You asked for more free time in Philly, you got it! Exciting schedule changes ….
Posted by Rick Spencer | Posted in Chorus, Contests & Judging, Events, Quartetting, Youth in Harmony | Posted on December 3, 2009, 1:15 PM
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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!)
Here are some highlights from the schedule:
Tuesday, June 29
- Catch Harmony University courses and do some sight-seeing and shopping by day, then get ready for the first big event …
- No groggy Saturday mornings this year. The exciting Bank of America Collegiate Barbershop Quartet Contest will be held at 6 p.m. in the same venue as the other contests. What better way to start off the week than to see the future of the Society at its very best. This is no amateur show–you will be blown away by what a quality contest this has become!
Wednesday, June 30
- An earlier start time for both Quartet Quarterfinals sessions will allow for an earlier end time so you can relax, meet up with old friends, take in the city of Philadelphia and sing the night away in any of the hotel lobbies!
Thursday, July 1
- Twenty of the Society’s best quartets compete in the Quartet Semifinal round.
- Take a break from the competition for a while and celebrate world-wide Barbershop Harmony (with dinner) at the World Harmony Jamboree Dinner Show.
- When you’re done with dinner, head on over to the Association of International Champions Show that night. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Friday, July 2
- We’ve shortened the break a bit between the Chorus Contest rounds to allow for an earlier end time. The greatest choruses on earth will be competing for gold; none will have more on the line than Vocal Majority and Westminster Chorus, who will together reprise their 2006 too-close-to-call showdown.
- The competing 28 choruses will be able to schedule their victory parties (everyone’s a winner, right?) on Friday night, and all of us can have a party night that will rival Saturday night’s festivities, because nobody has to wake up early Saturday morning for other events.
Saturday, July 3
- No major events until late in the morning, so enjoy sleeping in, catching up on shopping and sight-seeing, catch Crossroads’ Master Class, enjoy Sing with the Champs, and then join us at the MegaSing.
- Support the mission of the Barbershop Harmony Society at the Harmony Foundation Presents … show at 1:30 p.m. Ask anyone who went to the show in Anaheim and they’ll tell you to never miss this event! (Performing groups will be announced soon.)
- Based on your feedback, we added a 6 p.m. Awards and Preshow. Come see our new chorus champions perform, Hall of Fame presentations, the new Collegiate Quartet champions, and others.
- What we’ve all been waiting for: Starting at 7:30 p.m., the Quartet Finals round is the apex of the five-day celebration of barbershop harmony. We’ll say goodbye to our outgoing quartet champion, Crossroads, crown our new champion, sing Keep the Whole World Singing, and have you to the lobbies around 9:30 .m. so you can sing the night away.
Did we also mention that this year just outside the doors to the main venue there will be a lounge where you can keep your eye on the contest on a big screen and get a bite to eat or something to drink? All of this to make the convention experience more fun.
With everything in walking distance, the HQ hotel attached to the Philadelphia Convention Center, and the new schedule, this convention will be like no other. Come join us in the celebration!
A lot of tough decisions in there, but all well worth a shot. Early exits each evening will be great, and even on the most crowded day (Thursday) the WHJ show includes Dinner, so kills tow birds with one stone.
Nothing will likely ever be perfect, but this will be great shot at shaking things up.
Alan, would you mind posting your Harmonet post on this topic here? There are some good points in it that address some of the questions other have posted here (like the fact that the collegiate contest was previously successful in the earlier time slot and that the collegiate quartets are all subsidized now, etc).
Where is info to sign up for these HU courses?
“Catch Harmony University courses and do some sight-seeing and shopping by day, then get ready for the first big event …”
HU Classes are TBD right now. But you don’t need to sign up ahead of time…just show up. The final class schedule should be out later in the spring.
Thanks you, thank you. This looks like a much more civilized schedule for convention goers. It’s great to know that HQ is not only listening but implementing.
Rick – looks like a fun week. I agree with Alan that some tough decisions were made, but we need to take some chances sometimes if we expect to improve.
There is definitely a lot more breathing room in this schedule. Especially exciting is not making the contests run late into the night. More time for tag singing!!!!
As much as I enjoy not having to be in the venue until midnight or later, moving the collegiate contest to Tuesday night doesn’t seems somewhat misguided. As a college student I know that summer jobs are hard to come by, and being able to take a whole week off is even harder. The move to Tuesday might force some competitors to rethink staying for the entire convention just for financial requirements.
Also, I’m not sure last year’s dismal attendance at the collegiate contest will be remedied by the move to Tuesday. Wasn’t the Harmony Foundation Presents show moved to Saturday from Tuesday to promote attendance and increase access to convention-goers who arrive later in the week?
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t fond of the early Saturday and firmly believe that the early start of the contest made for an unfair advantage to later appearing quartets, but Tuesday night might not bode well for contestants who may have to step off the jet way and directly onto the stage.
Just sticking up for the people too busy singing tags to fill out a survey.
I have to agree with Wes. It looks like a lot of collegiate quartet competitors will have to miss the top quartets and choruses because they can’t take a week off work. That’s really unfortunate. Moreover, I doubt a lot of convention-goers are going to come early in the week to hear the collegiate quartet contest, which was really impressive this past summer.
I missed your comment earlier Wes, so you can read my post. I completely agree with you.
So how was it that the kids were able to do this in the early years when they didn’t get $1500? And recent rule changes have shifted the competitors much more in favor of existing members over new members, so that seems to favor people who would have already been here vs. the first several contests.
The Larry Ajer Show on Tuesday has been better attended than the College Contest, at least this last year. I think there are plenty of people in town, and as it stands, not many are coming on Saturday.
It may not toally work out on Tuesday, but short-sighted it ain’t. There are several factors pointing to success, past success being among them.
Just want to ask HQ in their listing of activities to render properly a certain class title. The appropriate term for a class taught by a person or group qualified through their accomplishment is a “Master Class”.
It isn’t a “Masters Class” or, as is in the schedule cited above, a “Master’s Class”.
It’s halftime of Saints-Redskins, so I have time to think of such irrelevance
It is if it’s the MoH doing it.
It was the MOH that inaugurated this class many moons ago. Kinda cool that it stuck.
Agreed with Doug. It was my understanding that the name originated with the MoH at first and stuck as an intentional nod to that initial one.
It looks much improved, but my only concern is with the collegiate competition. In the past it was nice for the college guys to be able to leave on Thursday or Friday, perform Saturday, and come home Sunday because you only had to pay for a few nights in a hotel. Now those college quartets are going to have to pay for 5-6 nights if they want to see the chorus and quartet finals and get the entire convention experience. That added price may become an issue for a few of the college groups.
But I know that there are many tough decisions and you can never please everyone.
The groups are getting $1500, which could cover 5 nights, registrations, and some food. Transportation would be the main hurdle to save for, and many districts provide additional funding to assist with that.
For many years, the competitors got nothing unless they placed. This seed money should alleviate this issue, and can be put to better use to have them around for the week instead of dropping in Friday night and seeing only the finals.
If we’re going to give them money to come to our convention, shouldn’t they come to our convention? =)