July, 2009, #1

International Contest

The International Contest in Anaheim has now concluded and reports are that it was a spectacular event. Anyone who has attended a convention would not find that description surprising. If you have not been to an International, or maybe just not attended one lately, mark you calendar for next year when the contest venue will be Philadelphia. In case you have not seen or heard about this year's winners, here is a summary.

Chorus Competition

Ambassadors of Harmony (St Charles, MO)-Gold
The Vocal Majority (Dallas Metro, TX)-Silver
Great Northern Union (Hilltop, MN)-Bronze(3)
Sound of the Rockies (Denver Mile High, CO)-Bronze(4)
The Northern Lights (Toronto, ON)-Bronze(5)

The Alliance (Greater Central Ohio) placed 6th
Southern Gateway (Cincinnati Western Hills) placed 11th

Quartet Competion

Crossroads-Gold
Old School-Silver
Storm Front-Bronze(3)
Ringmasters-Bronze(4)
State Line Grocery( tie-4)

From JAD, The Allies placed 8th, TKO was 17th, Hot Air Buffoons were 20th and 4-Way Stop was 32nd.

Collegiate Quartet Contest

The Vagrants-Gold
Swedish Match-Silver
On Demand-Bronze(3)
Prestige (all Bowling Green students)-Bronze(4)
JAD's 4-Way Stop-Bronze(5)
Go Fish-Bronze(tie-5)

Getting To Know Us

This chorus member, who was born in Bluffton, OH, has been a barbershopper and a chorus member for less than two years. He has also lived in Findlay, Medina and Hannover, Germany.

He grew up on a 250 acre farm, helping to raise pigs, as well as doing other farm chores. His high school was small in size. His graduating class had 70 students. During his senior year, the football team, on which he played halfback, had a 10-0 record and was ranked in the top ten among Ohio schools.

This chorus member's main occupation was as a computer programmer, but he also has worked as a house and barn painter (early in life), a high school math and physics teacher, and a physics instructor at a technical college.

His job with General Tire took his family to Germany for a year, where they all learned to speak and read German. This was necessary because the village in which they lived had very few English speaking residents. The family traveled through much of Europe during this time. In 2005, he spent a short time in London, working for BP. During this period, his wife was on the Tube when terrorists made a second attempt to blow up the subways. Fortunately, the bombs did not go off that time.

This barbershopper plays piano and organ and played both for his church from 6th grade through high school. He is also an astronomy buff. In college, he was president of the men's Glee Club, as well as the Wizard of Oz fan club. This latter group once rented the 16mm movie and watched the whole thing in reverse.

(This man's identity will be revealed in the 7/27 issue of the bulletin)

2009 Annual Akron Derbytown Chorus Family Picnic

submitted by Stan Martin

Saturday, June 20, was our annual Family Picnic, - held at Cuyahoga Falls Waterworks Park., 5:00 PM. A great day! Dan Nichols' blazing grille, blue skies, warm weather and many friends.

Dan thought of it all. The arrangements, grille, plentiful pop, yard games and lots of food. -Vic Estafen brought a double share of his pineapple//cherry goodies, Dick Hudson’s famous pasta salad and all the wives famous cookies/veggies/brownies kept us from hunger. .

Eric Salmons was there with his lovely daughter and the geese feeding boys.

Robin’s beautiful MG and Scott Giles' red convertibles graced the parking lot. Of course, Scott led the way for a variety of Chorus favorites. Our various quartet acappella smoothed the corners.

If you weren’t there, you missed a great evening. (Try again next year!).

Thanks Dan! You did a great job, (as did the many others pitching-in).

Birthday Wishes

Dick Frank -7/21
Charles (Stan) Haught -7/21

Barbershop Glossary

Ballad-A word used to group songs which usually have a strong emotional lyric, and may be sung either in tempo, or freely.

Expanded Sound- The effect created by the combined interaction of voices sung with accurate intonation, uniform word sounds in good quality, proper volume relationships that reinforce the more compatible harmonics producing an effect (greater than the sum of the individual voice parts).

Implosion-Compression of air between the closed glottis and the closed oral and nasal passages, forming the voiceless consonants "p", "t", and "k".

Swipe-An arranger's tool which enhances a song. A series of chords sung while sustaining one word.

Vocal Folds-Two muscular bands in the larynx cavity which vibrate and create varying pitches by adjusting tension against the upward flow of air.

International Tags?

Recently, at one of our rehearsal afterglows, there was a discussion about using the internet to have a quartet sing a song, even though they are all at different locations. The technology is certainly there. If the song was a Barber Polecat, the task gets even simpler. Well, a little digging uncovered the fact that this idea has occurred to others and they have begun to put this process to the test. Here are a couple of examples. The first one features singers from New Zealand, Sweden, USA and Canada who have never met. The second was done by two singers, each contributing two parts. One is from France, the other from Germany.

