My Second Family, A Bubble of Kindness

Clare Hardin started as a Revels Kid in elementary school, and then later in high school.  She has grown into an intern extraordinaire and current volunteer. The following is a guest post about her experience in the Washington Revels community, and why she thinks your kids would love to revels with us.

Dovie Thomason with Clare Hardin in the 2006 Christmas Revels.

Hi, I’m Clare, and I’ve been a “reveler” since I was born. Here’s some of my story.

My mom had already been to a few Washington Revels events because she knew Greg Lewis (Executive Director) and his wife Susan (Company Manager) who both sang with The Choral Arts Society of Washington. I guess that’s how we were introduced — and, my family has been involved since then. My dad was invited to be Music Director for the Christmas Revels in 1999 and 2000. I attended my first May Revels when I was two or three, watching my big sisters perform with the other kids. I’m sure I was waving a tiny ribbon stick to “welcome in the May-O.”

Clare as the May Queen  in the 2014 May Revels at the Washington National Cathedral.

All three Hardin sisters participated in May Revels as soon as we were old enough. My memories are happy ones of the cobbled path in front of the Washington National Cathedral, of dancing in hand-held circles, of cotton candy and repetitive verses of “The Rattlin’ Bog” that were somehow still fun after the 12th time. All three of us were also in the Children’s Chorus for several Christmas Revels productions — I performed in the 2006 and 2007 shows.

Clare with Dovie Thomason in the 2006 Christmas Revels.
From left to right: Umoja Rufaro, Keith Moore, Dovie Thomason, and Clare Hardin in the 2006 Christmas Revels.

My first Christmas Revels was in 2006 — the theme was “Early American.” I remember sitting around a pretend fire near Native American storyteller we knew as Dovie (Apache storyteller Dovie Thomason), in awe and feeling lucky I was chosen to be in that particular scene.

I remember being endlessly excited because I got the solo in “Morning Star,” and then nervous and embarrassed when during the first Lisner rehearsal, Music Director Betsy Fulford noticed that I was singing off-key. We were absolutely NOT allowed to eat in costume, except the clementines and goldfish in the kid’s Green Room. I got to tell my teachers that I was in a “big, important production” so I had to get my homework for “tech week” in advance. Staying up past 11pm was a big deal, and I got to do it every night for a show I loved.

Those productions were fantastic, but the thing about Revels is that the shows themselves aren’t the most important part — it’s the people and the community that matters. That community — my second family — raised me. They taught me values of acceptance, togetherness, cultural awareness, teamwork, respect, and more. To be a Revels Kid is a privilege, and I don’t know who I’d be without it.

Clare in the 2013 Teen Chorus in our Balkan Christmas Revels.
Clare (on right) with Terry Winslow and Aryn Geier in the 2013 Balkan Christmas Revels.

Fresher memories come from my four years as a teen in the Christmas Revels — they have been an integral part of my story. For a teenager dealing with the ups and downs of high school, Washington Revels was a refuge. It was a place where it didn’t matter if I had a bad day, if I didn’t feel like smiling. I would say that there is a sort of radical acceptance within the Washington Revels community, and you never have to ask for support — it was always there waiting for you. Though many people in my life outside the Washington Revels community knew about my Revels world, it still felt like a separate entity. It was my little bubble of kindness — where a 17-year old could laugh and sing alongside a 57-year old like they were best friends, where I learned to sing in 10 different languages, and more. Truly, there is no performing arts experience like it. There is no experience, in general, like it.

If your child or teen gets a chance to be a Revels Kid, they should do it. Take part in an After-School Workshop. Audition as a child or teen for The Christmas Revels (each year during the weekend after Labor Day).  Even if all you can do is come to a performance — do it! No matter who you are, you will be welcome. You will be loved. You will be valued. There is nothing more important than our community.

The Future Has Arrived

iPad Sheet Music at the InterFaith Concert
My friends, the future has arrived. Photo: Helen Fields

Tuesday’s InterFaith Concert was lovely – there was such a delightful variety of performances, from traditional choirs in formal wear to barefoot dancers in shiny costumes. But this may be the thing that amazed me the most that night…

See that thing on the piano? Ramon Bryant Braxton, the accompanist for the combined choir pieces, played from an iPad! I hope he had a paper backup. You’d hate to have the battery run out halfway through the song.

Actually, the fact that pianists are using iPads these days wasn’t the only fun new thing I learned while we were at the cathedral. Terry Winslow, one of the esteemed veterans of our chorus, told me he grew up a few blocks away from the cathedral and, in the 1950’s, played tag among the chapels on the lower level. Another chorus member has been performing there since she was in high school (and I don’t think she even grew up in the D.C. area). Still another sang in a wedding there sometime in the last few years. The best part of being involved in Revels is getting to hang out with all these cool people and hear their stories.

Want more information on the show or to buy tickets? Click here!

A Night in the Cathedral

The Natananjali Dance Group lines up before their performance. Photo: Helen Fields

Yesterday afternoon I had an exciting trip: A fellow member of the Christmas Revels chorus picked me up at Dulles – I’d just flown in from a weekend in Ontario – and rushed me to the Washington National Cathedral. We were headed there to perform in the InterFaith Concert, which is put on every year by the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington. (We made it in plenty of time – we even got there before they cleared away the pizza from the pre-concert dinner.)

This year’s concert included sweet singing from the Mormon Choir of Washington and a really nice performance by a choir from Howard University. A gaggle of talented teenage girls represented the Hindu and Jain faiths with a classical Indian dance. The men and women of Sikh Kirtain Jatha sat on the floor to share one of the gorgeous hymns they sing in Sikh services. We performed right after the choir from Temple Sinai, which also sang in the first two InterFaith Concerts, 30-some years ago.

Revelers practice their handclapping for "Ríu Ríu Chíu." Photo: Helen Fields

Washington Revels isn’t a religious group. We were invited to perform because this year’s Christmas Revels is set in a time and place when three major religions coexisted. They weren’t always living in peace and harmony, but still, medieval Andalusia has come to be seen by some people as a symbol of tolerance and acceptance.

For the InterFaith Concert, we sang the spirited Spanish Christmas carol “Ríu Ríu Chíu.” The music for this year’s Christmas Revels is really exciting – there’s a lot of cool rhythms. A few members of the chorus were assigned to execute the complicated hand-clapping rhythm.

Washington InterFaith Concert - view of combined choir
The combined choir sings to open the concert. Photo: Elizabeth Fulford Miller

Now, here’s the exciting part for me: I sang a solo! In the cathedral! I am told that it sounded good. My completely unbiased source for that review is my parents, who were in the audience.

Singing in the cathedral is fun. The singers from all of the choirs joined together at the beginning and end to sing two pieces. It was so exciting to sing a big chord, cut off, and hear it ringing through the huge stone building. The cathedral has been closed since the earthquake in August; it opened for the first time this weekend, just in time to consecrate a new bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.

The cathedral has a long rebuilding process ahead of it – the building has been declared structurally sound, but they’ll need to rebuild the limestone pinnacles atop the central tower. It was exciting to sing there so soon after it reopened.

Want more information on the show or to buy tickets? Click here!