Comments on: FCS, Choirmaster at Grace Died on Tuesday.

By: John Crellin

John Crellin — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:04:18 +0000

WOW!! my sister found you on this web site. Let's see...doing the math...hold on....wait for it.....36 years since we graduated from Grace together and went separate ways. I have always wondered if we would catch up again. Lots of water under the bridge. I hope you get this and maybe we can catch up?

I can be found on facebook.

Mr. Smith and the choir experience was such an influence in my life. The experiences we had, from performing Joseph's Technicolor Dream Coat before anyone knew who Andrew Lloyd Webber was to the basic leadership training that set the stage for my life. I will always cherish those times.

Mr. Smith was the organist at my wedding in 1986. Although that marriage has dissolved and I am very happily re-married, having him perform at my wedding was very special.

I do have one regret. My father (rest his soul) used to record some of our special events, such as Xmas eve, on a cassette recorder. For years, I had the tape of my one solo on Xmas eve but, alas, it has been lost.

Mr. Smith, the choir experience, and the friends I made, will always be a special memory for me.

John Crellin Pittsburgh, PA

By: Geoffrey Smith

Geoffrey Smith — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 19:00:42 +0000

Doug,

Thank you for your excellent post about Dad. As I dry my eyes, I must tell you that your excellent, descriptive writing took me back to those days, and I hope, will give those who did not experience the RSCM chorister life at Grace an insight into my father's love and dedication to the music, craft, and tradition of directing a true choir of boys and men.

And it was often me who was shoved in the robe locker...

g :

By: Esta Joy Kroten

Esta Joy Kroten — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 11:57:58 +0000

I am so touched by and grateful for your tribute to a man who certainly added a layer of 'better' and 'class' to my own life. I joined Frank's choral society at the end of 1974 or early in 1975 (Dilys, Frank and I never seemed able to recall the exact time) and am honored to have served in its ranks ever since. My own memories, of this kind, gentle, erudite man who always seemed to be giggling at the normal ways of life around him, are cherished ones. I am a better person for having been allowed to sing under Frank (later, with Dilys by his side, helping to organize, lead and mold our group) and I cannot express my thanks to you and to all who remember the gift we all had by singing with, for and under him. May Frank Cedric Smith rest well, enjoying eternity's music notes and marks and a 16-part choir of angels to you, dear leader. Thank you, Doug, for your words and for being part of the lovely musical fabric that Frank wove for so many of us. Sincerely, Esta Joy Kroten

By: Patrick Allen

Patrick Allen — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:19:07 +0000

Dear Mr. Barone, I am so thankful for the gift you have shared with us all through this window into that special time while you with Mr. Smith were custodians of the life and heritage of the choir. We are still here today because of the love, passion and committment that you and your colleagues with Mr. Smith made. I invite you to a Choral Evensong to be sung by the Choir at 4:00 p.m. this Sunday at Grace Church celebrating his life and ministry and featury Rejoice in the Lamb of B. Britten. With all my gratitude, Patrick Allen, Organist and Master of Choristers Grace Church in New York