Conan the Barbershopper

Tonight Show host, Conan O'Brien, spent a large part of a day last week, hanging around with barbershoppers in Anaheim. He was attired in red and white striped jacket and suitable hat to fit the occasion. There is no word yet as to if or when the footage that NBC shot will air on Conan's show, but stay alert for special notices should something definite be scheduled. In the meantime, here is an interview with Mr. O'Brien from the Society webcast. The sound and lip movement don't quite sync, but that happens to us every Tuesday so you should be used to it.

For The Good Of The Order

Board Meeting-Tonight, 7/13, 6:30

Rehearsal Location Change-The rehearsal on Tuesday, 7/14, will be held at the home of Charles (Rip) Wilson. Times are the same: Gospel group at 6:30, Chorus at 7:30.

Aeros' Game-The chorus will be singing the National Anthem (and anything else that we can get away with) at the Akron Aeros' game on Tuesday, 7/28. Contact Jim Mally if you have not signed up yet. No charge for chorus member tickets. Guest tickets are $3.00 and Jim needs the money for guest tickets turned in by 7/14.

June, 2009 #2

Apple Corps
Music Camp
June 12-13, 2009

At last count, 15 members of the Derbytown Chorus attended this year's camp. As always, the classes were great, the food was plentiful and there were lots of opportunities to sing.

In addition to the chapter representation, another camp highlight was the attendance of our newest chapter quartet, Good Fourtune. Tenor, Charlie Wilson; Lead, Jim Wolfe; Bass, Luke Frohnapfel; and baritone, Jim Bishop came to camp for coaching and performed an excellent song for the big show on Saturday night. Check them out.


We also payed a visit to the apple tree that the chapter planted on the Kenyon College campus a few years ago. The tree, which is flourishing by the way, stands as a tribute to Ed Crosley and his years of effort and leadership related to Apple Corps.

(There is a larger picture of the tree at the end of today's issue)

If you have not attended one of these camps, or maybe have missed a few lately, start planning to be there next year. The pictures below show a little bit of this year's activities.

Technical note: Collages, like the one below, should enlarge to be more viewable if you left-click once on them. Then just click on the "back" arrow of your browser to return to the bulletin page.

Who was that guy?

The mystery chorus member from the June 8 bulletin issue was Bill Halter. Not surprisingly, his son Mike was the first to identify Bill.

(Note: We have exhausted all bio sheets, so unless more come in before the next bulletin issue (July 13) we will have to temporarily suspend the Getting To Know Us feature from the bulletin)

Birthdays

Chris Eitman 6/23
Charlie Horning 6/28
George Bachmann 7/1
Virgil Koppes 7/4
Larry Steele 7/4
Dan Nichols 7/7
Kirk Roose 7/12
Kurt Spenoso 7/12

Barbershop Glossary

Afterglow- Informal harmony singing after a performance usually at convention or prelims.

Downbeat- The first beat in a bar. (ok, insert your own joke here)

Inside Smile- A mental imagery concept that aids in lifting the upper lip away from the front teeth. It assists in extending the vocal tract, raising the soft palate and adds animation to the face.

Resonance- A body of air that vibrates. The singer attempts to control the 'containee' which holds the air, thus affecting quality

Up Beat- The last beat in the bar (No more jokes, please)

Copley Show

For the 32nd consecutive year, the Akron Derbytown Chorus and chapter quartets performed at Copley Circle as part of the Summer Music Festival. This year, special guests were Over Easy, the 6th place International Seniors quartet and 2009 JAD champs, Cadillac Jack. MC Tom Gentry kept the event flowing and the audience engaged, and the weather, as usual, was very pleasant.

Recent Guests

On Tuesday, June 16th, five guests were present at our rehearsal. In the picture below, Chapter Development VP Jim Bishop (right) introduces Jim Cleeland from the Salem Chapter. Jim had talked to several Akron members at Apple Corps and wanted to see what we were all about in person.

Below are pictures of the guests(from the right) David Breen, Jim Cleeland, Clifford Crocker,and Taylor and Victor Salmons, sons of Erik.

Congratulations to Doug and Mike

At our 6/16 rehearsal, member Doug Husser received his official membership documents. Doug (left) is shown below with Mike Hoover who received a Man of Note pin for bringing Doug into our chapter.

A Tag From James Estes
(Those who attended Apple Corps got to hang out with James)

(he's on the far left)

June, 2009 #1

It Was A Beautiful Day For Baseball
And For Singing

The chorus' singing of The National Anthem at Progressive Field was one important part of a day of fun. Some barbershoppers met early on Sunday, May 31 for breakfast. Then chapter members and their families and friends began arriving at the ballpark. The venue at Gate A had a lot of activity and loud music. It was decided to move our pre-game singing to the area outside Gate C. This turned out to be a good choice.

