A Tribute to Brock McElheran

I asked Martin Banner, the person who sent me the news of Brock McElheran's passing, to share a personal remembrance of Brock. He quickly sent me the following tribute:

In 1969, as a high school senior, I was selected to sing in the MENC All-Eastern High School Choir in Washington D.C. While the name of the guest conductor meant nothing to me at the time, the choice of repertoire blew me away. Included on the program were several double choruses from Handel's Israel In Egypt and the last movement of Gabrieli's "In Eclesiis", all with orchestra. When I arrived in Washington for the first rehearsal, the young singers were met by this conductor of limitless energy, a great sense of humor and a stickler for detail. During rehearsals, the guest conductor often went flying around and through the choir of 400, climbing over chairs to stand next to as many of us as possible to listen and encourage us as we sang. This was my introduction to Brock McElheran. When I began applying to colleges, I jumped at the chance to work with Brock when I received my acceptance letter to the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, New York.

As a freshman at Crane, I sang in the large choir, Crane Chorus, and was immediately thrown into music that would shape me as a musician for the rest of my life. Brock's choice of repertoire was all new to me that year, where my initiation into college choral music began with a December performance of the Penderecki "Dies Irae" and Bach "Magnificat". It was during this time that I became aware of Brock's love and passion for both Baroque and Avant Garde music, the latter evidenced by his personal work with Penderecki, Stockhausen and Xenakkis.

Later on during my four years at Crane, I would be admitted as a member of Collegiate Singers, the elite 40 voice choral ensemble at Crane conducted by Brock, an experience which for me reached a high point my senior year singing the Bach B Minor Mass under Brock's baton. It was under Brock's direction that I realized the joy and exhilaration of singing Bach at its most spirited. In addition to singing in Brock's choruses, I also studied conducting with Brock for several years, such training ultimately leading to my being asked to conduct a fully staged production of Mozart's Bastien und Bastienne at Crane during my senior year.

The summers of 1972 and 1973 were spent, following an invitation by Brock, to attend the Saratoga-Potsdam Choral Institute in Saratoga, New York, singing in the chorus that Brock prepared to perform with the Philadephia Orchestra under Ormandy and Rafael Fruebeck de Burgos. I was also able to get to know several of the faculty members at the Institute, including Frank Pooler, Stanley Chapple, Lee Kjelson, and last but not least, Julius Herford, with whom I was able to take two separate analysis courses, one on the Bach B Minor Mass and one on the Beethoven Missa Solemnis. When rehearsals and classes were over, it was not unusual for a bunch of us to take the likes of Chapple or Herford to Friendly's for an ice cream and chat about music, life and anything else that happened to come up. These are experiences that never would have happened to me if Brock McElheran had not invited me to sing in the Saratoga-Potsdam Choral Institute.

During my senior year at Crane, I began interviewing with school districts for my first teaching job after I graduated. That December, Brock and I had coffee together in the lounge of the administration building before heading off to his Avant Garde Music class, when he asked me to consider auditioning for the choral conducting graduate program at Temple University, something I had not previously given any thought. Within no time, I had auditioned, was accepted and entered the program the next Fall. Again, encouragement by Brock to do something that would have a major impact on my musical life.

It is with great sadness that I learned of Brock's passing, but am at the same time feel so lucky and fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience his musicianship, his warmth, his sense of humor, his caring.

Thanks for sharing this, Martin. Tributes to former teachers is an important part of our small community.