By Angela E. Pometto
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 4/21/05)

The pure and innocent voices of more than 100 children rang through St. John Neumann Church in Reston last Saturday. Children’s Choir Day brought singers from throughout the Washington area together to make a beautiful noise for the Lord.

The day was sponsored by the Washington-Baltimore and Arlington chapters of the National Pastoral Musicians (NPM) and continues a more than five year tradition.

According to Sylvia Mulherin, director of the children’s choir St. Mary of Sorrows in Fairfax and NPM member, last year’s event was a festival that included performances from each group. This year, the day was set up as a clinic and became a learning experience for the kids.

Guest conductor and composer John Horman worked with the children throughout the day, and their new skills were showcased during the 5 p.m. vigil Mass.

Horman instructed the children on proper sitting and standing positions, how to round out vowel sounds and breathing techniques. Horman admitted that several of the day’s pieces were difficult to sing, but most of the work in preparing the pieces was done by the individual choir directors.

"I waltz in and wave my arms, but they learned the music from others," he said.

Horman, a member of Warner Memorial Presbyterian Church in Kensington, Md., has worked with children’s choirs for nearly 25 years. He helped the young singers get through the day by allowing them to stand and sit periodically. He told stories and made them laugh.

"I like the sound of their voices," said Horman. "It’s lighter and sweeter sound than adult voices. There’s purity there."

The youngsters enjoy traveling to a new place and singing with a large group. This experience will help them develop singing habits that can be taken back to their parish or school choir, said Mulherin.

"This encourages young people to sing in choirs," Mulherin said. It improves each child’s singing ability while supporting music specifically for Mass.

"It’s been a great opportunity for the children to sing with good singers," said Heather Smith, director of the children’s choir at St. John Neumann, adding that the children enjoyed the chance to sing with such a big group and with a well-respected conductor.

According to Smith, children in this area are involved with so many different activities, that it becomes difficult to keep them interested in religious activities.

"This is incentive for them to stay," Smith said.

Debra Wisniewski, a parent from All Saints Parish in Manassas, had two children participating.

"As a young child, the avenues to serve God are limited," she said. The children enjoy the music and singing, and many have made friends within the choir.

"They sound beautiful," she said, adding that all the hard work pays off. "This is a big spiritual bouquet of prayers to God."