Children of Note

In Lori Loftus’ dreams, everybody sings, and performing arts centers share the same popularity among children as stadiums, roller rinks and baseball diamonds.

And her group, the Southern California Children’s Chorus, has a permanent home somewhere.

But Loftus, who is credited with reviving children’s choral music in Orange County in the last four years, could be the one to turn her wish list into reality.

All it takes, she says, is for more people to realize a simple truth: Music--especially choral music with its parts for soprano, alto, tenor and bass--teaches important life lessons.

“Teamwork is a vital part of life,” Loftus said. “Together we can make beautiful things happen. Children learn to obey authority and respect others, things that sometimes slip through the cracks.”

She said the real purpose of the chorus is not to produce music, hauntingly beautiful with its four- and six-part harmony, nor to create the warm and fuzzy feelings parents get from watching the youngest choristers go through a number.

“It’s to make kids better kids, and because I’m a musician, I use music to do it,” said Loftus, who is the piano accompanist for the Pacific Chorale and has taught music, singing and musicianship to children for more than 20 years.

Dillon Henry of Newport Beach enrolled her daughters, Amy, 12, and Lauren, 9, in the chorus because of the girls’ interest in performing and the educational benefits.

“They learn appreciation of music, the joy of singing with others, a sense of belonging and pride in what they do, and when they perform for the community they learn that the gift of music is something even the youngest of kids can give,” said Henry. “The group also places a strong emphasis on learning about other cultures and language through music.”

Studying songs from different countries is what Quinton Green, 12, of Brea, likes best about the chorus. “Speaking in another language is kind of cool,” says Quinton, who is the youngest in his family and the latest to join the group. “When I was younger I didn’t want to sing because I was doing sports, but last year I decided to do it because the other kids [Jordan, 19, Blake, 17, Jillian, 16 and Vance, 14] would come home happy.”

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After years of working with children and staging musical productions at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church of Newport Beach, Loftus formed the chorus in 1996 because public schools were no longer offering choral music.

The group of 100 children that met in Costa Mesa has grown to 300 members, who make up seven choirs and rehearse weekly at a rented church facility in Lake Forest.

Chorus members, ranging from 4 to 18 years old, come from such spots as La Habra, Long Beach, San Clemente and Chino. Tuition is about $200 a year (about half the actual cost) and some scholarships are available. The children receive music education and learn to sing everything from the works of Bach and Handel to theater scores.

“We teach the Viennese School of singing, [in which] proper tone, posture and breath support produce a sound only children can make,” Loftus said.

It’s a sound that’s in big demand. The chorus had 20 performances last month, including a holiday production that drew record crowds at Calvary Church in Santa Ana.

Proceeds from ticket sales pay for costs not covered by tuition and support the scholarship fund.

Touchstone Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios have recorded the children, and chorus members have appeared in music videos, commercials, symphony concerts and Disney television specials.

They have a CD, “Simple Gifts” (The title is taken from an Aaron Copland song), and the group’s Concert Chorus toured Italy in 1999 and has performed at Carnegie Hall.

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Despite all this success, most children and their parents learn about the chorus by word of mouth, Patricia Humphreys Waters said. Humphreys Waters heard about the chorus when she was looking for a musical experience for her daughter, Sarah, 6, who “was born singing,” Humphreys Waters said.

“We could be camping in the Redwoods and she’d find a tree stump and get up and sing,” Sarah’s mom said.

Humphreys Waters has joined the chorus’ board of directors and is writing grant proposals to fund an outreach program in low-income neighborhoods.

Loftus said, “If we can reach into the community and find 10 kids who want to try it, whose parents would trust us to pick them up and get them to chorus once a week, it would be a great opportunity.

“That’s my dream.”

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Southern California Children’s Chorus, (949) 250-9114.

Fund-raising, (949) 673-7455.

To be considered for this column, please send information to Lynn O’Dell, Los Angeles Times, Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or call (714) 283-5685.