We positioned ourselves near the Bob Feller statue and entertained a very appreciative crowd for about 30 minutes. Some people just gathered at our location and others listened while they waited in line for admission to Progressive Field. The time seemed to pass quickly and we just had time to get in KTWWS before heading back to the Gate A area to wait for our escort onto the field.

Very soon, but not before we worked in a couple more songs, we began our journey through the tunnels and then out onto the field. No need to worry about whether or not we were warmed up. The first pitch was thrown, the color guard took their place and then we were introduced. (Our first pitch was an "E")

What a feeling! Surrounded by your friends, singing the anthem of our country in front of tens of thousands of people. It's just not something that happens everyday.

The fans showed their appreciation as we left the field and the reviews from those back in section 304 were very positive. And to top it all off, the Indians won the game over the Yankees in the ninth inning. Maybe we were a good luck talisman. Should we suggest that the controversial Chief Wahoo be replaced by a barberpole logo? Slider looks more like an old fashioned shaving brush than an Indian anyway.

A huge thank you to all who made this performance possible and to those who sang. It really was a wonderful day and great publicity for our chorus and barbershopping in general.

For anyone who missed the videos that have been emailed and for those of you who are readers of the bulletin but not on our mailing list, here they are again.

Congratulations, Jack

Though he has been a member for a while now, Jack Kunklier (left) officially received his membership materials at our June 2 rehearsal. Jack is shown here with Charles "Rip" Wilson, who brought Jack into the barbershop fold. Applause to both men.

Getting To Know Us

The mystery chorus member this month has been a resident of northeast Ohio for his entire life, living in Kent for the past 22 years. He has been a chorus member and a barbershopper for 5 years. He is married and has two children.

He spent his first 5 years on a farm that was very near to where his German ancestors settled around 1832. Before starting school, his family moved to another farm that was about 25 miles away. This location would be home until a couple of years after high school graduation.


Early music exposure included listening to country music on the radio in the barn while cows were being milked. There is no evidence that the music made the animals produce more milk, but they seemed to enjoy the sound as much as the humans did.

When school started, this young man had to walk a bit to get to the school bus stop. His best friend, of the same age, lived a quarter mile farther from the bus stop. So each school day morning, the friend would walk to meet our future barbershopper and they would continue together for another mile or so. This was in all kinds of weather. And rumor has it that it was uphill both ways.

With a lot of time on their hands while they walked, what else could they do but sing. They got pretty good at two part harmony on country and gospel songs as well as rock and roll tunes from the radio. Mothers always knew when the boys were coming home because they could hear the singing from at least a half mile away.

Our mystery man became a member of the high school band at age 10, playing cornet. During his eight years in this group, the band received a Superior rating at State Contest each year. Other musical activities included forming an acapella quartet to sing a couple of songs at the school prom and being in a four piece band that played songs from the 1940's. Possibly the smallest big band on record.

While working on a degree from Kent State University, he met his future wife. In the summers, to pay for college, jobs included making school lockers at Berger Div. of Republic Steel in Canton, working at a ceramic tile plant in East Sparta and helping to produce sausages and lunch meats at Sugardale, Inc.

Teaching and marriage followed college. Musical activities continued in the form of church choirs, and several different country music and classic rock bands.

Traveling has always been a part of this man's life. He and his wife spent six weeks on the road from Ohio to California and back, living in a two-person tent. Husband and wife repeated this trip 13 years later in a pop-up tent trailer with two children. Since retirement arrived in 2004, the word is that the camping these days is not quite so primitive.

Barbershop Glossary

Aspirate- Breathy The sound of unvocalized breath passing over the vocal chords.

Chest Voice- A term related to imagery, not reality . The feeling of sympathetic vibrations in the chest.

Exhalation- Breathing out. In singing, it is the act of managing the release of breath needed for the length of a phrase.

Resonators- Any of the parts and cavities of the vocal instrument that acoustically reinforce sound. Principal resonators are the throat and the mouth, with sympathetic vibrations in the upper chest and nasal area.

Tremolo- Excessively wide or fast vibrato that leads to a loss of a distinct sense of central pitch. Usually caused by poor breath support and a faulty control of the singing muscles.

