ASHLAND – When Grammy Award-winning singer Sylvia McNair heard Ashland High School’s a cappella choir sing for the first time Thursday, she was truly delighted.
“I was blown away,” she said. “They’re fantastic… They sing in tune. They respond to instruction. They respond to suggestions. They respect the material. When I see a group of high school kids like this, I think to myself, ‘Our country’s in good hands.'”
McNair, a Mansfield native and an accomplished opera, jazz and Broadway-style singer, is in town as part of M.A.D.E. (Music, Art, Dance, Education) in Ashland, an artists-in-residency program of Neos Dance Theatre.
The contemporary ballet company’s weeklong residency includes many educational opportunities for students and culminates in a performance featuring Neos, McNair, the a capella choir and other collaborators.
McNair now lives in Bloomington, Indiana, but she has roots not only in her hometown of Mansfield but also in Ashland.
“I started taking piano lessons with Liz Pastor when I was nine,” McNair said. “My mom decided to go back to college and get a bachelor’s degree when I was in third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades, and she chose Ashland College, so I got to tag along as a grade school student to college classes and recitals and concerts. Ashland College made a big impact on my life, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that it was one of the large contributing factors to the fact that I went into music.”
McNair was enthusiastic in her praise for the high school a capella choir, but she also spent the class period pushing the students to be better. She urged them to remember proper posture and to focus on singing diphthongs and consonants clearly.
“People in the audience don’t know this song. Right? You need to give this to them as a gift,” she said.
McNair said she always loves working with and supporting Neos as a donor, a fan and a collaborator.
“Witnessing the magic of Bobby and Brooke Wesner and their dancers is a huge treat for me,” she said. “It’s vision with a capital V. The work ethic, the artistry, the technique, skill, kindness, collaborative spirit– they’re the best. Neos did not become Ohio’s premier dance company by accident.”
When Ashland High School’s a cappella choir takes the stage Saturday with Neos company members dancing in front of them and projections of visual artwork by Marty Bossler Lee, Betty Perry and Susan Shafer behind them, McNair believes the audience will be filled with a sense of hope.
“I’m talking about hope for the future, in terms of how art and music can bring people together, and how collectively we are so much greater than individually,” Mcnair said. “Actually, there’s a better way to say that — The whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and the arts help us find our better selves.”
