The Singing Angels mark 60 years of making a difference

by Karen Nathan

Make music. Make friends. Make a difference. That was the mission, plain and simple, when Bill Boehm founded The Singing Angels 60 years ago.

A lifelong performer, Boehm returned home to Cleveland after World War II and became the stage director of Cleveland’s Musicarnival, a theater-in-the-round located on the Thistledown Racetrack property. Musicarnival produced musicals, plays, operas, jazz and rock concerts in the summers between 1954 and 1975.

In the late 1950s, large show choirs were beginning to take root in the United States. When Boehm founded The Singing Angels in 1964, it was one of the first. Then officially known as “Cleveland’s Premiere Youth Chorus,” Boehm sought to bring together youth from across Northeast Ohio.

Children from kindergarten through high school of every race, creed, religion, ethnicity and socio-economic background joined The Singing Angels.

“It was a peaceful environment for kids to grow up in,” said Independence resident Lisa Wright.

Wright joined the chorus in 1994. “I grew up in Tremont when it wasn’t fashionable,” she said. “The Angels changed my life.”

As The Singing Angels traveled the world, Wright was right there with them. She sang at the Eiffel Tower, Disneyland Paris and in front of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. The friendships she formed during her time with the Angels were the most impactful.

“We were literally a family. That’s what Singing Angels is all about,” she said.

Wright met people from all across the region, and became friends with a chorus member from Independence. She fell in love with the community and ultimately settled in Indy. Her eldest daughter, Lexi, is a Singing Angels alumna, and daughter Ryley, a sixth-grader at Independence Middle School, is in the is the chorus today, making Wright’s family one of several legacies from Independence – families where a parent is an Angel alumnus and a child or children are currently in the program.

From the other side of town, another family began its legacy in the 1980s. Daryl Whitten was an Angel, class of 1983. He describes that time as “the best seven years of my life.” Originally from Mayfield Heights, Whitten ultimately made his home in Geneva. His three children all joined the chorus and have since graduated from high school. Whitten said he travelled to England, China and Japan. During a performance in Mexico, Whitten was on stage translating Boehm’s introduction from English into Spanish.

The Singing Angels ultimately became known as “Cleveland’s World Renowned Youth Performing Chorus.” The group has recorded records, CDs and sang on the radio. Their accomplishments include singing at the Vatican for Popes John Paul II, Benedict and Francis and singing at the White House for presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan, according to current Executive Director Tom Deastlov.

He added that the Angels also sang with Kenny Rogers and Celine Dion. In 2022, the group represented Ohio, singing at the Centennial Celebration of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Karen Harris has been with The Singing Angels for 38 years in various roles, presently serving as touring manager. Her children were part of the group and now her granddaughter is a member of the chorus. “Bill [Boehm] loved diversity,” she said. “He stressed that, and it was not common in the 1960s.”

In addition to travelling the world and singing for dignitaries, the show choir also visited nursing homes and drug rehab programs. Harris viewed this as service that was life-changing for the kids in its own way.

“It opened kids’ worlds and minds and exposed them to things they’d never seen or known,” she said.

Through the years, The Singing Angels have rehearsed in Cleveland at the YMCA, the Old Stone Church and the Fire Training Academy on Lakeside Avenue. For many years beginning in the early ’90s, they called the Masonic Temple home. Now, the Angels have taken up residence in Old Brooklyn at 3600 Biddulph Ave.

The Singing Angels perform several local concerts annually, including a holiday concert each November and a performance in the spring. At this past spring concert, the chorus celebrated its 60th anniversary. The first chorus member, Steven Rush, sang his audition song and as is Singing Angels tradition, alumni were invited on stage for the last numbers.

Boehm loved “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and ended concerts with it. Wright and Whitten were there to sing it with their children. Harris said there were many tears in the audience, including hers. Sadly, Bill Boehm wasn’t there to see it as he died in 2017.

In the ’70s and ’80s, the Singing Angels had upwards of 200 members. In recent years, the pandemic took its toll on membership.

“It’s hard to sing with a mask,” said Wright. The staff, parents and especially Angels persevered and the group continues with smaller membership. Alumni and staff are actively recruiting new members. The chorus now includes third- through twelfth-graders, and follows the school year calendar.

Harris welcomes interested parties to visit the group at rehearsals in Old Brooklyn on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. “We are welcoming new Angels,” she said. ∞

On our cover (photo): The Singing Angels perform at the Centennial Celebration of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 2022. The group has traveled around the world and has sung for popes and presidents. Photo from Facebook.

Current singers (front l-r) Josie Brady, Ryley Wright and Anika
Ernie stand with their mothers (back l-r) Marianne Brady,
Lisa Wright, Allison Ernie, who are alumnae of the group.
Photo submitted.