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The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form. Founded by Owen C. Cash and Rupert I. Hall in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1938, the organization quickly grew, promoting barbershop harmony among men of all ages. As of 2014, just under 23,000 men in the United States and Canada were members of this organization whose focus is on a cappella music. The international headquarters was in Kenosha, Wisconsin for fifty years before moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 2007. In June 2018, the society announced it would allow women to join as full members.
Vocal Majority (VM) is a Dallas, Texas-based men's chorus of over 150 singers, who bill themselves with the tagline "Pure Harmony." VM is the performing chorus of the Dallas Metro chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS). Vocal Majority has won thirteen International Chorus Championships, a Barbershop Harmony Society record. The first eleven gold medals were earned under the direction of Jim Clancy, who retired from International competition after 2010. The most recent championships, in 2014 and 2018, came under the direction of Jim's son Greg Clancy, the current Musical Director of VM.
Founded in 1985 with just a few dozen men, the Masters of Harmony is a 110-member men's chorus, based in Greater Los Angeles, California. Winner of eight consecutive gold medals (1990–2011) in international barbershop chorus competitions, the group possesses a diverse repertoire encompassing not only barbershop music but also classical, jazz, patriotic, sacred, standards and Broadway pops, and sings for various groups and organizations throughout the greater Los Angeles, California metropolitan area. The chorus won another barbershop international competition in 2017, bringing their total gold medal count to nine.
Gas House Gang was a barbershop quartet that won the 1993 SPEBSQSA International Quartet Competition. They started singing as a group in 1987 in St. Louis Missouri. After winning the 1988 Central States District Competition in their first attempt, they began a steady climb up the International Competition ladder which culminated in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where they were awarded the 1993 International Quartet Championship.
The Ambassadors of Harmony (AOH) is a 120+ member men's barbershop chorus, based in St. Charles, Missouri. The chorus won International Championship gold medals in 2004, 2009, and 2012, each time singing two arrangements by David Wright, under the direction of Dr. Jim Henry, and then again in 2016, under the co-direction of Jonny Moroni and Dr. Henry. Their 2009 victory broke a nearly three-decade winning streak by the Vocal Majority.
The Alexandria Harmonizers are an international champion barbershop chorus based in Alexandria, Virginia. Numbering 110 men in 2013, the chorus is the performing arm of the Alexandria Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, under the direction of Joseph Cerutti, Jr. The Harmonizers have performed at the Kennedy Center Honors, Carnegie Hall, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, the Supreme Court the Great Wall of China, and the White House. It is a member of several choral associations in addition to the Barbershop Harmony Society, including Chorus America and the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America.
The Great Northern Union is a men's chorus based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. They perform four-part harmony, particularly in the barbershop style. Officially, they are the Hilltop, Minnesota chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), and are very active in competition. The chorus has won 11 medals in BHS International Chorus competitions, including consecutive second-place silver medals in 2011 and 2012.
The Westminster Chorus is a men's a cappella chorus based in Westminster, California. International Chorus Champions of the Barbershop Harmony Society in 2007, 2010, 2015, and 2019, and Choir of the World in 2009, they are composed almost entirely of men under the age of 40.
The British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) is a British organisation of male barbershop singers. It was formed in 1974 and is affiliated with the Barbershop Harmony Society.
Joe Connelly is a barbershop quartet lead singer, competition judge, chorus director, and full-time coach for various barbershop quartets. Connelly is the first man ever to have become a Barbershop Harmony Society International Championship gold medalist four times, first with Interstate Rivals in 1987 at the age of 22, then with Keepsake in 1992, with Platinum in 2000, and with Old School in 2011. In 2000, he had already become the first person to win the gold medal three times. Quartet-mate Tony DeRosa joined Connelly as a four-time gold medalist in 2017. A few other singers have achieved the honor of being three-time champions, including quartet-mate Kipp Buckner.
Max Q is the barbershop quartet that won the gold medal Barbershop Harmony Society International Barbershop Quartet Contest at Denver's Pepsi Center July 7, 2007. The quartet's run for the title is featured in the 2009 feature documentary American Harmony.
