The author discusses her book "Unchanged Trebles: What Boy Choirs Teach Us About Motherhood and Masculinity." Prior to the discussion, the Princeton Boychoir will perform starting at 6:30 p.m.
The evening begins with a special performance by the Princeton Boychoir who will set the mood for the author discussion and book signing.
Rebekah Peeples, Deputy Dean of the College at Princeton University, will be joined at this event for a discussion with Dr. Elizabeth Cassidy Parker, Professor of Music Education in the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University.
Registration requested, but not required.
About the book (from the publisher):
Boy choirs are one of the oldest musical traditions in the Western world. While audiences admire boy singers for their distinctive treble notes, boys who sing in soprano voices have to contend with the notion that they’re doing something effeminate, even emasculating, because they sing in a vocal range typically reserved for women and girls. Known as the “unchanged trebles” within choirs, boys who sing in soprano voices defy prevailing norms of traditional masculinity. What do boy choirs represent in a culture that increasingly sees gender as an individual choice rather than a fixed, biological category? And is this tradition, which is rooted in exclusion of girls and women, one worth saving?
In "Unchanged Trebles," Rebekah Peeples charts an unexpected, thought-provoking, and deeply personal journey into the world of contemporary boy choirs, where boys learn to do something together that they’re often embarrassed to do alone: sing in their soprano voices. Considering her experience as the unlikely mother of a boy soprano alongside dozens of interviews with current directors and former choristers, she argues that some of the tools for creating a more gender-inclusive future can be found in an ancient tradition that has long recognized gender fluidity within the pre-pubescent male body.
With humor, insight, and the voice of a gifted storyteller, "Unchanged Trebles" explores a cultural tradition in which singing and expressing emotion are encouraged for boys, showing them a more expansive form of masculinity as they transition from boyhood to manhood.
About the Princeton Boychoir:
Launched in Fall 2017, Westrick Music Academy’s Princeton Boychoir (PBC) has become the premier extracurricular vocal program for boys in the region. PBC is composed of boys from third through twelfth grade, who are placed by audition in one of three ensembles: Cantus, Cantus Chamber Singers, and the Young Men’s Ensemble. In addition to striving for musical excellence, choristers in Princeton Boychoir grow in maturity, self-discipline, focus, and leadership.
About the Moderator: Dr. Elizabeth Cassidy Parker is Professor of Music Education in the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University. Her research focuses on the musical and social identity development of adolescents and issues of preservice and inservice music teacher identity. She is the author of Adolescents on Music: Why Music Matters to Young People in Our Lives published in 2020 by Oxford University Press. An active children’s choral conductor and clinician, Dr. Parker is Director of Education for Philadelphia Youth Choral Ensembles.
AGE GROUP: | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Music & Performances | Author Talks | *Registration Requested |
