by Lydia I. Matinov
Lights? Check. Audience? Check. Voices? Check! Next is the conductor! I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Ken Abrams, the artistic director of the Danville Girls Chorus. Since 1992, Mr. Abrams has been conducting singers of all ages, and has won multiple awards, as well as, competitions. I am very excited to share his inspiring story.
Why did you choose choral conducting and performing arts as your career?
I didn’t choose it at first. I chose to be a music major, and then, after I graduated, somebody said, “Hey, you’ve worked with my high school choirs, and you did really well. You should consider being a teacher.” That’s when I said, “Maybe”. Right after college is when I made the choice to do that.
What is your favorite part about your job?
My favorite part is getting the students prepared and working through rehearsals. Then, watching them soar in a concert.
What challenges have you faced throughout your career?
Many challenges. Financial is the first one. Not getting any money for my program, or my accompanist, and having to sell candy, and do everything possible to have a choir to direct. That was one of the hardest things. There’s been a lot of cutbacks in the schools over the years. They’re facing more this year. That was always difficult, when they were laying people off, or told me they do not have a job. And three, sometimes just having a rotten-egg student can be a real pain. It’s the good ones that make it all worthwhile.
What was the most valuable thing you learned while studying choral conducting?
One of the things somebody said was “Expect, and communicate, and you will not be disappointed.”, and I’ve always remembered that. If you give them the expectation; tell them what you want, how to do it, and what you’re expecting, more often than not, they will come through with flying colors.
What advice can you give to anyone who would like to pursue a career in musical arts?
Just make sure you have all the training you can get. Musical arts is a big field, but if you want to be a teacher, learning how to play piano helps a lot. If you’re in musical arts, then you must try singing the absolute best you can and learning to read music. And, if you’re going to be in musical theater, add dancing to that, as well.
You have received many prestigious awards, and your choirs have won numerous competitions. Can you comment on your incredible success and have you ever imagined that you would be such a highly sought after artistic director?
Never. Never imagined that. It just kind of happened, and I got better and better the older I got, and I got Teacher of the Year for California. Two years ago, my choirs won many-many awards and competitions, but they had to work really hard to do that.
Can you share a funny or interesting story that happened sometime during your career?
There were a lot of funny stories. We did musicals every other year, and there was lots of fun stuff that would happen: a lot of silly things with kids falling off the risers, or sneezing, or fainting in the middle of a song.
Is there anything else you would like people to know?
What’s wonderful about being in a choir is that singing is something you can do your whole life. It’s something that you don’t have to have an instrument for. You can just do it by virtue of your body helping you accomplish singing. I hope that my singers with Danville Girls Chorus and the ones that I had in high school use it, value it, and continue exercising it their whole life long.
For more information regarding the Danville Girls Chorus, visit danvillegirlschorus.org.
The Lighthouse 