Photography courtesy of St. Louis Teen Talent Competition
If you check out the video of Gabe Newsham whistling “La Vie En Rose” in a warm warble while accompanying himself on the piano, you'll see he’s an old soul who just happens to inhabit the body of a 16-year-old. His otherworldly whistle has a vibrato that brings to mind the whistling celebrities (not an oxymoron) of a bygone era. We caught up with the St. Louis University High junior right before a whistling performance he’ll offer this weekend, as part of the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis Twelfth Night pre-performance Green Show.
How did you first know you had this talent? I didn't know until high school. I think I was just very annoying for a long time because I whistled a lot in grade school. And then in high school people remarked, “You whistle like one of the little Disney birds!” Then, passing time waiting for my mom to pick me up, I would work on intonation and vibrato. Occasionally, I’ll whistle scales or an exercise, too.
Do you have a whistling teacher or sensei? No. It’s all self-taught.
Where do you like to whistle? Hallways, street corners, in front of buildings. There was one episode of Gadfly TV, our school’s humor-magazine TV show, I was featured on that one. Actually, I try not to do it too loudly or obviously, because I have a friend who likes to sing to himself a lot, and I see how annoying it can be.
What songs do you like to whistle? Anything I can hum or know the tune to. I’m obsessed with classical music, so often it’s Beethoven symphonies or sonatas or something. Anything in my range.
Would you whistle something for me right now? [Newsham obliges by whistling a Bach piece. The high notes he hits are so high they sound like the transporter on the original Star Trek.]
You can hit the high notes. I’ve been working on my range for a couple years now.
Where do you see this talent taking you? Probably street corners. [Laughs.] At some point, I’ll need to feed myself and make a living. I’m planning on studying music. I play piano and clarinet and other woodwinds. Mostly whistling is just a pastime. I would much rather play an instrument for a living. I don’t want to do it for money if I don’t have to.
Did you win the St. Louis Teen Talent Competition, that you were helping to promote on TV? No, but I got an ovation.
Are there different kinds of whistling? Yes. There’s a diverse range. I do the classical pucker, where you pucker your lips and blow. I’ve heard of throat whistling. I think the most recent whistling champ did that. There’s tooth whistling, too. It’s however you make a high-pitched sound with your mouth.
There actually have been famous whistlers. People might not know that. There was a guy named Fred Lowery. It was kind of a ’40s thing, with big bands. And now, Andrew Bird does it.
Do you whistle current pop songs, too? Oh yeah. Just walking along, I might start up with Rihanna or something. [He whistles “Umbrella.”] People don’t recognize them—they're not used to hearing them in whistle form.
Do you do exercises of some kind to warm up the lips? I’ve found that playing the flute really works the facial and lip muscles, and playing the clarinet really helps get the volume up.
Have you ever played a nursing home? No, I haven’t, though I probably should.
Can you do a two-finger taxi-stopping whistle? No, I can’t. I've tried, but never gotten it.
Do dogs enjoy your whistling? I haven't noticed.
Gabe Newsham whistles at 6:55 p.m. this Sunday, May 26, at the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis pre-performance Green Show in Forest Park.
