Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Bobby McFerrin and the Trenton Children’s Chorus present a concert based on improvisation and audience interaction.

By: Jim Boyle

	Bobby McFerrin (above) will perform a benefit concert with the Trenton Children’s Chorus at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial May 1. Sue Ellen Page conducts the chorus (below).

   Listening to Grammy-winning vocalist Bobby McFerrin create songs and melodies with only his mouth and vocal chords, it’s almost impossible not to believe in the power of music. Watching his face and the sheer joy and love he emits, it seems as though he is tapping into something spiritual.
   "Actually, it feels more like there is something tapping into me," says Mr. McFerrin. "All of our gifts are given to us by God. We have to use them to bring him glory. That’s the way I feel. My father felt that way about his music. God has given me a gift, and I have to take care of it."
   With sounds that transcend language and culture, the New York-born singer has taken his music all over the world. In May alone, he will travel to Denmark, Greece, Switzerland and Poland, to name just a few. Wherever the place, one thing that can’t be denied is Mr. McFerrin’s love of music.
   "I just love being a musician," he says. "Music is probably the one part of life that is capable of making communities of people come together. It crosses all boundaries of race, creed and economics, and reaches the heart immediately."
   Mr. McFerrin’s outlook on life and music made him the perfect choice to headline a benefit concert for the Trenton Children’s Chorus May 1 at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton. Led by founder Sue Ellen Page, the choral group has become a respected institution for improving the lives of underprivileged kids.
   "It really has twin goals," says Ms. Page. "Not only does it give children who might not have an opportunity to learn about music a way to explore that world, it also joins children from the suburbs with those from the inner city."
   Living in Princeton since 1967, the Westminster Choir College graduate works full time as the director of choirs for children and youth at Nassau Presbyterian Church. In 1989, Ms. Page felt the need to broaden her horizons and her sense of community.
   "I felt a real need to work with children from different backgrounds," she says. "I needed to reach out in a way I was not able to do with my church’s congregation."
   In her free time, she contacted the pastor of a school in Trenton and together hatched a blueprint for forming a community choir. They knocked on the doors of civic and government leaders and established the need for such a program.
   "We really wanted to be careful about how we would be perceived," says Ms. Page. "We didn’t want to be looked at as the wealthy white saviors of the poor kids in Trenton. We were definitely aware that we could be seen that way."
   Swamped with paperwork and developing a music program, Ms. Page recruited Princeton volunteer Marcia Wood to handle administrative duties. They found their first candidates for the choir at an afterschool latchkey organization. The final piece was put into place when the Rev. Patricia Daley donated space at Bethany Presbyterian Church for rehearsal.
   "An interesting thing about Rev. Daley," says Ms. Page, "is that she moved away and did some urban ministry in Boston and has come back to serve as president of our board of directors."
   Since its inception, the Trenton Children’s Chorus has gone through many changes. Ms. Wood left to form the Trenton Community Music School and was replaced by Ruth Wyatt and Maureen Llort. The rehearsal location also changed, moving to Imani Community Center in 2001. What remains constant is the ongoing commitment to educating children. It now offers scholarships and tutorial classes for the singers.
   The choir’s musical reputation has grown as well. The group has appeared alongside the Riverside Symphonia, Dave Brubeck and Boheme Opera New Jersey. The experiences should give them plenty of preparation for their performance with Mr. McFerrin, whose concerts rely heavily on audience interaction and improvisation.
   "They’re improvised in the sense that I don’t walk out on stage with any kind of plan," says Mr. McFerrin. "I have a mix of pieces in my head that are part of my repertoire, but I don’t decide beforehand which ones I’m going to do. One thing I always do is have the first song improvised on the spot."
   It was through improvisation that he came up with the lyrics to his most famous song, "Don’t Worry, Be Happy." With the melody in mind, he sat down in the studio and formed the words to one of the biggest hits of the ’80s and winner of the 1988 Grammys for Record and Song of the year.
   Rather than coast on his success, Mr. McFerrin went the opposite way and dedicated himself even harder to developing his unique style and abilities, a process he began in the ’70s. After spending some time playing piano in bars throughout New Orleans, he became conscious of what he might be capable of with merely his voice. He spent the next six years experimenting with techniques and intonations and building up his stamina. In 1983 he set out for his first solo tour.
   "I learned how to be on stage and get used to the reactions of an audience," he says. "That’s how I started to meander toward improv. Lots of people weren’t sure if I was serious or what. They didn’t quite know how to define me."
   After 20 years and 12 albums, people are starting to get an idea. But before he could get labeled as merely a singer/songwriter following the success of "Don’t Worry, Be Happy," Mr. McFerrin delved into the art of conducting and, in 1990, led the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.
   "That was a birthday present to myself when I turned 40," he says. "The word got out that I conducted and other orchestras began calling me up and inviting me to conduct. About 35 percent of my time is spent studying scores, and I’ve fallen in love with conducting. But I am a singer first and foremost."
Bobby McFerrin performs with the Trenton Children’s Chorus at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, West Lafayette and Barrack streets, Trenton, May 1, 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $25-$47.50; benefit tickets cost $150 and include pre-concert reception in the George Washington Ballroom at 6 p.m. For information, call (609) 984-8400. On the Web: www.thewarmemorial.com; Bobby McFerrin on the Web: www.bobbymcferrin.com; Trenton Children’s Chorus on the Web: www.trentonchildrenschorus.org