“All four TV stations are here and there's a satellite dish on my front lawn!” Cincinnati Boychoir director Randall Wolfe exclaimed the next day from his Mason home.

        TV spots about the duo, who both live in West Chester, were aired nationwide on CNN. Shortly before they left for Vienna, CBS-TV flew them to New York for a Jan. 2 interview with Bryant Gumbel on The Early Show.

        Peter Morabito, Boychoir composer-in-residence, went with the singers to New York and accompanied them on piano in “God Bless America.” Dr. Wolfe was already in Vienna, preparing to introduce his proteges to Vienna director Gerald Wirth and show them around their home-away-from-home.

        Dr. Wolfe, who returned to Cincinnati last week, reports that they are adjusting to attending school in a foreign language, learning new music and making new friends.

        “They didn't sleep on the plane, and it's all so new,” Dr. Wolfe says.

        Sooner than they expected, the boys were provisionally accepted into the Haydn Choir, one of four touring choirs. Their names are already listed on the Wiener Sangerknaben Web site: wsk.at.

        The choir plans a three-month Japan tour, April 7-July 8.

        “All being well, they should be on their way to Japan in April,” Vienna Boys Choir spokesperson Dr. Tina Breckwoldt reports.

        But before that, the young singers will make their Vienna debuts Feb. 23-24 in the world premiere of a new children's opera.

        “Obviously, they're fitting in very well,” Dr. Wolfe says, adding that their biggest challenge right now is learning German.

        “Rehearsals go on in German, much of which they can't understand,” he says.

        Only one other American has ever joined the Vienna Boys Choir in its 500-year history.

        Coming together: About 300 turned out Jan. 12 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's second annual “Lift Every Voice,” a stirring preconcert gospel event in Music Hall.

        Two gospel choirs raised the roof in Corbett Tower, and the audience clapped and sang along enthusiastically. The sold-out program, hosted by Channel 12 anchor Dayna Eubanks, included examples of types of gospel — from traditional to calypso and blues-influenced music.

        “Gospel music will make you feel something, whether you want to or not,” announced director Reginald Butler, as his Exalted Gospel Ensemble launched into an energetic “Jesus Lifted Me.”

        The cross-cultural journey included explanations of conducting styles, demonstrated by Mr. Butler and Dr. Donna Cox, chair of the music department at the University of Dayton, and UD's Ebony Heritage Singers.

        In the audience, Dr. Barbara Thompson, a music teacher at Roselawn Condon School, appreciated the musical exchange.

        “Our children are not exposed to symphony music,” she said, pointing to a group of students from Taft High School. “This provides an opportunity for discussion around ways we can come together and discuss our various cultures.”

        Echoed her husband, the Rev. Taylor Thompson, pastor of Quinn Chapel AME Church in Forest Park, “Music transcends culture and touches all of our hearts. It crosses all ages and ethnic backgrounds.”

        Others wished that it was more than a once-a-year affair, and that the symphony had made a thematic connection to the concert that followed.

        “I'm troubled by the fact in the 21st century, we still use the term "multicultural,' ” the Rev. Dr. Vanessa Allen Brown said. “It should be inclusive. It shouldn't be separated; it shouldn't be one time a year.”

        That point was not lost on CSO board chair Daniel Hoffheimer.

        “I feel sorry for all the white people who aren't here, but we're going to work on it,” he said.

        Amernet update: The Amernet String Quartet, quartet-in-residence at Northern Kentucky University, has begun a search for a new first violinist. Violinist Erez Ofer was named concertmaster of the Berlin Radio Orchestra earlier this year. He will appear with the quartet through the remainder of this season.

        “Our goal remains to make music at the highest level, but also to find someone who sees the importance of education,” cellist Javier Arias says.

        In its Jan. 29 concert in Greaves Concert Hall at NKU, the quartet will give the Tristate premiere of Stephen Dankner's Sixth String Quartet. Dr. Dankner is chair of the music department of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and faculty member at Loyola University.

        “It is post-romantic music, with beautiful melodies. It's very lush,” Mr. Arias says.

        The program includes Darius Milhaud's rarely heard La Creation du Monde — in piano quintet version.

        The pianist joining them is 18-year-old NKU student Anna Polusmiak, who has won first prize in two international piano competitions and performed with the Montreal Symphony.

        The concert is at 7:30 p.m. with a pre-concert talk at 7 p.m. It is free. (859) 572-6399.

        New leaders: The Dayton Philharmonic has a new concertmaster. Lucas Aleman-Delgado, 25, is Dayton's new first-chair violinist. He has been concertmaster for the Royal Philharmonia of Galicia (Spain) since 1999, where he has worked with former CSO music director Jesus Lopez-Cobos.

        And in Batavia, the Clermont Philharmonic Orchestra is beginning its sixth season with a new music director, a new Clermont Philharmonic Community Chorus and a new support organization: the CPO League.

        James Hagberg of Anderson Township succeeds Paul Stanbery as music director. The orchestra is holding auditions for volunteer choristers; 30 have already joined.

        The next concert is 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16, at UC's Clermont College in Batavia. For information or to audition for the chorus, call 732-2561.

        Family talent: In case you missed it, Kristjan Jarvi, younger brother of CSO maestro Paavo Jarvi, was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Small Ensemble Performance category for Absolution, with his Absolute Ensemble.

        Early music startup: There's a new period instrument ensemble in Cincinnati. The Catacoustic Consort, based in Glendale, presents music for groups (consorts) of viola da gamba. The instrument, predominant in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, is similar to a cello and comes in several sizes.

        “It's really a family of instruments,” says founder Annalisa Pappano, who plays treble, tenor and bass viola da gamba, plus an Italian instrument called the lirone.

        The goal, the Richmond, Ind., native says, is to bring experts of this unique genre “and let people know that we have some world-class performances here.”

        At the group's first concert (Saturday at Christ Church of Glendale) several distinguished artists were scheduled to appear: countertenor Steven Rickards, who records for Harmonia Mundi and other labels; Wendy Gillespie, an internationally acclaimed viola da gamba player; John Mark Rozendaal, whose Chicago Baroque Ensemble records for Centaur and Cedille Records; and Craig Trompeter. Information: 772-3242 or apappano@yahoo.com.

        School music: Readers are still reacting to “The bands are back” (Dec. 2), a story about the comeback of music in public schools.

        John Zulli, music director of Covedale Elementary writes: “I only wish Covedale could have been a part of (the story), for we have one of the most active, healthy elementary programs in the area.”

        Carol Kortekamp e-mailed: “I was especially interested in the information about Withrow High School, my alma mater. I was there during the "Smittie' years (band director George G. "Smittie' Smith) and the Withrow Minstrels (which became the Sounds of Withrow). I fondly remember the band room where he taught harmony.”

        And in West Chester, a new non-profit organization augments Lakota School District music programs, founder Steve Kuhn writes. The Children's Performing Arts of Lakota offers drama classes, a chorus and a new strings program.

        “We have more than 150 children and expect 300 this winter semester,” Mr. Kuhn says.
       
       Contact Janelle Gelfand at 768-8382; fax: 768-8330; e-mail: jgelfand@enquirer.com.

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