Maryland Sings Molds Amateurs into Pros

For Noah Israel, it all began at a winter concert in the fifth grade.

After the show, in which Israel sang a tiny solo, he was approached by Bill Myers, the director of a group called Maryland Sings.

“He asked me if I would be interested in joining, and here I am, seven years later, and about to graduate,” Israel, now 16, said. 

Now in its 22^nd year, Maryland Sings, a troupe of 30 performers who have gained widespread recognition, has performed at venues like the White House and Maryland State House, and even gone on a Canadian tour. The troupe consists of three ensembles: Off Broadway Kids, Escape and Maryland Singers, and aims to bring kids of all ages together to learn about music while also turning them into positive role models for their communities.

“I feel like I’ve learned everything musically and grown in my dancing, and it’s great to be involved on both sides of the group,” said Christie Hoffmann, 17, who will be pursuing dance when she attends college.

Myers, a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, started Maryland Sings in 1990 when he decided to use his 23 years of teaching and directing experience to start a group for musically gifted children.

“I wanted to do something out of the box,” Myers said. “I always had to follow the rules, and I felt I had given back to all the kids I had taught, but I wanted to work with just gifted kids.”

He invested $5,000 of his own money to buy equipment to start the group, which featured many of the members of a choir he taught at Dulaney High School. In its second year, the group headed to Europe, where it sang Cole Porter songs at a jazz festival in Switzerland. Out of that group, he pulled five kids and started doing the Broadway style that now characterizes Maryland Sings.

“I just remember being in Switzerland at that jazz festival and having my young kids being up there and holding their own,” Myers said.

The audition process and performance schedule is rigorous. Maryland youth can either audition once a year at county auditions or schedule a one-on-one audition. Sometimes Myers does a voice lesson with the hopeful singer, and then asks him to sing again to judge if he learned from instruction. But a successful audition isn’t just about talent—it’s also about commitment.

“It’s a small troupe where there’s commitment from both the parents and the child, and they’re looking for families who fit into that,” said Brenda Adams, whose daughter Rachel is in Escape.

Adams said Myers treats the members as though they are pre-professional singers, even instructing them on music theory. Every number is fully staged with costumes and equipment and done in a Broadway-revue style. The group does two in-house shows at , where they practice each year, but mainly perform on the road in the Baltimore metro area at events like the Ben Carson Scholarship gala and Fort McHenry’s Flag Day celebration.

“I love the shows and seeing the audience’s reactions and seeing kids get excited,” said Morgan Rose, 17, a member of Escape. “We performed once at a nursing home and sang ‘The Impossible Dream’ and the people there just started clapping.”

But besides bringing children together to learn about music and their performing capabilities, the goal of Maryland Sings is to give its members a sense of self-confidence and allow them to fully explore their talents.

“I’ve seen kids come in shy, and then they just blossom,” said Sharon Dickerson, their choreographer. “They end up being the best performers because it was already in them the whole time.”