The Boys Choir just returned from a two and a half week tour of the Midwest and spent part of last year touring Japan.

The students continue their schoolwork on the road, with traveling teachers and laptop-based tutoring.

“There are 4 hours of school a day on the road,” Turnbull says. “Technology makes everything possible. Kids who go out on tour do better than kids at home.”

The Choir’s philosophy rests on cohesiveness and teamwork, according to Turnbull.

“There are no age distinctions on tour. It’s all camaraderie and working together,” Turnbull says. “It’s like a football or a basketball team, I tell them. If one link is weak the whole team suffers.”

Turnbull says he believes music is at the root of his students’ academic excellence and moral development.

“Not everyone is motivated to be academically excellent just for the sake of it,” Turnbull said. “Children need things like the Boys Choir to help the process...We teach kids to feel and to think, to be embracing, inclusive, respectful of all people.”

Meeting the Boys

James E. Waller, Kibuchi E. Banfield and Nile N. Johnson have impeccable manners, firm handshakes and sit with near-perfect posture on Turnbull’s red couch. They carry themselves like professional singers.

Waller is a bass and the oldest of the three, a senior who modestly says he had already submitted several of his college applications.

Banfield, another bass and a junior, flashes a Cheshire cat smile, especially when he speaks of his possible future as a politician.

Johnson, age 13, is a small soft-spoken soprano whose wide eyes shine behind his round glasses.

From the corner of the couch, Johnson says the best part of the choir for him is dancing, singing, traveling and meeting new people.

“I’ve met Stevie Wonder,” he says without a hint of pride.

He says he hopes to go into business or law, but that music will always be a part of his life. “It’s how I got discovered,” he explains. “It’s what my talent is. I have to take my talents to advantage”