The Light - An Alumni Publication Winter 2014/2015 | Page 25

Harmony

Welcome to the Harmony section of The Light. Each edition we will profile a
member of the YFU Chorale. The YFU Chorale provided the engine for YFU’s
growth in Europe and South America from 1958 to 1973.

Celebrating the beloved Robert Pratt
Conductor of the YFU Corale
Hear a fascinating 1970 interview with late YFU
Chorale conductor Robert Pratt while traveling in
Brazil. Listen Here ►
Enjoy YES international student Alfred Maganga
from Tanzania singing a solo at his high school’s
winter concert.

Robert H. Pratt, born September 5, 1926, was
an Ann Arbor High School vocal music teacher
when he took over the baton of the Michigan
Youth Chorale (soon-to-be the Michigan Youth For
Understanding Chorale) in 1964. Each year’s
chorale was selected through an audition process
personally overseen by Pratt. The chosen singers
were trained and rehearsed every Saturday during
the school year, with intensive weekend rehearsals
in the late spring. During the summer, the new
chorale toured either Europe or South America,
alternating each year.
The Chorale received wonderful reviews
and sterling acclaim around the world, earning
especially great reviews in Germany. Maestro
Pratt’s choirs produced a sound that was warm and
bright overall with shimmering, yet cultured and
mature tones. We have long marveled at his ability
to craft that sound from high school vocal music
students. He always says of his chorale members:
“I had the best of the best!”
— From A Biographical Interview With Robert Pratt:
Achieving Choral Excellence
by Day Best and Susan Bayha
Read the full interview of Robert Pratt online here.
Thank you to the authors for their generosity in
allowing our readers access to this wonderful piece
of YFU history.

DANIEL BIAGGI
“The idea of multinational, cultural exchange
happens almost every day in opera... opera
continues the work of cultural exchange
by putting people in front of an American
audience.”
Read more ►
YFU Program: US (from Switzerland), 1988
Education:
Exchange High School: Somers, CT
Certificate of Musicology: University of Berne,
Switzerland
San Francisco Conservatory of
Music, BA
Manhattan School of Music,
MA
Occupation: General and Artistic
Director, Palm Beach Opera
Home: Palm Beach, FL