A Short History of Troubadours
Troubadours was started in the 1950's at John Wingate Weeks Junior High by the music teacher there, Ray Smith, with the original premise of being an ensemble of instrumentalists who sang, too. In the 1960's Troubadours became an All City group, along with the All City Orchestra, All City Band, and All City Treble Singers. The other three groups were for upper elementary school students, which then went up to 6th grade. Troubadours was for junior high students, which was 7th through 9th grades. (Although middle school is now 6th-8th, the grade distribution of Treble Singers and Troubadours remains a legacy of the old system.)
In 1966-67, future Troubadours director Martha Holmes' older brother, Morphine frontman Mark Sandman, was a trombonist and a Troubadour. She says "They wore golden yellow sweaters, white shirts, pressed black pants, black shoes and socks. Very snazzy! It was quite a prestigious thing to be in it." That same year they went on an overnight trip to Montreal- a big deal!
In the '70s and '80's, the All City groups all met on Tuesdays at Day Middle School on Tuesday afternoons. Starting in May and going for 8 weeks into June, the All City groups would take every Friday off from school to tour and perform in all 21 Newton schools. It's hard to imagine anyone being allowed to miss 8 weeks of Fridays today, though if anyone could do it it's the all city kids! At the time, performing around town was considered a vital part of Newton's music education program for both student performers and audiences, not an 'extra.' Our annual (one day) tour is a legacy of that amazing tour schedule.
In 1986, Ray Smith retired and was succeeded by Rick Travers as both the director of choirs at Newton North and of Troubadours. In 2003, Martha Holmes, the music teacher at Williams Elementary, took over Troubadours. Under Ms. Holmes, the Troubadours uniform was a blue polo with the Troubadours' lyre logo, black pants and black shoes. In 2011, Ms. Holmes retired and Ms. Alberts became the director.
In 2012 the Troubadours uniform became black pants, white shirts, and a blue Troubadours tie with black and white striped fedora. The ties were designed by Phoebe Bennett, a student at North. In 2013, the Troubadours added logo'd choral folders to their dashing ensemble.
In 2014, the Troubadours had a long series of discussions about the role of music, the purpose of choir, and the goals of the Troubadours. From these talks, Ms Alberts developed a mission statement.
Troubadours Mission Statement: To spread joy through the creation of community and music, throughout Newton and beyond.
In 2019, the Troubadours decided to take that 'beyond' seriously, and went on their first overseas tour, to Barcelona, Spain! They had the privilege of singing in famous venues like the Sagrada Familia and Montserrat Abbey, and spread joy to the people of Spain and singers from around the world at the Federació Catalana d'Entitats Corals 54th International Choral Festival. Check out video and audio on our recordings page!
In 1966-67, future Troubadours director Martha Holmes' older brother, Morphine frontman Mark Sandman, was a trombonist and a Troubadour. She says "They wore golden yellow sweaters, white shirts, pressed black pants, black shoes and socks. Very snazzy! It was quite a prestigious thing to be in it." That same year they went on an overnight trip to Montreal- a big deal!
In the '70s and '80's, the All City groups all met on Tuesdays at Day Middle School on Tuesday afternoons. Starting in May and going for 8 weeks into June, the All City groups would take every Friday off from school to tour and perform in all 21 Newton schools. It's hard to imagine anyone being allowed to miss 8 weeks of Fridays today, though if anyone could do it it's the all city kids! At the time, performing around town was considered a vital part of Newton's music education program for both student performers and audiences, not an 'extra.' Our annual (one day) tour is a legacy of that amazing tour schedule.
In 1986, Ray Smith retired and was succeeded by Rick Travers as both the director of choirs at Newton North and of Troubadours. In 2003, Martha Holmes, the music teacher at Williams Elementary, took over Troubadours. Under Ms. Holmes, the Troubadours uniform was a blue polo with the Troubadours' lyre logo, black pants and black shoes. In 2011, Ms. Holmes retired and Ms. Alberts became the director.
In 2012 the Troubadours uniform became black pants, white shirts, and a blue Troubadours tie with black and white striped fedora. The ties were designed by Phoebe Bennett, a student at North. In 2013, the Troubadours added logo'd choral folders to their dashing ensemble.
In 2014, the Troubadours had a long series of discussions about the role of music, the purpose of choir, and the goals of the Troubadours. From these talks, Ms Alberts developed a mission statement.
Troubadours Mission Statement: To spread joy through the creation of community and music, throughout Newton and beyond.
In 2019, the Troubadours decided to take that 'beyond' seriously, and went on their first overseas tour, to Barcelona, Spain! They had the privilege of singing in famous venues like the Sagrada Familia and Montserrat Abbey, and spread joy to the people of Spain and singers from around the world at the Federació Catalana d'Entitats Corals 54th International Choral Festival. Check out video and audio on our recordings page!