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Classical Influences

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 11, 2007

Scrolling through my peers' iPods, I am often appalled at the number of artists whose names start with "Lil'," or the number of songs containing the word "remix." However, I am elated when I find a friend who listens to a bit of Mozart, Handel, or even the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

People my age - of all ages, in fact - simply do not understand the beauty and value of classical music in this world.

Speaking as a full-time chorus addict, my opinion may seem slightly biased. After all, I am one of those high school choir students who has no problem devoting several nights a week to rehearsals, changing from one choir dress to another in the car between concerts and sitting on a cafeteria floor until 10 p.m. waiting to audition for a prestigious honor choir.

But I can say with 100 percent certainty that no type of music has shaped my life more than classical music, particularly choral music.

I've been playing the piano for two-thirds of my life and singing for slightly less time, and since then I've known that there's just something about classical music that sets it apart from all other genres.

In my experience, I've found that people who are involved with choir or orchestra, especially teachers and directors, are more dedicated to their groups than anyone I've seen in any other field. Should I ever achieve a successful career in music, I will owe everything to the amazing directors I've had who are incredible passionate about their work.

Not many teachers work 60- to 70-hour weeks in preparation for one particular event, like my chorus teacher Daniel Compher does for our annual pop show, School House Rock. Normal field trips aren't usually to China, where Dr. Lynne Gackle led the Gulf Coast Youth Choirs last summer.

Studies that originated at the University of California have shown that listening to classical music - particularly works by Mozart - stimulates the creative and motivational functions of the brain, has a positive effect on one's spatial reasoning and communication skills and generally calms listeners. Music therapy in hospitals and other medical establishments is becoming as common as physical therapy to treat patients with everything from autism to cancer.

But the effects of classical music aren't limited to a hospital. A common love of music brings people who were originally complete strangers together, to form one distinct voice that creates something moving and beautiful, no matter the text or the tempo.

Groups like the Master Chorale of Tampa, the Florida Orchestra, and my personal choral home, the Gulf Coast Youth Choirs, perform regularly around the Tampa area. I urge you to listen in to a concert the next time you have a chance; the benefits you reap will more than cover the cost of the ticket.

A song my eighth-grade school choir performed, "The Music Speaks for Me" by Philip Silvey, summarizes the feeling perfectly:

"The music speaks for me, as only music can. And when my tongue trips and hesitates, the music communicates when words will never do."

Camille Beredjick is a member of the Gulf Coast Youth Choirs and Chamberlain High School's Act I ensemble and is an eclectic music lover whose tastes range from Vivaldi to Van Halen.

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