At one point, Turnbull interrupts himself. Class has let out, and blurs of children dressed in the Academy’s uniform—gray slacks, white shirts and ties, and maroon sweaters—zoom past the door, accompanied by the deep rumble of footsteps and high-pitched squeals of laughter.

“Slow down!” Turnbull booms. “Quiet in the halls!”

The children obey him and stare at their feet with sly smiles.

A 1966 graduate of Tougaloo College in Mississippi with honors in music and voice, Turnbull came to New York City to study opera at the Manhattan School of Music. He says he taught part-time in Harlem to make ends meet.

Two years later, Turnbull founded the Boys Choir at Ephesus Church in Harlem as an afterschool program.

“I founded it with the idea to give kids something interesting and exciting to do.” Turnbull says. “It’s not just about music, it’s about total development.”

Turnbull says he soon found he could not accomplish this “total development” in a low-commitment afterschool program. He wanted to create an antidote to academically poor public schools, bad guidance counselors and unsupportive home lives.

“We needed to raise money, we needed to give kids counseling and academic tutoring,” he says. “That way, I could more easily control what happened academically.”

In 1986, Turnbull got his wish. Supported by the Board of Education, he expanded the choir into a full-time school for students in grades 4-12. In 1993, girls were admitted to the Choir Academy.

Teaching the Big Apple

The school has the challenge of providing education in the inner city. According to the school’s literature, three-quarters of its students are from single parent households, two-thirds live below the poverty level and 90 percent are considered at risk of dropping out from high school.

But the Academy’s statistics are on par with New York City’s best schools. Its average daily attendance rate is 96 percent, and its test scores are the second highest in its district.

Admissions are competitive. Less than 150 students are accepted each year from a pool of over 3,000 that audition.

The school day is packed full. In addition to a traditional curriculum, the students take voice, music theory, sight-singing, bells and violin. Everyone sings in one of the two choirs.

And they travel.