The Grand Central Chorus are members of the British Association of Barbershop Singers. They are five-time BABS National Chorus Champions.
Ineligible for one year after each win.
1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 1st | 3rd | |||||
2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
1st | 1st [3] | 2nd [4] | 2nd [5] | 2nd [6] | 4th [7] | ||
2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
5th [8] | 6th [9] | 3rd [10] | 1st [11] | 5th [12] | 3rd [13] | 2nd [14] | |
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |||
3rd [15] | 2nd [16] | 5th [17] | N/A | N/A |
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.
The Toronto Northern Lights (TNL) is a Toronto, Ontario-based men's chorus of about 75 singers drawn from the Ontario District of the Barbershop Harmony Society. They won the title of Barbershop Harmony Society International Chorus Champions in July 2013 by a margin of two points over the two-time champion Westminster Chorus. The chorus had also earned the silver medal at five consecutive International Chorus Competitions, as well as bronze medals in 2000, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Sweet Adelines International is a worldwide organization of women singers, established in 1945, committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performances. This independent, nonprofit music education association is one of the world's largest singing organizations for women. "Harmonize the World" is the organization's motto. It has a current membership of 23,000 and holds an annual international singing competition.
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.
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 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.
The Sound of the Rockies (SOR) is an a cappella men's chorus based in greater Denver, Colorado. They are currently the 4th place International Bronze Medalist Chorus for the Barbershop Harmony Society. In 2007, they co-hosted the International Convention in Denver with the Denver Mountainaires. The chorus comprises between 90-100 voices currently.
The Far Western District is a geographical district of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS).
Hallmark of Harmony is the male barbershop chorus of the Sheffield Barbershop Harmony Club, based in Sheffield, England. The chorus formed in 1978 and has won the British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) gold medal eight times, in 1986, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2014 and 2019. It won the silver medal in 1983, 1984, 1988, 1993, 1996, 1999 and 2013 & bronze in 1985 and 2012.
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.
The White Rose Chorus is the York, Pennsylvania, chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, under the direction of Bob Crist III. It was the second society chapter to be chartered in Pennsylvania (1946), and the first in its district to surpass 100 active members. In 2018, the White Rose Chorus was ranked "Most Improved" among eight competing choruses in its division, and the best in its plateau level.
The Marcsmen are a premier men's a cappella group based in San Antonio, Texas. Chartered by the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) in 2008, the chorus has qualified for International Chorus competitions of the BHS 6 times, most recently for the 2020 competition in Los Angeles, California. They won their first Southwestern District championship in 2012 and won back-to-back championships in 2018 and 2019.
Main Street is a barbershop quartet that started singing as a group on March 20, 2011.
The Sweet Adelines International Competitions are the annual global championships for women's barbershop harmony a cappella singing – in quartets and choruses – for members of Sweet Adelines International (SAI) and have been held annually between September and November since 1947. They are now the largest women's singing competition in the world with over 8000 participants at the 2014 convention. There are two competitions for choruses, and two competitions for quartets. Currently, the first three of these competitions are held together and form the Sweet Adelines International Convention. Over the course of competition history, the most successful chorus has been Melodeers Chorus from Chicago with seven championship titles, and the most successful quartet singer was Connie Noble who won with four separate quartets. Lustre Quartet from Baltimore holds the record for highest quartet score, and Rönninge Show Chorus from Stockholm for highest ever chorus score.
The results of the Sweet Adelines International competition for choruses in the years 2010–2019 are as follows.
Harmony Classic is a women's barbershop competition for small and mid-sized choruses run by Sweet Adelines International as part of the organisation's annual convention since 2010. The results of the competition are as follows. For a full explanation of the scoring system, qualification process, awards and records, see Sweet Adelines International competition.
The Great Western Chorus of Bristol is a men's a cappella chorus singing primarily in the Barbershop style. It is a founder member of the British Association of Barbershop Singers, with whom the chorus shared its 40th anniversary in 2014. The Great Western Chorus is the most successful chorus in the association.
Harmony, Incorporated, is an international organization of women singers whose purpose is to empower all women through education, friendship and singing. Founded by 1959 by Peggy Rigby, Charlotte Sneddon, Mary Avis Hedges, Jeanne Maino and Mary Perry in Providence, Rhode Island, the organization currently has just under 2000 members in the United States and Canada and is closely affiliated with the Barbershop Harmony Society.
Finest Hour is the 2017 European barbershop quartet champion. The quartet also won the 2016 British barbershop quartet championship in Harrogate in May 2016. Finest Hour went to Las Vegas for the international competition in 2017, placing 28th in the world. Since then, their qualifying score of 83%, the UK record for a male quartet, scored in May 2018 in Harrogate, qualified them again to represent the British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) at the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS)'s 2019 international competition held in Salt Lake City, where they placed 22nd.