Wordless "Ave Maria" Silenced by Principal -- Teen Sues

OK, so it's not exactly choral news, but it is related to our profession because it involves music, sacred texts, and boneheaded unwise administrators.

Here's the story: a teen is suing her high school principal because the principal did not allow the band to play an instrumental arrangement of Biebel's "Ave Maria" at their high school graduation.

That's right, it was a piece of instrumental music without text -- and refused on religious grounds. I'm not surprised that the teens were moved by the profound sounds of Biebel's most famous choral work. I do find it difficult to believe that a wordless version of the music would be refused because of the name of the piece.

Here's the entire story from The Seattle Times with some relevant quotes below.

For years, seniors in the wind ensemble at Henry M. Jackson High School have selected a favorite piece of music to play during commencement. For last month's ceremonies, the 17 students chose an instrumental version of "Ave Maria," which they had performed at a school concert in December 2004.

But their choice was vetoed by Dr. Carol Whitehead, superintendent of the Everett School District. Now Kathryn Nurre, an 18-year-old who played alto saxophone in the ensemble before graduating, is suing Whitehead, claiming the decision violated her First Amendment right to freedom of speech. She believes "Ave Maria" was nixed by Whitehead because she felt the song was too religious for a school-sanctioned event.

"It was our graduation and it was our choice to pick the piece, and we didn't think they should be able to tell us we couldn't," said Nurre, who filed the suit at her mother's suggestion. "I was all for it [the suit] because I didn't know there was anything I could do."

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, is the latest in a string of recent controversies involving religion at graduation ceremonies, and it is likely to add to the voluminous debate about the place of religion in public schools.

Kathryn's mother, Vicki Nurre, said neither her daughter nor the other members of the Mill Creek school's ensemble — who unanimously voted to play "Ave Maria" — were trying to make a religious statement.

"The kids had no agenda when they picked the piece," said Vicki Nurre, of Bothell. "It was a piece they loved, it was a piece they played well ... they were shocked when they were shot out of the water on this."

Lesley Moffat, the school's band director, recorded the wind ensemble playing "Ave Maria" and gave a copy to the school's principal, Terry Cheshire.

Cheshire, in turn, gave the recording to Whitehead, who rejected the choice of "Ave Maria" because of "her belief that the piece is religious in nature," according to the suit, even though no lyrics would be sung or printed in graduation programs.

Special thanks to Vincent Oakes for telling me about this in the same email he told me about a similar news item.