{"id":5222,"date":"2021-01-11T15:36:27","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T15:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amateurmusic.org\/info\/?p=5222"},"modified":"2021-01-14T03:03:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T03:03:11","slug":"blogpostashwalker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amateurmusic.org\/coda\/blogpostashwalker\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Ash Walker, Choral Director and Community Musician"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In November 2019, when Ash Walker applied to become the music director of Pacific Edge Voices<\/a>, he was full of ideas for taking the acclaimed Berkeley choral group\u2014originally called Pacific Mozart Ensemble\u2014beyond its 40th<\/sup> anniversary and into an exciting and creative future. By the time his appointment was officially announced, in August 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had upended his\u2014and the world\u2019s\u2014plans. Ash has risen to the unprecedented challenge in this new job and in his other roles: as professor of voice at Las Positas Community College in Livermore and as cantor and choir director at St. Mary\u2019s Cathedral of the Assumption in San Francisco. As he told us in a phone interview, \u201cThe pandemic has pushed me to be more than I thought possible as a musician and choral director.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ash Walker<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your musical background? How did you first become involved with choral music?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grew up in Philadelphia in a family of nine children, and I\u2019m the only one who participates in music. The strange thing is, I was born deaf\u2014I had a severe case of otitis media, with 80 percent hearing loss in both ears. It took three surgeries, with tubes implanted in my ears, to restore my hearing. I was about 5 then, and I stuttered and required speech therapy. But I didn\u2019t stutter when I sang at church and in my school choir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually I joined the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale and had the opportunity to tour with them. We went to Switzerland and France when I was 10, and later to South Africa and to Australia, where we sang in the Sydney Opera House. On my last tour with them, in 1999, we went to Cuba. We were the first American choir to perform in Cuba since the 1950s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who have been your musical influences?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first one was my third-grade teacher at John Story Jenks School in Philadelphia, Shirley Lewine. She noticed that I could sing and had a musical ear, and she recommended me for the Philadelphia Boys Choir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My second important mentor was Dr. Buddy James, the director of choirs at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, which I attended after high school. He\u2019s the greatest teacher I\u2019ve ever worked with. In fact, he\u2019s the reason I\u2019m in California. He moved here to teach at Cal State East Bay, in Hayward, and I eventually followed him here to earn my master\u2019s degree in music pedagogy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes Dr. James a great teacher?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first is repertoire. Knowing what people like to sing and what people like to hear. Knowing that music has to engage and connect with audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second is honesty about expectations. His expectations for us were high, and we had to at least attempt to reach them. He wasn\u2019t an easy teacher, but his approach made me a more dedicated and focused musician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the third is his ability to connect specifically with people of color. He\u2019s a white man, and here I was, a young Black man from Philadelphia, coming to Lancaster, Pennsylvania\u2014the heart of Amish country\u2014and wondering who I\u2019d connect with. I was nervous, but Dr. James made it a point to reach out to me and other students of color. Cal State East Bay, where he teaches now, has the highest rate of diversity and inclusion of any college in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of the pandemic, choirs are not singing together in person. How are you adapting?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the pandemic I think singers took singing for granted. Now people are recognizing not just the power of choral music but also the necessity of community singing. For a choir to sound not just good but great <\/em>you have to like and trust your fellow singers. That\u2019s my challenge: to motivate my singers to like and respect one another. Sometimes that means our rehearsals\u2014on Zoom now\u2014are devoted to talking about issues other than music. For example, at one recent meeting we talked about the insurrection in the Capitol, in Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can music help build community?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2010, when I was living in Lancaster, I started a choir called Music for Everyone Community Chorus<\/a>. It was for all voices, with no auditions. How do you get a choir like that to sound good? Well, I taught by rote\u2014no sheet music. Everyone had to listen to me and then sing from memory. We sang music from different countries\u2014Russia, Spain, Asian countries\u2014in multiple parts and harmonies. That choir became one of the biggest accomplishments of my career. In 2013, our album Renovatio<\/em> won a Grammy nomination. And the chorus is still going strong even though I\u2019m no longer directing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pacific Edge Voices is also an amateur group, but at a higher level. I\u2019m employing some of the same techniques with them that I used in Lancaster. I\u2019ve done some rote teaching\u2014of African songs, for example\u2014and for singers who are used to reading sheet music that can be hard. It kind of flips the script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is Pacific Edge Voices continuing to sing together during this time of social distancing?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been using JackTrip Virtual Studio<\/a> technology, which allows us to rehearse and perform in real time, via Zoom, with zero latency. It\u2019s also helped us improve our listening and balancing skills from the comfort and safety of our homes. It\u2019s a significant adaptation\u2014one that not many groups are using yet. We\u2019re pretty excited about it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone who attends our January 18 open rehearsal will be able to see how the technology works. It\u2019s Martin Luther King Day, so we\u2019ll sing some spirituals and talk about what\u2019s happening in our world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want the choir\u2019s repertoire to always connect with what\u2019s happening in the world around us. Our March program will include only music by women and people of color. It\u2019s inspired by Leonard Cohen\u2019s 1997 song \u201cThe Great Event\u201d: \u201cThe world will be restored to justice very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top photo: A Pacific Edge Voices rehearsal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, January 18, at 7:30 p.m. PST, Pacific Edge Voices will hold an open rehearsal via Zoom. Everyone is invited to watch, listen, and participate from home. Read more and sign up to attend.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In November 2019, when Ash Walker applied to become the music director of Pacific Edge Voices, he was full of ideas for taking the acclaimed Berkeley choral group\u2014originally called Pacific Mozart Ensemble\u2014beyond its 40th anniversary and into an exciting and creative future. By the time his appointment was officially announced, in August 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had upended his\u2014and the world\u2019s\u2014plans. Ash has risen to the unprecedented challenge in this new job and in his other roles: as professor of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21,26],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet Ash Walker, Choral Director and Community Musician - Amateur Music Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/amateurmusic.org\/info\/blogpostashwalker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet Ash Walker, Choral Director and Community Musician - Amateur Music Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In November 2019, when Ash Walker applied to become the music director of Pacific Edge Voices, he was full of ideas for taking the acclaimed Berkeley choral group\u2014originally called Pacific Mozart Ensemble\u2014beyond its 40th anniversary and into an exciting and creative future. By the time his appointment was officially announced, in August 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had upended his\u2014and the world\u2019s\u2014plans. 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