At choral event, boys mull the question: Keep singing?

By LAUREN BOYER

York, PA – The lopsided ratio of female to male in some grade
school choirs is no secret.

“It doesn’t seem like a guy-ish thing to do,” said Adam Bissell,
a seventh-grader at Northern Middle School. “But guys do it too.
Look at all the famous people.”

On Saturday, Bissell joined about 100 other members of the York
County Junior Honors Choir to mentor more than 240 children, grades
four through six, at the 2011 York County Elementary Choral
Festival.

Held at Red Lion Area High School, the day-long event culminated
with a public concert from students in 11 school districts.

While the event aimed to encourage young singers — boys and
girls — to continue the craft as they grow, Sam Miller, an
eighth-grader at Dallastown Middle School, ranked his gender at
highest dropout risk. It’s a problem, he said, that needs to
change.

“Guys’ voices are needed,” said Miller, a tenor. “It’s not
really something guys tend to do. It’s a girl thing mostly.”

A couple tables down, Mason Figdore and Troy Nazarenus needed
some convincing. “I guess (singing) can be for both boys and
girls,” Figdore said. Nazarenus chimed in. “Like rappers on TV?” he
asked.

The boys, both fifth graders at Larry J. Macaluso Elementary
School, elevated athletics over musical performance.

“You can’t play sports your whole life,” Carissa Martin, a
freshman at Northern High School, told the boys. “Singing is
something you can do.”

Andrew Pritchard knows the conflict between sports and choir all
too well. The Red Lion ninth-grader’s ability to harmonize earned
him ridicule on the football field, he said.

“They made fun of me because I sang,” he said. “I was fed up
with the ridicule. I had a better time in the music programs
anyway.” He gave up football this year and hasn’t looked back
since.