Bill Weddington- 6/11
Don Jones- 6/13
Hal Moses- 6/14
Bill Halter- 6/18



The Songs We Sing
(Chattanooga Choo Choo)

(we are testing a format in the paragraph below. If you are interested in finding out about any of the terms printed in blue, just click and you shall receive more information, courtesy of Wikipedia. Just click the "back" arrow on your browser to return to the bulletin page)

Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a big-band/swing song which was featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, which starred Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller and his orchestra, The Modernaires, Milton Berle and Joan Davis. It was performed in the film as an extended production number, featuring vocals by Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly, and the Modernaires followed by a production number showcasing Dorothy Dandridge and an acrobatic dance sequence by The Nicholas Brothers. This was the #1 song across the United States on December 7, 1941. The Glenn Miller recording, RCA Bluebird B-11230-B, was no.1 for nine weeks on the Billboard Best Sellers chart.

The 78-rpm commercial version of the song was recorded on May 7, 1941 for RCA Victor's Bluebird label and became the first to be certified a gold disc on February 10, 1942, for sales of 1,200,000. The transcription of this award ceremony can be heard on the first of three volumes of RCA's "Legendary Performer" compilations on Glenn released by RCA in the 1970s. In the early 1990s a two-channel recording of a portion of the Sun Valley Serenade soundtrack was discovered, allowing reconstruction of a true-stereo version of the film performance.

In 1996, the 1941 recording of "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on Bluebird, B-11230-B, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The song was written by the team of Mack Gordon and Harry Warren while traveling on the Southern Railway's "Birmingham Special" train. The song tells the story of travelling from New York City to Chattanooga. However, the inspiration for the song was a small, wood-burning steam locomotive of the 2-6-0 type which belonged to the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, which is now part of the Norfolk Southern Railway system. That train is now a museum artifact (see below). From 1880, most trains bound for America's South passed through the southeastern Tennessee city of Chattanooga, often on to the super-hub of Atlanta. The Chattanooga Choo Choo did not refer to any particular train, though some[who?] have incorrectly asserted that it referred to Louisville and Nashville's Dixie Flyer or the Southern Railway's Crescent Limited.

Barbershop News

Champs in Hollywood

The Dapper Dans barbershop quartet has been performing at Disneyland in Anaheim, California since 1959; making this year their 50th anniversary in show business. To commemorate this milestone, and because the Dans have touched so many lives for so many years, the Barbershop Harmony Society will present the Dans with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The presentation takes place on July 4 at 7:15 pm during the Quartet Finals Session in front of a packed house at Anaheim’s Honda Center. Members of the Dapper Dans from around the world will be invited on stage to share in the celebration. The presentation will conclude with a special performance by the Anaheim Dappers.

Several of the Dapper Dans are members of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Adding a unique touch to their performances, the Dapper Dans use Deagan Organ Chimes as part of their act. Each of the eight chimes has three octaves of a single note, comprising a C scale. The Organ Chimes were made by the J.C. Deagan Company in Chicago, IL around 1901.

BACKGROUND

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT US …

A sampling of highlights from news articles, on-air programming and interviews
with some of our more famous “alumni”

Notes from the press…

The Orange County Register Monday, August 21, 2006
THE WESTMINSTER CHORUS HAS SILVER MEDAL, AND GROUPIES
Like rock stars of harmony, chorus is big hit at the internationals.
By Lori Basheda
Costa Mesa - They're like a cross between pop heartthrob Justin Timberlake and Disneyland's Main Street-strolling Dapper Dans. And in this topsy-turvy world we live in, it should come as no surprise that a lot of girls are going for that combo.
Yes, the Westminster (barbershop) Chorus has groupies. Hundreds of groupies. Groupies who are under the age of 50…

Washington Post Feb. 7, 2007
WARBLERS REVEAL WORDSMITH’S SOFT SIDES
John Kelly, columnist
Barbershop singing, a quintessentially American form of close harmony, is like aural
honey…The sound sets the air vibrating and tickles the ear like a cat tongue licking your cheek.

…and from some of our celebrity honorary members and current members

Opera star Sherrill Milnes, currently on faculty at Northwestern University
“Barbershop is very sharp, clean and exciting. There is a lot of muscle in that kind of harmony.”

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Jimmy Merchant, currently a member of the Barbershop
Harmony Society’s Salisbury, Maryland, chapter
“You guys have taken American street corner harmony a step further and it is amazing to me what you can do with your sound.”

Broadway actor, touring company “Phantom” and barbershop harmony gold medalist Gary Mauer
“Hearing barbershop harmony somehow makes me feel whole…Even now, no matter what role I’m playing, I think deep down inside me I’m subconsciously still trying to sing like (quartet gold medalist) Ted Bradshaw.”

Grammy-award-winning vocalist Bill Gaither
“I have been a fan for years. The Buffalo Bills recording of ‘Lida Rose’ was my first encounter with barbershop back in the mid-1950s, and I said, ‘Hey, there’s something different about this four-part harmony, let me figure this out.’ I don’t think I ever got it figured out, but it’s good!”

For The Good Of The Order