Dear Members of the Heath family and Fenno’s extended family:
Like most American boys, I grew up in a culture that taught me it wasn’t cool to sing. Of course, that culture had not encountered the force of nature that was Fenno Heath. I thought I’d gone to heaven when I arrived at Yale in 1960 and discovered that the glee club director was as big a deal on campus as the football coach! I’ve never felt as important in my life as the night I first donned white tie and tails for a YGC concert. But Fenno made you feel important every time you sang.
My favorite memory is of the first Glee Club Anniversary concert. Several hundred alumni choristers assembled on the Woolsey stage for the opening rehearsal. Fenno mounted the podium and started the first song. Immediately, he cut us off and made us start over. This was a reunion, but Fenno – the consummate musician - wasn’t going to lower his expectations. We all stood straighter and felt the pride come back. I hope the choirs of angels are getting their act together.
Like others who have written, I still hear Fenno’s compositions and arrangements in my head. And as I read the wonderful messages on the blog, I hear part after part building to another triumphant “Fenno ending.”
Don Edwards ‘64
President emeritus
The American Boychoir School
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