boys Choir is the oldest civic boys choir in America.
The choir has performed and toured throughout the United States and
abroad, and gained an exceptional reputation for its pursuit of excellence.
The Pasadena Boys Choir has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic,
the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the New York City Opera, the San Francisco
Opera, and other prominent ensembles.
Since 1971,
the Choir has been directed by John Barron, who has a long and distinguished
career in the fields of education and child welfare. Mr. Barron is the
recipient of numerous awards and commendations and has been recognized
on the floors of the United States Congress and California State Legislature.
For Mother's
Day and Supreme Master Ching Hai's birthday, the Pasadena Boys Choir
and Mr. Barron wished to send their warmest wishes to Supreme Master
Ching Hai. On this special occasion, Mr. Barron arranged for the Pasadena
Boys Choir to perform five songs dedicated to Supreme Master Ching Hai.
Mr. Barron then expressed his thoughts on the "One World ... of
peace through music" concert and Supreme Master Ching Hai in an
interview. Below is an excerpt from this interview with Mr. Barron,
conducted on May 6, 2001:
Q:
So how did you come to be a part of "One World ... of peace
through music"?
John
Barron: Well, we got a telephone
call and they indicated that this big event was going to take place
at the Shrine Auditorium and the featured work, "The Peace Seeker,"
which was being written by Fred Karlin, was going to employ a boys choir
as well as a large orchestra and soloists and a narrator, and so I guess
because we are one of the few boys choirs in the state, I said we'd
be happy to be a part of it, and we'd be honored to be a part of it
because I knew it was for a very, very important cause. And so it began
to unfold and I think, in many ways, I had never had quite an experience
like this in all the things we've done over the years, because we've
done television shows, we've done movies, we do so many different types
of entertainment, but it had been a long time since we'd done a world
premiere, I think a number of years. And working with Fred, the composer,
I finally had an occasion to talk to him. Fred was still writing the
piece two weeks before the concert and so he would finish a movement
that would involve the boys, and he would send it to me, send me the
parts, and then I would call all of these extra rehearsals with the
kids, and we would turn it out, we would learn it the best we could.
And at one point, I started thinking privately, "I wonder if Fred
is finishing up on this piece," because it was really getting desperate,
we were getting so close to the concert date, and I thought, "Omigosh,
I wonder how much more there is, you know?" But I was really fascinated
with the work, and he is such a gifted composer and arranger and musician.
And it was a very major, demanding, challenging project for the boys.
