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Photos by Sarah Finnegan.
The Trussville branch of the Birmingham Boys Choir poses with Music Director Ken Berg, right, during a rehearsal Dec. 11 at Canterbury United Methodist Church.
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Photos by Sarah Finnegan.
The Birmingham Boys Choir rehearses in the sanctuary of Canterbury United Methodist Church on Dec. 9.
Only 160 boys are chosen to be a part of the Birmingham Boys Choir (BBC), and 10-year-old Eli Hollingsworth, of Trussville, is one of them.
Hollingsworth spends his Monday afternoons singing at a satellite location in Trussville with the BBC — a group of classically trained boys from the metro area who have made a name for themselves both here and overseas.
The BBC has served the Birmingham community for more than 50 years and was established by the Rev. Allen Walker at the Episcopal Church of the Advent. In 1978, the BBC board hired full-time Music Director Ken Berg to direct the choir. Since his hiring, the BBC has grown from 26 choristers to 160 in 2017. There are five satellite locations including Bluff Park, Chelsea, EPIC in downtown Birmingham, Homewood and Trussville.
Berg, a graduate of Samford University and well-known published composer, has an appreciation for music. “The boys choir is one of the oldest art forms in western civilization,” Berg said.
“The tradition of boys and men singing dates back in the 900s, when it began in Europe. It is a very ancient and viable musical form.”
Berg said the BBC has a full range of voices, from soprano to bass, all of them covered by choristers ages 8 to 18 years. Berg said the higher ranges must come from boys whose voices haven’t broken yet, as it has been with the European boys choirs for centuries.
Hollingsworth, a fifth-grader at Paine Elementary, said he turned his attention to singing two years ago and that Berg steered him in the right direction.
“Mr. Berg came to my school, Paine Elementary, and did a presentation, and it sounded really fun,” Hollingsworth said. “He allowed those interested to tryout. I went to the music room, sang a brief clip in an orderly fashion, like a warm up.”
Now Hollingsworth is making new friends, keeping up with his studies and doing it while learning to speak a different language. “We sing different types of songs in different languages,” said Hollingsworth, a senior chorister and soprano. “Mr. Berg makes it so much fun to sing.”
“What makes boys like Eli Hollingsworth a delight to teach is that he is well-mannered, loves to sing and has a great work ethic,” Berg said. “Eli is a fifth-grade chorister and is a fine singer like most of our boys. If he doesn’t understand something, he’ll ask and try to correct it. Once he gets it, it’s done. A lot of our boys are like that and so different.”
Boys can sing with the BBC until they’re 18, so Hollingsworth has a few more years ahead of him. Auditions areyearround and are made by appointment. Enrollment is Jan. 1 and July 1.
“We are at maximum capacity of 160 choristers in January but are taking auditions for the July enrollment period,” Berg said.
For audition information, call the Boys Choir Office at 767-9219 or email to Berg at ken@birminghamboyschoir.com.
