Bucks County Herald – July 2, 2009

Nancy Wyckoff, Berlioz Requiem

Dear Friends,

Good morning. Last weekend, Mighty Betsy and I had the privilege of singing the Berlioz Requiem with the Philadelphia Singers Chorale, the resident chorus of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Solebury residents, Lisa and Bob Landley, are members of the Chorale as well. In a moment, I’ll describe the experience but first, I have updates about a Quakertown family that many of you Upper Bucks readers will recognize.

Nancy Wyckoff returned for her 50^th Quakertown High School reunion. Nancy is a real estate tycoon in the Naples Florida area. She was camping out with her brother Richard, also a QHS grad. A high school basketball star, Richard is the President of the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters (an organization that represents hundreds of radio and TV stations).

Richard was in my Boy Scout Troop in the 1950’s. During my bachelor days, I dated his sister, Nancy. Later in this column, I’ll have a funny story about Richard and the pastor of his church during his confirmation examination.

Bette Jane Wycoff is their sister. A QHS grad as well, Jane was the Grand Champion of the Lehigh Valley Science fair in 1962. She was also the First Place winner in Chemistry at the National/ International Science Fair held in Seattle in conjunction with the Seattle World’s Fair.

When you consider the accomplishments of Bette Jane’s daughter, you realize that apples don’t fall far from the tree.

Her daughter, Heather Louise Clark, just graduated from Northwestern University with a major in Biological Sciences and a minor in Global Health Studies. Her resume looks just like her mother’s.

A pre-med student, Heather won the “Aspiring Docs” Contest sponsored by the American Association for Medical Colleges. She was also a recipient of the Wolfstein Scholarship Fund, awarded to an undergraduate pre-Med student or a science major that benefits humanity. Heather made the Dean’s list for six academic quarters and held a GPA of 3.75+.

But what impressed me the most was her willingness to give of herself to the community. Instead of heading directly to medical school, she volunteered as a corps member of the Teach for America program. She will teach Biological Sciences in Baltimore, Maryland…probably in the inner city where her students will be among the most disadvantaged.

Teach for America is a program to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting our nation’s future leaders in the effort. The 2009 corps represents more than 500 colleges and universities throughout America. Heather will attend a Teach for America corps training program at Temple University this summer before moving to Baltimore. She plans to enroll in medical school upon completion of the Teach for America program.

An avid soccer player at Northwestern University, Heather became a fundraiser for non-profit organizations. While in college, she organized benefits for Make a Wish Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and Working Wardrobes.

Congratulations, Heather. And Bette Jane, you must be a very proud mother.

Now let me turn to Richard Wycoff’s amusing tale. He told me that he was about 15 when he attended Pastor Paul T. Stout’s confirmation class at the Reformed Church in Quakertown (renamed First United Church of Christ). Today, that old church is the accounting and lawyer headquarters for Doug Hutchinson and Bob Moffett, respectively. The pipe organ still functions and a local congregation has worship services there.

Anyway, Richard’s mother and father (Elmer “Skip” and Louise) were pillars in the church. Unfortunately, Richard was not measuring up to the demands of catechetical class. Pastor Stoudt worried that Richard wouldn’t pass the oral test in front of the congregation which presented dark clouds on the horizon for the church, the parents, the pastor…and of course, Richard.

Pastor Stoudt realized that failure to become a full church member would just not do.

Richard told me that on the eve of the final exam, Pastor Stoudt approached him with a deal. The Reverend would give Richard the question and the answer in advance…with the proviso that Richard would never tell a soul.

And he didn’t until last week. (But I thought you’d want to know!)

Finally, friends, here is a word or two about the Berlioz Requiem. The ten movements of the piece require so many musicians that the players spill out into the audience and the singers fill 160 seats of the choir loft. The Berlioz Requiem is rarely presented because of its huge cost. The program stated that the last time the Philadelphia Orchestra performed it in Philadelphia was during the days of maestro Eugene Ormandy…maybe 30 years ago.

In the second movement, Dies Irae- Tuba Mirum (day of judgment- the trumpet shall sound), the audience is shocked by the sound of ten brass players on one side of the auditorium, ten brass players on the other side, and eight brass players divided in two groups behind the listeners. Those of you familiar with the Kimmel Center know that the auditorium is shaped like a cello and the walls are made of wood. So the sound ricochets. Because 17 timpani filled the width of the stage, the floor shook. Listeners felt the vibration through their feet.

The sound of 60 men, singing “Tuba Mirum” in unison, thunders over the orchestra. I’ve never experienced anything like it.

And in the Sanctus movement, 60 women became the chorus of angels and sang the introduction for a lone tenor soloist who stood in the darkness of the upper deck, way in the back of the auditorium. As the women and the tenor sang, I watched the audience looking around, straining to discover where the sounds were coming from?

It was very theatrical. Like the Verdi Requiem, Hector Berlioz’s Requiem is opera dressed in clerical robes.

Charles Dutoit conducted the three performances. David Hayes, the Music Director for the Philadelphia Singers prepared the chorus. Best of all, the Philadelphia Inquirer gave the performance rave reviews.

We’ll be performing the Berlioz Te Deum in the fall. I’ll try to remember to give you a heads up. Berlioz is spectacular stuff for the performers and the audience. It was a real treat for us to be in the chorus.

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith