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March 27, 2008

Francois Clemmons comes to Saranac's neighborhood

Deck

By ROBIN CAUDELL

SARANAC -- African-American spirituals, operatic arias and Broadway standards will be performed by Dr. Francois Clemmons at an April 6 "Family Concert" at the Saranac United Methodist Church.

Clemmons will also reprise his role of Officer Clemmons, which he portrayed for 27 years on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," the award-winning children's television series.

"I will sing several selections people will know: Won't You Be My Neighbor?' and Tomorrow, Tomorrow,'" Clemmons said. "I will also perform an excerpt from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.'"

Clemmons's stellar career has included the founding and directorship of the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble and performances with the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Studio and the New York City Opera. He received a 1973 Grammy award for a London Records recording of "Porgy and Bess" with Maestro Lorin Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.

TIME TO WRITE AND THINK

Clemmons holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie-Mellon University, from which he received a Life Time Achievement Award in 2004. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts from Middlebury College in 1996. For the past 11 years, he has been the Twilight Artist-in-Residence at Middlebury College, where he directs the New Gospel Choir.

In Middlebury, Clemmons views his celebrity humorously. During a cooking jag at his home, he and some of his students went to a local store, and he purposely left his apron on. Everyone who greeted him remarked on it.

"I'm home cooking, now, leave me alone.' When I try to take a walk down the street, people blow their horns and wave. It's crazy sometimes."

But there along the banks of Otter Creek and the Green Mountains foothills, he is afforded time, a lot of it.

"One of my secret dreams is to be a writer. Coming from Manhattan, there were a lot of diversions. In a place like Middlebury, I have lots of time to write and think. A person my age needs time to think."

He has finished five-linked children's stories, "Little Buttercup and the Magic Cane," which will be published. He's at work on "100 Meditations for an Extrovert," and he is completing his autobiography, "A Song in My Soul."

FOOT-WASHING BAPTIST

Clemmons was born April 23, 1945, in Birmingham, Ala. His parents were among the seven million blacks who relocated during the Great Migration from the South. They moved to Youngstown, Ohio, where they worked in the steel and automobile industries. Clemmons' high-school voice teacher, Ronald Gould, suggested Oberlin was the place for him.

"I sang my whole life," Clemmons said. "I was raised in the Baptist church from the time I could remember. My parents went to church all the time. It was a fundamentalist church, a foot-washing Baptist church. I sang in the choir as a little boy, then the youth choir."

He began to solo and discovered he had a real gift.

"That made me aware it was a talent I should use for the glory of God. I was a singing boy. When I was 12, I was the choir director.

"I had a gift, and they knew it, and they encouraged me. The deacons and mothers of the church saw me as a real prize. I'm really grateful for their guidance. They anointed me to what I'm doing today."

A NEW NEIGHBOR

It was during his time as a tenor solo at the Third Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh that Clemmons met Fred Rogers in 1968.

"He was a member of the church and heard me sing and became a fan. He come up to me and congratulated me and told how deeply touched he had been."

Soon after, he made his first appearances on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." He was a young 23, gifted and black, an unusual constellation for children's programming in the pre-diversity days of "The Electric Company" and "Sesame Street."

"At this particular time on Howdy Dowdy' and Captain Kangaroo,' I don't remember those shows having black actors and actresses," Clemmons said. "It was the first time for a regular black character that black children could identify with."

Clemmons felt a deep responsibility to do well.

"This mantle fell on my shoulders. I felt a deep calling. I had a strong, positive relationship with Fred. It was important for his program to have a black character and the experiences of Hispanics and Asians, so a child would know more than their white neighbors. We had conversations about it."

Rogers was dedicated to keeping him on the show.

"I was flattered," Clemmons said. "I felt deeply honored. He felt I could fill those shoes. I worked very hard. I knew it was no frivolous calling.

"I felt a tremendous responsibility to live and be responsive to Fred's faith in me."

rcaudell@pressrepublican.com

If you go
WHAT: "A Family Concert" with award-winning singer, celebrated actor and college professor Francois Clemmons, sponsored by the Saranac United Methodist Church (The Church in the Hollow) in association with Hill and Hollow Music.
WHEN: 4 p.m. Sunday, April 6.
WHERE: Saranac United Methodist Church, Route 3, in the hamlet of Saranac.
ADMISSION: Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 years of age and under and $20 for a family of four. Tickets may be purchased in advance: Saranac United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 185, Saranac, NY 12981.
PHONE: Church office at 293-7123.
E-MAIL: sumc@westelcom.com

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