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Royally Talented
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Saginaw News, Royally Talented >>
By Janet I. Martineau
Starting at age 8, Christopher Gabbitas immersed himself in the rich choral traditions of his native England. He sang in the Rochester Cathedral choir, received a music scholarship to Uppingham School and to St. John's College in Cambridge, sang with and directed
The Gentlemen of St. John's, sang with King's College Collegium Regale in Cambridge and the Christ Church Cathedral Choir in Oxford. But his college degree?
In 2003, he became a practicing lawyer. It was a short-lived job, however, staying put in a legal office, surrounded by four walls.
"Out of the blue one day, one of the King's Singers called and said my name had been mentioned as a replacement for one of their members who was leaving," recalls baritone Gabbitas, 26, in a call from England. "I decided to give it a shot. It's been two years now, and while it's tiring with the constant traveling and hard work with the singing, I am enjoying every single moment. It's incredibly rewarding."
After all, he'd heard the prestigious a cappella sextet since he was a kid, when his parents played "A Portrait of the King's Singers" over and over during long journeys in the car.
The group is one of the world's most sought-after and acclaimed vocal ensembles. Its members have sung in such venues as New York's Lincoln Center and Washington's Kennedy Center, with the world's major orchestras and the Boston Pops and on television from programs on PBS to "The Tonight Show."
So far they've commissioned 200 works and recorded 70 CDs, several of which were nominated for Grammys.
On Sunday, Feb. 12, the ensemble performs in Saginaw's Temple Theatre as a part of the Saginaw Valley Concert Association's 2005-2006 season. On the program is a medley of four folksongs and shanties, "Horizons" by Peter Louis van Dijk, "Timepiece" by Paul Patterson, a trio of Spanish Renaissance songs, and, in honor of St. Valentine's Day, a group of love songs from the group's repertoire of jazz, folk and pop.
Gabbitas says becoming a member of the King's Singers is by invitation only. "You cannot advertise or ask for the job. What happens is, you need to be involved in the choral traditions in Cambridge, Oxford or London, and I was involved in all three. You are just observed, unknowingly, and then when an opening comes you are called. I never dreamed I'd get one of those calls." Nor, he says, after that call is received is there a typical audition. Rather, he says, the prospective member sings with the whole group, every style in its vast repertoire, as the leaving member listens.
"They want to hear the sound you produce within the group, as a part of the group. We have an enormous range of music, from soft breathy tones to dynamic songs, all kinds of different colors, and you have to do it all. "
The leaving member stands apart and listens and then everybody comments. Is your voice malleable to the group sound?" He passed the test. There is something like 3,000 to 4,000 pieces of vocal literature in the group's library, he says, collected over its 37-year history. "We cater each program to the audience we are performing for. In Saginaw, it will be lighter fare. In a church we can do all religious works. At this point I've sung probably a couple of hundred of the group's pieces, and we are always adding new material."
The group runs democratically, he says. There is a manager who handles the bookings, but everything else is shared by the six singers. No surprise, then, that he serves as the legal council.
Members who've been with the group for the most years offer the expertise on what is marketable and successful. They choose the repertoire collectively.
He notes with pride that last year the group recorded "Sacred Bridges" with the middle eastern musicians of Sarband, one of many collaborations the sextet also fosters. "It shows how the Jewish, Islamic and Christian faith all use the Psalms of David, and we're backed up by Turkish musicians. It's an important work in showing how we are all alike."
Gabbitas is engaged and anticipating a wedding this summer -- to an American actress "who was sitting in the front row of a concert we did in Lexington, Ky." He flew ahead to visit her before the U.S. tour starts this month; even though he'd just returned from a tour to Germany. She is, he says, finishing up a degree in psychology before she goes back to acting. "The plan is we'll marry and she'll move to England. We'll live in London, where she will seek acting jobs and get British citizenship. "Then we'll move to the U.S. so I can get American citizenship; dual citizenship for us both. And the plans are we'll settle here."
At this point, he says, he has set no timetable for how long he'll stay on the road with the King's Singers, mindful some of members of the group are nearing 20-year tenures. "I just don't think about it. I'm too busy enjoying the present." The King's Singers concert in Saginaw is sponsored by Stevens Worldwide Van Lines. 02/04/06 >> go there
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