I was a Stokes County kid. I knew how to harvest tobacco and I knew how to drive a tractor. I had never heard an orchestra, only strings in a blue grass band.
When I went to high school, I took chorus for an elective subject. The teacher was cool, with hair down to his shoulders and a fast, peppy walk. Our chorus was large, with almost 90 members. He exposed us to music from different eras in history. We would sing a capella madrigals and songs in different languages. What was wrong with this guy? Did he not realize that he had a bunch of farmers in his class?
The crazy thing is, yes, he knew we were rural, and he knew that our musical experience was severely limited, but he opened up a world of history and beauty through that chorus class. He would take us to competitions and we would return with superior ratings. Amazing things were accomplished musically in our chorus.
