Wiseman Memorial

Miss Eva Wiseman (1908-2005), our founder and native of Salisbury, North Carolina, received her bachelor of fine arts in music education from Converse College, located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. In 1937 she was hired by Dr. L.E. Spikes to become the first director of music for the Burlington City School system, a position whose title was later changed to superintendent of music instruction. While working with the public schools Wiseman earned a masters degree from Columbia University in 1943, and for a number of years she taught music education at Elon College as a member of the evening faculty. During the 1940s and 50s, she directed six local church choirs. Wiseman is also credited with introducing, in 1963, the now famous Kadaly Music Instruction Method into the Burlington City Schools.

In the fall of 1958 Ms. Wiseman auditioned 325 boys, ranging in age from 9 to 13, for inclusion in a city-wide boys choir. Of this number, 50 boys were selected (of whom 41 accepted) and on April 29, 1959 the Burlington Boys Choir gave its first performance at the local Elks Club. One year later, in 1960, the Burlington Rotary Club decided to sponsor the choir, a relationship which would continue for more than twenty years, during which time the choir was known as the Burlington Rotary Boys Choir.

For the next thirty-five years, until 1994, Wiseman served as the director of the choir, during which time she had direct contact with over 500 members. The Boys Choir became internationally known, was featured in numerous magazines, and performed over 400 concerts throughout the United States and Europe for an estimated half-million people. Under Wiseman’s direction the choir sang on numerous occasions for state functions at the North Carolina Executive Mansion, and in 1971 the group gave a Christmas performance at the White House for President and Mrs. Richard Nixon. For this performance, as director of the choir, Wiseman received the presidential service medal. The Boys Choir gave a similar presidential concert in 1984 for President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan.

In 1965 Wiseman developed a friendship with Maria Augusta von Trapp (the real life heroine of The Sound of Music story). From Maria von Trapp Ms. Wiseman received numerous orchestrations and sheet music later utilized by the Boys Choir. Mrs. von Trapp also assisted Eva Wiseman in organizing European concert venues for the choir during the 1960s and 70s.

September 20, 1988 was proclaimed Eva Wiseman Day by Mayor James Gerow of the City of Burlington. In doing so, Gerow so honored Wiseman for her efforts in bringing the musical arts to the area and touching the lives of so many young boys.

Due to declining health, Ms. Wiseman formally retired as director of the Burlington Boys Choir in 1994 and William Allred assumed directorship of the group. Ms. Wiseman died on January 18, 2005 at the age of 97, and will always be remembered for her contributions to Burlington and her “Choir of Angels”.