St. Andrew’s Choir Director Carl Ashley Vies for Florida State Song Competition

By Skip Sheffield
STAFF WRITER

Will Carl Ashley replace Stephen Foster as composer of Florida’s official state song?

The public will decide by popular vote tallied by midnight Jan. 10.

Ashley’s composition, “Florida, My Home,” with lyrics by Betsy Dixon, is one of three finalists in a statewide competition to replace Stephen Foster’s “Swanee River” (Old Folks at Home) as the Florida State Song.

Written in 1851 and adapted as Florida’s state song in 1935, “Swanee River” (shortened from Suwannee) reflects a 19th century world of plantations and slaves, called “darkies” in the song lyrics.

Like the Rebel theme “Dixie,” “Old Folks at Home” is considered dated and offensive to many.

“Stephen Foster was one of the greatest American songwriters of all time,” acknowledges Carl Ashley, a music teacher and director of choirs at St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton. “There is some resistance to replacing `Old Folks at Home’ as the state song. It was written in a different era, and it is now dated and potentially offensive. They wanted a state song that was more inclusive of the whole state, its people and its diverse cultures.”

Ashley learned of the song composition last May through the Florida Music Educators Association (FMEA), of which he is a member. For his lyricist Ashley chose Betsy Dixon, a poet and member of the Lake Worth church he attends.

“I’m just thrilled our song made it to the finals,” said Dixon, a retired employee of Rinker Materials, Inc. “I have always written poetry, but I had never tried to set lyrics to music. When Carl called I thought, gee, maybe I can do this.”

Ashley and Dixon are competing against “Florida: Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky,” by Jan Hinton and “My Florida Home,” by Christopher Marshall.

Ashley’s ‘Florida, My Home” was one of 243 entries. Music professionals chose the three finalists. The winner will be decided by popular vote by going to www.justsingflorida.org.

“We plan to travel to Tampa, where the winner will be announced Jan. 11,” Ashley reveals. “I was planning to be there anyway, because FMEA is having its state convention at the same time.”

Ashley, who holds a master’s degree from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey and a doctorate from the University of Miami, said the competition was “fun,” regardless of the outcome. The recording on the web site features vocals by Ashley and his wife Marie, a music educator at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

“I have read that Stephen Foster never set foot in Florida,” says Ashley. “I’ve lived here for 23 years. I tried to emulate a feeling of reverence and majesty in my song. Regardless of the outcome of the voting, we feel honored we have come this far.”