The Association of Far Western District Champions (AFWDC), is an affiliate organization of the Far Western District Association of Chapters of SPEBSQSA, one of the districts of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Founded in 1980–81, its members are the champions from the district's annual quartet contest, from 1947 to present. AFWDC's primary purpose is to raise funds to subsidize the travel expenses of Far Western District quartets which qualify to compete at the Barbershop Harmony Society's international quartet contest. This is done with the proceeds of two shows produced annually: the Past Champs Show, held the Friday evening of the district's annual convention; and the Go For The Gold Show, held each June.
The Heralds of Harmony is a Tampa, Florida-based men's a cappella chorus that has been entertaining Florida audiences in the barbershop style continuously since 1945, and is currently ranked among the nation's best male vocal ensembles. The Tampa Bay Heralds of Harmony is a semi-professional chorus affiliated with the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS). The Heralds of Harmony are multiple-time Florida state barbershop chorus champions, and consistently represent the state at the BHS international chorus contest. The Heralds have ranked as high as 6th in the world.
OC Times is a male barbershop quartet affiliated with the Barbershop Harmony Society. They earned second place silver medals at the International Barbershop Quartet Contest at Denver's Pepsi Center on July 7, 2007, and won the International Quartet Championship on July 5, 2008, in Nashville, Tennessee. The quartet combines traditional barbershop harmonies with contemporary music styles. The music of OC Times is inspired by artists like Michael Buble, Sinatra, and Elvis.
The Northwest Sound Men's Chorus is a men's a cappella chorus located in Bellevue, Washington, as a chapter of the Evergreen District, a part of the Barbershop Harmony Society. The chorus celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010. The chorus membership draws from the Greater Puget Sound area. The group does a yearly community outreach called "Sing, Sing, Sing!" that offers free singing lessons for men of all ages.
Vocal FX is a young person's barbershop a capella group, based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was formed in 2003. Their style ranges from barbershop to upbeat early pop. Charlotte Murray is the musical director.
Voices of Gotham (VoG) is a competitive and performing chorus composed of approximately 60 singers from New York City and surrounding areas. VoG represents the 'Hell's Kitchen, New York' chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, and is the 2013 Mid-Atlantic District Chorus Champion. VoG was most recently designated the 10th best barbershop chorus in the world in the 2017 Barbershop Harmony Society Chorus Competition in Las Vegas, Nevada. Voices of Gotham was founded by 12 'charter members' on January 8, 2008 and holds weekly auditions for prospective singers.
Musical Island Boys is the barbershop quartet that won the International Quartet Championship for 2014 at the Barbershop Harmony Society's annual international convention, in Las Vegas, Nevada. From Wellington, New Zealand, the quartet began in 2002 at Tawa College, and competed in its first international barbershop contest in 2004. They won the international collegiate contest in 2006 at Indianapolis, and won second-place silver medals in the 2011, 2012, and 2013 international contests. Other awards include the New Zealand and Pan-Pacific Open Gold Medals at the 4th Pan Pacific Barbershop Convention in 2004, and second place in the International Open Barbershop Championships in 2011.
Main Street is a barbershop quartet that started singing as a group on March 20, 2011.
James Henry, most commonly referred to as "Jim Henry", is a vocal music professor, barbershop bass singer, and co-director of the Ambassadors of Harmony (AOH). He is a multiple international award-winning quartet member, whose quartets have appeared nationally on the NBC, PBS, and Fox television networks. Henry is the current director of choral studies at the University of Missouri–St. Louis and a contributing author of widely used musical reference works.
References
- ↑ Wirt, Eliot (March 2006) [1998]. Melville, David (ed.). Fifty Years of Harmony, A Singing Man's History of the Far Western District. Far Western District Association of Chapters of SPEBSQSA. p. 57. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
- ↑ Morales, Pedro. Quartet singers croon classic numbers Reno Gazette-Journal 2003-03-22
- ↑ "Bennet, Darryn. New generation of quartets is not your fathers' barbershop North County Times 2007-11-26". Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
- ↑ Garden City Chorus becomes Far Western District champ The Campbell Reporter 2002-12-04
- ↑ "Richardson, Don. Fifty Years of Harmony: The Phoenix Saguaro Chapter 1943-1993 (1993)". Archived from the original on 2001-07-07. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
- ↑ "AIC history". Archived from the original on 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
- ↑ "Quartet Champions of the Far Western District". Far Western District web site. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25.