November 2014

Chords are ringing and hymns are humming here at the Akron Derbytown Chorus as we get prepared for the big holiday rush! Yes many are excited and are requesting performances around this time of year and we are preparing to bring the best barbershop quality we can. Upcoming events include:

• Akron Children's Hospital Christmas Tree Festival (11/22 at 1pm)
• Kettle Singing at Acme stores for the Salvation Army (12/6 from 8:30 am -1 pm)
• First Night (more information next issue)

Elections have been completed for the board and congratulations to all those who have been elected and thank you to the men who served diligently while waiting for your replacements.

The Pick Up Quartet Contest had some great competitors and congratulations to our winners!

1. Charlie's Angels
2. All the President's Men
3. Honeycomb Quartet
4. Hasty Four
5. One Jim Short

All of the videos of the performances are on our Facebook Page feel free to visit and see what you've missed.

May, 2013

Springing Into 2013

Here is the first Bulletin edition of the year.  Sue and I had a good winter in Florida.  Now, it's time to get back to our normal activities here in Ohio.  For me, one of those is putting an edition of this publication online each month.  So, here we go.

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Year In Harmony

Since 2013 is a year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of our Society, the Bulletin will feature articles and facts that are related to happenings between 1938 and the present, both inside and outside of the world of music.  Since some of you who are reading this were around in 1938, I encourage you to share memories and events that I could share with the all of our readers.  Just see me at rehearsal or send an email to the Bulletin address, which is derbytown08@gmail.com

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Annual Show Double Header

On April 5 & 6 of this year, The Derbytown Chorus presented it's 66th annual show, "That's My Baby".   Appreciative audiences on both nights were treated to a musical portrayal of the experiences of a first time father awaiting the birth of his first child while thinking back to his relationship with his own parents.

Featured quartets, Max Q and Main Street were outstanding and presented all of those in attendance with an example of the very best in barbershop harmony.

A big pat on the back to Mike Sitter, Rip Wilson and the entire show committee for organizing and producing this year's show.  Congratulations also to all chorus members who sang in the show.  It represents many hours of work for everyone and you should be proud of the final product. (I can say that without it sounding like self-praise since my stay in Florida made me an audience member and not a show participant)

As they used to say in the days of real baseball double-headers, "let's play two".  On May 4th, the show was reprised at the beautiful Medina Performing Arts Center.  Sue and I were in the audience for that one and I can say, for both of us, "Bravo!"

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Lock 4 At Canal Park

On Sunday, May 19th, Lock 4 entertained the crowd before the start of the game between the Akron Aeros and the Erie Seawolves.  The quartet was in fine voice and even attracted a groupie in the form of Homer, one of the Aeros' mascots. 

 "Homer, baseball, pigeon, I get it"

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Youth in Harmony Marches Forward

By Mike Sitter, Youth in Harmony Chairman

Akron Chapter’s YIH program continues its mission to support vocal music education and help perpetuate barbershop harmony by introducing the art form to young people. Following up on Con Men quartet’s enormously successful visit to area high schools in December, our YIH team visited three more schools this winter.

On February 13, the team made presentations to four of Sharon Risko’s classes—two at Woodridge High School and two at the junior high school. Students from 7^th through 12^th grades were captivated by consonant chords, and savored the fun songs and tags they heard and sang.

Four days later the team traveled to Coventry High School for another all-day affair. Choral director Julie Strebler afforded access to all four of her choral classes. As with every school we have visited, her students were delightful and delighted, proving again that music appreciation bridges the generation gap.

Having visited Richard Eder’s choir class at North High School last May, the YIH team was pleased to be invited back on March 8. North is Akron’s English-as-a-Second-Language high school. Despite their varying levels of fluency with English, the students clearly enjoyed our visit and the music to which we exposed them. Our videos of Ring Masters and Musical Island Boys bore witness to the fact that barbershop harmony can penetrate cultural, geographic and language barriers.

As reported here previously, while planning Con Men’s school visits, we discovered a promising quartet had already formed at Kent Roosevelt High School. In fact, Con Men treated the foursome, known as Tetrad, to a wonderful coaching session during our visit to their school. Tenor Gordon Wall, lead Luke Schmidt, baritone Clay Magilavy and bass Matt Stiller continued their rapid progress in the ensuing months. So great has been their development that the quartet opened Akron’s 66^th annual show in April 5 and 6. They were a huge hit with our show audiences, as well at the cast party and the afterglow.

