Under the Baton of James Ross Beane
Some would characterize James Ross Beane as a child prodigy. He gave his first voice recital at the tender age of seven, and got his first job as chorus master when he was thirteen, conducting adults in a church choir when he was still too young to drive to the rehearsals. Naturally, he pursued music training in college and graduate school, earning scholarly and performance accolades along the way, and eventually arrived at Morehead State University to be director of choral activities, serving in that post for over 32 years. So when the Lexington Singers were searching for their next director, he was just the man for the job.
As new Music Director, Jim assumed the task of bringing this already accomplished group to the next level. His approach was detailed and scholarly, expanding the Singers' repertoire with grand works like Mendelssohn's Elijah and Orff's Carmina Burana, as well as lesser known works like Boito's Mefistofele and Bloch's Avodanth Hokodesh.
"Notes on paper don't make music; it takes skills and training and passion to turn those notes into a complete work of art," he said, and he meant it. All-day workshops, grueling rehearsals, and exacting attention to detail characterized his approach. For Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, for instance, the Latin text wasn't correct until it was rendered in the German style of Latin pronunciation.
The results were exhilarating. Jim started with a mental "hope chest" of major works for chorus and orchestra that he wanted the group to perform. And perform they did: Brahm's German Requiem, Haydn's Creation, Mahler's Second Symphony, Durufle's Requiem, Poulenc's Gloria, and Honegger's King David to name a few. Many had never been heard by Kentucky audiences before. The Singers toured the Commonwealth, bringing performances to smaller Appalachian cities like Jackson and London.
Then there were the grand concerts, such as the opening of the Kentucky Center for the Arts in Louisville, where the Singers teamed up with the Louisville Orchestra and the Bach Society for a spectacular performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. When the Lexington Opera House re-opened after a monumental renovation, the Lexington Singers inaugurated the space with Verdi's Requiem. And the Singers were there as part of the chorus in 1979 when Robert Shaw was on hand for the opening of UK's Singletary Center for the Performing Arts.
But Singers don't live on Beethoven and Mozart alone; there's jazz, blues, and rock-'n'-roll, too. The Singers were especially fortunate that Jim had brought with him from the Morehead State faculty a bright young musician named Jay Flippin to be Accompanist. Jay added his considerable talents as composer and arranger to the annual spring Pops concerts, generating dozens of new scores over the years for the Singers to premiere. The "Flippin Touch" has always added a unique jazz flavor to his arrangements -- notably, those beautiful, peculiar eight-part signature chords, which equally challenge and delight both performer and listener. Jay's association with the Lexington Singers has now passed the 30-year mark, and is still going strong.
James Ross Beane was Music Director for 22 years, and his legacy is revealed in the incredible breadth of the repertoire that the group mastered during his tenure. But in January of 1997, he announced that he would be leaving the position. He had accomplished the goals he set for himself and for the chorus, and it was time to turn the baton over to fresh talent.
For only the second time in its almost four-decade history, the Lexington Singers began the search for a new Music Director.