Imagine that a Society member or Associate was ready to write a million dollar check to Harmony Foundation. But he or she needs a cause that they are certain would be a great investment. Would YOU know what to tell them?
I’m pretty sure I already know what Harmony Foundation would tell them. They already gave $450,000 to the Society in 2009 to fund our entire Youth in Harmony program and to help dozens and dozens of chapters improve via Director’s College scholarships. And I know they’re hard at work trying to raise money for additional Society priorities: Read the rest of this entry »
The last of the Collegiate Quartet Preliminary Contests is over, and we’re excited to announce that 29 collegiate quartets qualified for the International CBQC – which will be taking place on Tuesday, June 29 at 6:00pm in Philadelphia! Read the rest of this entry »
Here we are six weeks away from the Midwinter Convention in Tampa, Fla. (January 28-31, 2010) and we’re headed towards what looks to be our largest attended Midwinter ever. As of this morning we are sitting at 1210 registrations! Last year at this time we were at 893 registrations and by the time everything was said and done we had 1291 folks in Pasadena. Where will Tampa finish? Come on and find out!
As you can imagine, we here at HQ are very excited about this. I am especially excited because quite simply, more barbershoppers in the same place at the same time=FUN. Even now, however, the convention is still somewhat of a “best kept secret” in the Society. Read the rest of this entry »
You told us loud and clear in surveys that the convention schedule must change. You wanted fewer overlapping events, fewer awards and more singing, and events that ended early enough that you could get an hour or two of tagging in before bed and still get a decent night’s rest. Take a look at the Philly convention schedule and you’ll see some exciting changes that will give you more breathing room–more time to convene at barbershop’s international showcase.
But you didn’t want us to drop any of the events that have always packed our week. To give you that more open schedule you want (and not by inviting fewer competitors) we went back to hosting our first major event on Tuesday evening. (As an added bonus, it also helps keep the registration costs as low as possible–we actually reduced it from 2009!)
I received this email from Bill Rohlin (a 40-year member of the Society) the other day which he’s given me permission to share here on the blog:
I’d like to see some songs in the BBS style from the top 100 hits from the years when our target demographic was in its teens. We need simple arrangements. If the tune could be contestable it needs to be clearly stated that the easy-to-learn version is not. If choruses and quartets could learn some of these songs they might generate interest in the 35 – 50 age group. Simple arrangements with gangbuster tags of songs from 1975 into the early 90′s would be my suggestion. Surely there must be some songs from that time period that were not rap or heavy metal, some that can fit in. Just my thought.
Sing-cerely, Bill
We’ve seen many arrangers select pieces from the era of music and many of those songs have worked quite well for barbershop groups. Many are not contestable but certainly make for good show material. The Society has also published several titles from this era. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” “God Bless the USA,” and “You Raise Me Up” come to mind.
So what do you think about this idea?
AND MORE IMPORTANLY…what are some songs from this time period you think would fit the bill?
From a field of 70 quartets a record breaking 28 Collegiate Quartets have qualified and will represent their schools, districts and/or affiliate organizations at the International Collegiate Quartet Contest this summer in Anaheim, CA! Congratulations to all competitors! This year showed the largest participation in the number of quartets since the inception of this contest back in 1992. Read the rest of this entry »
Music Specialist James Estes sent this around to the staff this morning. Would you take a look at these kids’ faces? How can anyone watch this and believe that music is anything less than an essential investment in making better students and better people?
We have a number of chapters who are doing an AWESOME job helping fill what would otherwise be a gaping hole in the lives of children. For example, here’s what barbershoppers in British Columbia are doing: Read the rest of this entry »
