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Saturday, July 9, 2016 Daily Bulletin The 78th Annual Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Convention

A Better World. Singing.

Possibly the Best Day of Barbershopping Ever! By David Belden, Daily Bulletin Editor It may not be much of a stretch to refer to today as “The Best Day of Barbershopping Ever!” The city of Nashville will explode with the sound of four-part harmony everywhere you look. Harmony University classes begin at 9:00 and run through the afternoon giving everyone an opportunity to improve their skills. The annual Gospel Sing is at 10:00 at the First Baptist Church and will feature the Fairfield Four and the Benson Family Singers encouraging everyone to sing along. Westminster Chorus hosts their Gold Medal Hour at 11:00. At noon the singing takes to the streets. The huge A Better World. Singing. performance, which is free and open to the public, will be held on the giant outdoor stage in the Walk of Fame Park. You can be part of the fun when that same park becomes the site of the Mass Sing at 3:00. If you prefer your barbershop music in the comfort of air conditioning, the World Harmony Jamboree will be held in the Davidson Ballroom of the Music City Center at 1:00. (This is a separately ticketed event.) The evening begins with the Saturday Night Spectacular at 5:30. Great Northern Union and the German mixed voice Heavy Medal Chorus will perform. Youth takes the stage with the Wildcat Harmonizers who show what happens when music fills a youngster’s life. Crossroads, the 2009 International Quartet Champions, and the Grammy-winning Fairfield Four will round out the spectacular. The night rounds out with the Quartet Finals. The new chorus champions will sing as well as Pratt Street Power, the Youth Quartet Champs. Then expect an awesome set by each top ten quartet and the swan song performance by Instant Classic! Throw in tag singing into the night and the Chorditorium, and you will be saying, “Best Day of Barbershopping Ever!”

Ten-way Race for the International Quartet Championship By Ron Hesketh—Daily Bulletin Reviewer What a quartet contest! I believe the scores have to be tight heading into tonight’s finals. I have been impressed by the variety of songs, with unbeatable balance between solid ballads and up-tunes that left me wanting more. With all due respect to the judges, I would not want to have to score the ringing of those impeccable chords. In this review I will list the finalists in order of appearance. Based on my opinion as a 24-year barbershopper, I give my analysis of their performances (and some insight gained as a quartet host), and then give you the opportunity to go head-to-head with our distinguished judging panel. I have listed the preliminary contest score rank of each quartet, but as we all know one or more quartets may put a performance on stage that will throw the rankings out the window. 1. Forefront: (1) They didn’t disappoint me. They sang the blues to perfection and their timing was perfect. Was it enough to hold off the competition? 2. Da Capo: (10) One of the solid sounding quartets. I couldn’t detect any glaring problems.

7. Lemon Squeezy: (3) Overall, tight harmony, and in the second song, there was great position interaction with no apparent compromise in sound. (One of my top three WOW’s.) 8. Throwback: (4) In their opening song, “He’s My Brother,” the switching of melody was awesome and enhanced the overall presentation. Sean Devine indicated they are from three states (Florida, Pennsylvania & Texas). Current fifth place medalist. 9. Signature: (9) Unless the judges rate this otherwise, I predict they are the top ten surprise and will be a serious medal contender. Daniel Cochran’s blues approach is unbeatable. The quartet had a great blend and presentation. 10. After Hours: (5) Good close harmony and a nice lead post in their opener. I have no predictions, but I do have some questions. Will there be another champion from outside the United States? Will Main Street get their request for five to ten points more? Will Lemon Squeezy overcome two positions to claim the gold? Or will there be a scenario where any one of this talented bunch earns the gold? YOUR PREDICTIONS

3. Quorum: (7) Tight harmony with no frills. 4. Main Street: (2) (five bronze medals) What a performance! Comedy and top notch sound. (One of my top three WOW’s.) Tony DeRosa stated they are presenting six new songs for this contest. Is it enough to give them “five to ten points more” to overcome Forefront? 5. Artistic License: (8) Fifth top 20; nice tight sound & transitions; great tenor post on second song. 6. Stockholm Syndrome: (6) In my humble opinion, they had awesome transitions.

