In January of 1992, I was a senior voice major at Millsaps College, in Jackson, Mississippi.  At the time I was struggling, unsuccessfully, with my attempt to become a tenor.  On the side, thanks to having heard a few recordings of Alfred Deller in the college library, I was fooling around with singing 'countertenor' (actually male soprano, though I'd never heard this term).  I sang for my teacher, McCarrell Ayers, and he was delighted.  As we sang in the same church choir (St. James Episcopal...an amateur choir where I was the only paid singer--a choral scholarship of sorts), he and the choirmaster, Donald Kilmer, arranged for me to sing at the installation of the new rector.  The piece: Teach me, O Lord, by William Byrd.

The performance was a big success, and despite my initial, extreme nervousness, I was pleased, and after my tenor senior recital, never really looked back.  Please excuse the poor sound quality--I believe this was recorded on a hand-held dictation device.

Teach Me, O Lord, by William Byrd, with the choir of St. James Episcopal Church, Jackson, Mississippi, Donald Kilmer, organist/choirmaster