NY TIMES ARTICLE
Ten-Year-Old's Net Surfing Lands White House Invitation
By HUBERT B. HERRING
Published: December 15, 1996
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DOBBS FERRY, N.Y., Dec. 12— Alex Burg, 10, was browsing on his computer last spring and, as a lark, sent a message to the White House. That set off a string of unlikely events that will culminate on Monday, when Alex and two dozen other members of a Dobbs Ferry grade-school chorus board a chartered bus at 5:30 A.M. for Washington to sing their pint-sized hearts out at a holiday celebration in the East Room.
Such a rare opportunity was the furthest thing from Alex's mind in April. He was ''surfing the Internet'' with his father at his side, he said, and went into the home page for Springhurst, the local elementary school. There he found a link to Washington events, which led into the White House home page.
''In the first message we asked about the environment,'' said Alex, a lively fifth grader. ''We got a response that had this little packet and a letter from the President.''
Alex wrote again, offering to have his chorus perform there.
''We wrote about all the places the Harmonaires had performed,'' he said, referring to the chorus. ''We wrote to Hillary because we felt she likes children.''
In early June, he got a seemingly routine White House response that asked for a tape of the chorus's work and closed with what seemed a polite dismissal: ''We will keep your suggestion on file for future reference.''
Alex and his parents thought little more about it during the summer. But in September, when rehearsals started, Alex tried to tell the Harmonaires' director, George Swietlicki, about it.
''I just told him to sit down and be quiet,'' Mr. Swietlicki recalled. ''It was another pesky question. I always have little people asking me questions. It's time to rehearse.''
When Alex showed him the first White House letter, he changed his tune. ''That looks real,'' he said. ''You should pursue that.''
But Alex's mother, AbbieRelkin, couldn't put her hands on the June letter, which had a return address. ''I was going crazy looking for it,'' she said, and found it, ''buried over the summer in Alex's book bag.''
Soon after, before she was able to find a tape, she got a call. ''Is this the representative of the Harmonaires?'' the voice asked. She replied hesitantly, ''Well, my son's in it.''
Then: ''This is the White House calling. We're waiting for your tape.''
She hung up in shock, then realized she still had no tape of the Harmonaires. The White House wanted the tape now. Mr. Swietlicki was away for a few days, the school was closed for a long weekend and Ms. Relkin was frantic. Finally, with the help of another Harmonaire parent, she came up with a tape and sent it off.
When the White House finally called the school, Mr. Swietlicki knew it was real. ''I was very excited,'' he said. ''It's the ultimate; a great honor.''
This is no ordinary teacher, and no ordinary chorus. Mr. Swietlicki, born in Caracas, Venezuela, to Polish parents, was an aspiring pianist who turned to teaching. Lanky, animated and eccentric, he has become a fabled figure in this Hudson village.
Once, on arriving late for rehearsal, he unhesitatingly dropped down for 10 pushups, the same penance he demanded of students. He's been known to tell new kindergartners who have trouble with his name to call him ''Mr. Licksweety.''
Year after year, he takes a group of fourth graders, mixes in some fifth and sixth graders and creates a remarkably professional-sounding group. Alex's terse testimony: Does Mr. Swietlicki work you hard? ''Yes.'' Do you enjoy it? ''Yes.''
This isn't a bunch of rosy-cheeked children singing ''Suzy Snowflake'' in droning unison. The arrangements, often by Mr. Swietlicki himself, are rich and complex, with multipart harmonies. The songs on the White House program, which is for invited guests and is part of a seasonal series, range from ''Carol of the Bells'' to a lively, playful number called ''Lots of Latkes.''
The Harmonaires have sung at Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, Shea Stadium (the national anthem for a Mets game) and the Kennedy Center. They have appeared on television and been honored by the Music Educators National Conference.
So this was no fluke. The White House would clearly not invite just anyone who wandered in from cyberspace.
And it would not have happened without Alex Burg and his parents and their computer.
But while Alex clearly has computers in his blood -- his father, Alan, is an electronics engineer who works as a troubleshooter for computer systems -- he is no nerd. True, when asked when he started using a computer, he couldn't remember not using one. But ''he's a regular kid,'' his mother said.
''He plays baseball and everything else,'' she said. ''See, the knees on his pants are worn through.''
Photo: Members of the Harmonaires, an elementary school choral group from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., are to sing at the White House tomorrow, thanks to the efforts and persistence of 10-year-old Alex Burg (wearing glasses). (Chris Maynard for The New York Times)