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P.R.O.B.E. Meeting Held, Awards Presented By Jerry Daiker, Acting P.R.O.B.E. Secretary

The Board of Directors of the Public Relations Officers and Bulletin Editors organization was held on Thursday, July 7, at the Renaissance Hotel. P.R.O.B.E., as indicated by its name, acts as an official affiliate to Barbershop Harmony Society for Public Relations Officers and Bulletin/Newsletter Editors. In the absence of the President, Steve Jackson, the meeting was led by John Elving, Past President. Announced was a new Web site for P.R.O.B.E. It is now: www.probe-web.org The 2015 Bulletin Awards went to Steve Jackson, editor of “Mountain Talk,” first place, and John Elving, editor of “The Voice of Rushmore,” second place. Roxanne Clapp receives the Dick Durban Award for Most Improved.

The ONLINE version of the Daily Bulletin has scores of full-color convention photos. All five e-editions can be found at:

www.barbershop.org

2015 International Bulletin Contest (IBC) runner-up, John Elving (The Voice of Rushmore, RMD) displays his plaque along with that of firstplace winner Steve Jackson (Mountain Talk, RMD), who was unable to accept his award in person. (Photo by Ford Fuller)

Awards were announced for P.R.O.B.E. Hall of Fame: Hadden Olsen (for his bulletin work) and Martin Banks (for his public relations work). Awards were announced for P.R.O.B.E. Outstanding Achievement: Keith Eckart (for his Web site expertise); Casey Parsons for his barbershop Wiki development; Tom Shillus for his work with “Ragtime Gals;” and Jimmy Fallon of the Tonight Show for his “Ragtime Gals” quartet promoting barbershop There are P.R.O.B.E. officer positions to be filled to serve in 2017. They include President, Vice President of Bulletin Editors, Vice President of Public Relations and V.P. of Web site and special media (like Facebook, etc.). Existing officers can be nominated. Contact an officer if interested. The officers and contact information are listed on the Web site.

You Speak, We Listen! A Harmony University session for everyone. Lend your voice to the Society’s strategic planning process. Tell the Board what’s on your mind. This class is in Room 202A of the Music City Center. See your program for the list of all Harmony University classes.

Music City Morning News Staff David Belden, Managing Editor Barbara Belden, Ron Hesketh, Sam English, Ford Fuller, Bud Chumley, Jerry Daiker, Tony Nichols, Katie Krotje, Chris Wethered

SATURDAY: A Better World. SINGING.

E-Edition EXTRA!

Quorum

Da Capo

Forefront

Stockholm Syndrome

Main Street

Artistic License

Lemon Squeezy

Throwback

Signature

After Hours

New Fangled Four—Mic Testers

2016 Quartet Photos by Tony Nichols

Instant Classic

Instant Class Photo by Lorin May

2015 International Quartet Champions

E-Edition EXTRA!

Groupies Anonymous. Four years ago, Hollywood producer Beth Bigler (right) saw the documentary American Harmony and fell in love! Determined to learn more, she decided to surprise her mother Mary (left) with a trip to the Toronto 2013 International Convention. “It was the best thing we ever saw!” gushed Beth. And the pair hasn’t missed a convention since…even throwing in Long Beach Midwinter along the way! With Las Vegas 2017 tickets already tucked away, they plan to track down Ringmasters on their California swing later this month. But…they have been a bit shy about introducing themselves to idols they follow anonymously such as OC Times, Vocal Spectrum, Storm Front, Toronto Northern Lights, and Westminster Chorus. They are beginning to break the ice, however, singing their first tag ever Thursday night. So if you see this smiling duo hangin’ around, invite them in and teach ‘em a tag. They are hooked for life! (Photo by Ford Fuller)

Photos by Chris Wethered

E-Edition EXTRA!

Hosting a convention is a tough assignment for a competing chorus, but the Music City Chorus handled it in stride. For most men in the chorus (and many spouses and children) the work day began well before most convention guests were awake and ended after most others were in bed. The chorus still needed to find time to rehearse, with several rehearsals starting later than expected due to men working shifts at events that ran long. Thank you, Music City Chorus, for making this convention memorable!

Photos by Chris Wethered, Sam English, and Katie Krotje