Singers Renege on RNC Appearance

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The New York Sun

Political discord among the typically harmonious members of the New York Choral Society has prompted the chorus to back out of a scheduled performance at the Republican National Convention.


The choir, which had accepted an invitation to sing a four-minute medley of hymns to honor America’s armed forces, sent out an e-mail to members Friday notifying them of the change of plans.


Fifty volunteer singers from the Choral Society were to have performed at Madison Square Garden on August 30. But the decision to participate apparently angered a number of the society’s members, who viewed it as a political endorsement of the Bush administration.


The president of the choral society, Jay Benzon, declined to comment when reached by phone yesterday.


“Acceptance of the gig was never meant or imagined to be an endorsement of the RNC by our chorus, but it has become obvious to the [Board of Managers] that a significant number of members feel that our appearance at the RNC could be construed as an implicit endorsement of a political party,” Mr. Benzon wrote in the e-mail message to choral members explaining the decision to back out of the commitment. A copy of the message was obtained by The New York Sun.


“Neither I nor the BOM feels that the chorus should align itself with any political party, either implicitly or explicitly,” he wrote.


The choir’s decision to pull out comes during an already tense time for convention planners and during one of the most divisive presidential elections in recent memory. And while security concerns and pending protests are higher-priority issues for the GOP, some say that having an apolitical group like the choral society back out illustrates just how polarized the political climate has become.


“It’s clear that this is a very partisan environment we’re in,” said a professor at Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs, Steven Cohen. “It does seem to be moving into realms that are not generally political.”


During most elections, providing entertainment at a convention would not be viewed as political, he said, noting that sentiments have changed this year.


According to the e-mail sent out by Mr. Benzon, the society was invited to perform by the United Service Organization’s New York Metropolitan troupe. But the board of managers at the society recently learned of a national USO policy against appearing at partisan political events. Though the local branch drafts its own plans, the board’s attempt to restructure the arrangement so that the performers could participate independently, rather than as part of the society, was unsuccessful.


The executive director of the USO Metropolitan troupe, Rosemarie Dackerman, said the RNC was actually the entity that hired the group, not the USO. She also stressed the USO is a non-partisan group that strictly deals with entertainment.


One volunteer performer, who asked to remain anonymous, said the fuss was irrational and that the choral society had squandered a good opportunity to sing on the national stage. “The Halls of Montezuma” and “Anchors Aweigh” were two of the songs that were scheduled.


“When the Boston Pops performed you didn’t hear people saying ‘Oh they’re so liberal,'” the singer said. “If we were singing a song about voting for George Bush…I could see how that would be problematic, but that’s not what we were doing. We were supposed to be singing hymns to support the armed forces.”


The performer, who identified himself as an independent, but plans to vote for Mr. Bush, said he also believed that the choral society was searching for a USO stipulation to support its decision to back out.


“We have shunned the USO and we have let down the Armed Forces,” he said, adding that many of the choir members are left-leaning.


An original e-mail, which announced to members that the society had accepted the invitation, said the performance would be a good way for the group to represent the city.


“The principal reason for accepting this invitation is as follows: We are the NEW YORK Choral Society and we take pride in our standing in our culture community,” it said.


“If you feel differently about the issues of endorsement or protest simply opt out of this performance,” that email said.


The group, which is said to have more than 100 members, was slated for Monday’s 9 p.m. slot and was to receive $5,000 for the performance.


A spokesperson for the Republican National Convention declined to comment on the Choral Society but said the convention’s complete entertainment schedule would be released later this week. There was no mention of the choral society on the convention’s Web page yesterday. There was also no word on whether the slot was filled by another group.


The New York Sun

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