MULTIMEDIA

This text is replaced by the Flash movie.

RELATED POSTS

• Adult and youth ensembles prepare vocal and orchestral treats for the ears

Frederick Burgomaster, Organist & Chior Master for Christ Church Cathedral is shown here at an organ in the cathedral. (Michelle Pemberton for The Star)

Detail photo of Frederick Burgomaster at an organ in the cathedral. (Michelle Pemberton for The Star)

Members of Christ Church Cathedral Choit of Men and Boys look over music at rehearsal. Participation is often a family tradition: Sam Soner (right), 11, and his brother (not shown) are from a family in which multiple generations have been members of the choir. (Michelle Pemberton for The Star)

The playroom equipped with a foosball table right outside the Christ Church Cathedral choir room is just one clue that the singers there aren't run-of-the-mill.

Most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, the subterranean choir room area is populated by high-energy teenage and pre-teen boys. Some seem glued to the Foosball table, others to the piano bench.

When the tall, lanky, bearded gent called "Dr. B" walks in, the boys don't stop their scurrying -- not until he briskly moves to his music stand to start rehearsing for Thursday and Sunday services. He is Frederick Burgomaster, the cathedral's longtime organist and choirmaster, and leader of its internationally known, world-traveling, almost 125-year-old Choir of Men and Boys.

You have been at Christ Church Cathedral for years, and were with a church in Buffalo before that. Both have had well-known youth choirs. What's kept you working with young singers for so long?

One thing is that you can get the sound that you want relatively quickly, because (when they come into the choir) there are no preconceived ideas about singing.

That's the reason we get so many (Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra) people wanting to play here. They enjoy the choir. The other aspect is that you can see young people get excited about a composer like Benjamin Britten. They get excited about great music.

How old are your young choristers?

The treble section of the choir are ages roughly 8 through 14. I'd say the average is age 11 or 12.

The cathedral also has a Girls Choir, doesn't it?

We have a particularly fine group of girls. The boys and girls take separate tours to Europe in the summers, and they also occasionally sing together.

Is there friendly competition between the girls and boys?

Oh, yes, and sometimes not so friendly.

Were you in a boys choir?

I was, at my father's church. He was an Episcopal priest. I have a memory of my father (the Rev. Norman Burgomaster) playing Berlioz's "Roman Carnival Overture." I loved it. My father also used to sing stories to me, like 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears,' in Anglican chant, so I got a taste of church music early.

At what point did you decide to focus on church music as a career?

I was an organist at my father's church. I think I was 12 years old. But I got a Fulbright (grant) to study in Germany with Karl Richter (who had been organist at St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, where J.S. Bach had once served). That got me interested in church music, via Bach. It was inspiring, to say the least. From a musical standpoint, I was more exposed to professional music in Germany. I also realized I was interested in a lot of things rather than just being an organist. I was interested in conducting and choral work.

You earned a doctorate in Los Angeles. What was the classical music scene like there at that time?

Well, at USC (the University of Southern California), the string quartet included (the renowned violinist Jascha) Heifetz, (violist) William Primrose and (cellist Gregor) Piatigorsky. I think Zubin Mehta was at the (Los Angeles) Philharmonic. (Composer Igor) Stravinsky was still around, giving talks on Monday nights at UCLA.

Did you have a church job there?

Yes, at All Saints, Beverly Hills. The organist was going to be on tour with the Roger Wagner Chorale. He heard I was out from New York in graduate school, and he asked if I might fill in for him.

Could you look out into the congregation and see stars?

Fred Astaire. Fredric March was a member. I played the funeral for Jayne Mansfield.

Where did you meet your wife, Mary Ellen?

We met in Munich. She was on a grant -- kind of the German equivalent of a Fulbright. She is from California, and we were both studying with Karl Richter. We got married at All Saints, Beverly Hills, in the summer of 1968.

Here in Indianapolis, where has she worked?

She was organist at First Congregational Church. She just retired this past year.

How do your musical interests vary?

Well, she's very interested in women composers. She teaches a course on that at IUPUI. This is an area where she's trying to convince me to do more music by women composers. But I would say in general that our tastes are pretty close.

Why did you leave Buffalo for Indianapolis?

I had been there nine years, and we had rebuilt the organ and had a new choir room. And one of the very attractive things about Indianapolis as a city was its close proximity to Bloomington. I could draw singers from there. Another reason is that this choir had some of the best men around.

How long have you lived in the Lockerbie neighborhood of Downtown?

I think we moved there in '93. We've been there about 14 years. Our children had grown up and I'd done a sabbatical at Oxford and we had a townhouse. It was so nice to walk everywhere. We wanted to be in an area where there were some trees and had a neighborhood feel.

How do you stay in shape?

I don't work out, but I do a lot of walking. That's about it.

I'm going to go ahead and mention the "r" word. Have you been thinking about retiring?

I have not decided. I have not put any particular date on it. Things are going well.