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CHALLENGE How shall we teach A child to reach Beyond himself and touch The stars, We, who have stooped so much? How shall we say to Him, "The way of life Is through the gate Of Love" We, who have learned to hate? Author Unknown Great ideals and principles do not live from genera- tion to generation just because they are right, not even because they are carefully legislated. Ideals and principles continue from generation to genera- tion only when they are built into the hearts of children as they grow up. --George S. Benson from "World Scouting" RECIPE (For one dealing with children) Take lots and lots of common sense, Mix well with some intelligence; Add patience, it will take enough To keep it all from being tough; Remove all nerves (there's no place for them, Childish noises only jar them); Sprinkle well with ready laughter, This adds a better flavor after; Put sense of humor in to spice it, Add love and understanding. Ice it With disposition sweet and mild, You're ready now to train a child. --Margaret Hite Yarbrough CHORISTERS GUILD LETTERS Volume XIII 1961-62 September Number 1 Ruth Krehbiel Jacobs, Founder Arthur Leslie Jacobs, Editor Norma Lowder, Associate Editor Helen Kemp and Nancy Poore Tufts, Contributing Editors Published for its members by the CHORISTERS GUILD Box 211 Santa Barbara, California Copyright (C) 1961 Choristers Guild - 1 - Several years ago, the following appeared in the first Fall issue of the Letters. The inventory is as pertinent today as then, and should be used by all of us as a check chart. Honest evaluations are necessary. PERSONAL INVENTORY IF you were not satisfied with your choir last season, if the attendance was not what you had hoped for, discipline left something to be desired, the children's response was half-hearted:--then check your stock of the following items-- I. ENTHUSIASM. Can you get excited about your work? Or is it an endurance con- test? If you find it dull and depressing, you can be sure it is the same for the children. How you feel about your work is as important as how much you know about it. And how you feel about it is sure to be reflected in the children. You have a job that is worth getting enthusiastic about. Enjoy the fine experiences it brings you, and learn to forget the little irritations. What happens in one rehearsal may influence a whole life. 2. CAN YOU OVERLOOK? Benjamin Franklin once said, "There is a time to wink, acid a time to see." Learn to distinguish between natural ordinary wiggling, and inten- tional disturbance. 3. INTERESTING. Discipline, anyhow, is a sign of failure. If you could make the work interesting enough, there would be little trouble. More work and less worry! Learning music can be either exciting or dull. What it is to you, it will surely be to the children, too. 4. HUMOR. If you can't see a joke, work on yourself until you can. If something funny happens in rehearsal, enjoy the situation and let everyone else enjoy it, too. It's much better for everybody to laugh together, than for some to be laugh- ing at others. The better your sense of humor, the more you will enjoy your chil- dren. 5. HUMAN. Don't set yourself up as infallible. If you make a mistake, admit it. Keep a kindly human attitude. An act of kindness brings more respect than harsh disciplinary measures. More is accomplished through love than fear. Every Children's Choir director should possess these five qualities, each in some degree. If you are dissatisfied with your choir, it will pay to take inventory of your supply of these five qualities. CT,---0JETJr-c)62 LLD 0 LJLD (IT° CYO LL3 GREETINGS -- to all new members -- the Guild is one big family which welcomes you warmly into their fellowship. While the Guild for business considerations, must maintain a legal organization, yet clothed on that skeleton structure is a group of persons dedicated to the noble and worthy cause of Christian Character through Children's Choirs. This family seeks to help you, and indeed is anxious to do so. We are on a first name basis without loss of respect for each is a brother or sister in our work. Please feel free to write any member of this, your Christian family which certainly includes the staff and me. Any individual pro- blem in your work will be helpfully approached. Your letter will be answered. - 2 - GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL Norma Lowder Nearly three hundred years ago, when the United States was only a small group of colonies, George Frederick Handel was born in the German village of Halle. As a very young boy, George thought music was the loveliest thing in the world. He organized a toy band, listened attentively to the rehearsals of the church choir, and frequently joined groups of wandering minstrels who sang as they slowly walked along the streets. George decided before he ever entered school that his was to be a life filled with music. His father, however, was determined that George would grow up to be a fine gentleman. Music, said Dr. Handel, was not for gentlemen but only for wandering minstrels whose songs begged for food and cloth- ing. No, his son was to be a lawyer. When George was seven, he entered the village school. His teacher, Schoolmas- ter Praetorius, was patient and kind; best of all, at the end of the school day, he would play on the small spinet simple tunes which he had composed. George watched and listened so intently that finally Mr. Praetorius invited him to try the spinet. This was a dream come true. Rapidly he hurried home to tell his Aunt Anna, who shared his love of music, of his wonderful experience. As the days went by, George studied hard, for each day that he prepared his lessons well he was allowed to play the beloved instrument. Then came his seventh birthday. Dared he believe his good fortune? Yes, his Aunt Anna had bought him a spinet. Though it was an old, worn instrument with battered keys, it was to George the beginning of a lifetime filled with the cre- ation of beautiful melodies and harmonies. For now, however, the instrument had to be hidden in a far corner of the attic; Dr. Handel would never approve such a gift. Each string had to be carefully wound with cloth so that when it was played, there would be no sound in the rooms below. George spent all his spare minutes at the spinet; often late at night, when everyone else was asleep, he would steal away to the attic and practice in the cold and the dark - loving every minute of it. One day his father, who was a doctor, was summoned to the court of the Duke of Wessenfels, forty miles from Halle. George begged to go along, for he had heard tales of the beautiful music at the court. Dr. Handel was too busy to be bothered with his young son; he quickly climbed into the carriage and set out on the long journey to the court. At first George gazed wistfully as the carriage rumbled off into the distance; then with a sudden burst of determination, George started running after the coach just as fast as he could run. It was mid-morning before the coach stopped to give the horses a rest. Imagine Dr. Handel's surprise to hear the voice of his son, still begging to be taken to the court! George was much too tired to walk the long miles home, so Dr. Handel had no choice but to allow the boy to crawl into the coach and ride on to Wessenfels. The days that followed were busy ones for Dr. Handel. As he went about his duties, young George listened to the beautiful organ music in the chapel. Little by little he crept closer and closer to the console until finally the organist in- vited George to sit on the bench and to play the music he had learned on his spinet The organist was so astonished at the skill with which George played that he in- vited him to play the organ each day. One Sunday the organist suddenly turned to George, who was sitting beside him, and asked that George finish playing the service. With fear and trembling, but without hesitation, George completed the difficult music of the service without error. The Duke of Wessenfels was so astonished that he insisted on meeting the boy at once. When he discovered that George had had no lessons and had taught - 3 - George Frederick Handel, Continued himself on the small spinet in the attic of his home, the Duke immediately sent for Dr. Hanel. The doctor admitted that George enjoyed music, but added that he was to become a lawyer; music was still not for him. Much to George's delight, the Duke filled his pockets with gold and demanded that he have the best possible training. Once home, George began to study with Herr Zachau, the finest musician in town. Not only did he study organ, but he learned to play violin and oboe as well, and to write down the music that kept flowing through his mind. By the time he was seventeen,he had been appointed organist of the cathedral. Soon Herr Zachau, who had taught the boy all he knew, urged George to travel to Berlin, where he could hear the best musicians of his day.

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