BACH, BEETHOVEN AND BEHAVIOR

BACH, BEETHOVEN AND BEHAVIOR
In 19?? Elvira Voth determined to leave her home of Anchorage, Alaska and return to the land of her birth in Kansas. Being retired, Elvira wished to make a difference. She approached the warden of the East Lansing Minimum Security Prison with the hope of starting a volunteer chorus in the prison. Her request was not welcomed, given the fact that the warden was concerned about being able to “protect” Elvira within the confines of the prison. She assured him that “the music would protect her”. The first day she met with the inmates, she asked which ones were basses, and which tenors. They did not seem to know, since they had no experience in determining range. She vocalized the group and determined which were low (bass), which were high (tenor) and which were medium (baritone). At that point she divided them up within those three vocal parts and gave them a note to sing. C for the basses, E for the baritones and G for the tenors, creating a C major chord. One of the men became emotionally moved to tears in the process inquiring what they had just done. Elvira explained that it was harmony. He admitted that he had never experienced anything like that. They continued to sing the chord over and over again. A number of the men were moved by the experience. What the inmate was articulating goes far beyond musical matters but responds to the directives noted in the Department of Labor report of 1991 relating to the importance of learning to work within a community. After a period of time, the chorus began to achieve at a good level. Elvira invited men from her church (Mennonites) to join with the prisoners on occasions and rehearse with them. When the chorus achieved exceptional performance skills, Elvira convinced the warden to allow them to perform on the outside with security. The Governor of Kansas heard of this phenomena and invited the chorus to appear at the state capitol on Martin Luther King day on ???, 19?? The reception was overwhelming, and one of the inmates confided in Elvira saying “do you know what it feels like to be applauded when all your life you’ve been told you’re not worth anything. A number of these men will ultimately return to society, and Elvira’s dream is to assist them in gaining skills to make that transition. One of the inmates has since been paroled but returns to rehearse and perform with the chorus. He does so because it is the first time in his life he has felt part of a noble activity and a community. In speaking to Elvira about his wonderful project, I said “it must feel so wonderful to have made such a difference in the lives of these men”. She responded by saying “yes, but it’s too late! Where were we when these men were in the 5th grade? Perhaps if we had been there for them, they would not be here.” Though Elvira recognizes the profound good she is doing she is right about the proactive power of helping young people in the formative years.