The following weekend, in their first-ever competition, Tetrad won the Johnny Appleseed District high school quartet contest at Huntington, West Virginia. Their victory earned them a free trip to Harmony Camp this summer. As each of these young men will attend college in Ohio, they plan to keep the quartet together as long as they can. The future is bright for Tetrad as a quartet and as fine individuals.

Likewise, we are optimistic about the future of the chapter’s YIH program. The lines of communication with music educators have been established or, in some cases, restored. In the past year, we have exposed hundreds of students to barbershop harmony. We have identified existing and potential local high school quartets. The program has gained considerable momentum, which the chapter can use to fuel the renaissance of barbershop singing by local students. 

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Remembering 1938

Since we have several months to look back at the year of our Society's founding, I will just give a few economic reference points now to set the stage.

What did things cost in 1938?

Average cost of a new house- $3900

Average wages per year- $1730

Cost of a gallon of gasoline- 10 cents

Monthly cost of renting a house- $27

Cost of a new car- $763

Cost of a loaf of bread- 9 cents

Cost of a pound of hamburger meat- 13 cents

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Music of 1938

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Upcoming Chorus Events

(watch the High Notes and listen for announcements at rehearsals)

June 16, National Anthem at Progressive Field  1:00 pm

Special Youth In Harmony Edition

In case you didn't know, our Youth In Harmony Chairman, Mike Sitter, was very busy last month spreading the knowledge and love of barbershop to area high school students.  This issue of The Bulletin chronicles the events of Thursday, December 13.  I was privileged to attend the visit to Firestone High School and took the videos that are included here.

Con Men quartet wows 
area high school singers

By Mike Sitter, Youth in Harmony Chairman

Current International third-place collegiate bronze medalist and reigning District quartet champion Con Men provided an enormous boost to the Akron Chapter’s Youth in Harmony program. The quartet visited Green, Firestone and Kent Roosevelt high schools on December 13 with Tom Gentry and your reporter.

Con Men’s tenor David Strasser, lead Matthew Hopper, baritone Russell Watterson and bass Brent Suver met as freshman at Capital University in Bexley, Ohio. The quartet members belong to the Greater Central Ohio Chapter and sing with its award winning Alliance chorus. These four talented young men represent barbershop beautifully, and they relate so well with the high school singers. We were privileged and grateful to be able to feature them on our school visits.

The visits helped to cement relations with some of the area’s finest choral programs, and promoted the chapter’s 2013 annual show on April 5-6. Con Men treated choral and musical theatre students to first-rate singing, promoted Singing Buckeyes Harmony Camp, taught tags and mingled gracefully with the young performers. The YIH team encouraged the formation of high school quartets and offered to support them with sheet music, learning tracks and coaching. One of the chapter’s YIH goals is to spawn student quartets who can compete in district contests and perform on chapter shows.

The road show began at Green High School, where choral director Alaina Starr and musical theatre teacher Scott Bantum welcomed the team. Ms. Starr was familiar with the Akron Chapter, as Keyed Up quartet had visited one of her classes a few years ago. About 45 of Green’s choral and drama students spent an hour and a half listening to, and singing for and with Con Men. A lively question and answer session followed. Then the students entertained the barbershoppers with a stirring performance of Without Love from the musical Hairspray.

After the structured presentation, the air was thick with energy and musicality as students, teachers and guests mingled over refreshments. Some of the male students expressed interest in attending Harmony Camp and in forming a quartet. One of the leads in the school’s production of Hairspray regaled the assemblage with a soulful rendition of Mary Had a Baby.

The next stop on the tour was Firestone High School, Akron’s magnet school for the performing arts. Waiting were approximately 70 of Sally Schneider’s male choral students and half a dozen young men from Barbara Bellamy’s choral class at Kenmore High School. Your editor was also there to cover the event and to shoot photos and videos for this bulletin.

After singing a couple of songs and touting Harmony Camp, Con Men taught the young men the Impossible Dream tag. The students’ performance of the tag was so good that it prompted the presenters to ask for an encore performance. Ms. Schneider then showed her chops by carrying the lead part to the Bonnie Jean tag with Con Men. The Q & A session included several questions about the academic and musical lives of the quartet’s members. Con Men seized this opportunity to encourage the students to continue singing throughout their lives regardless what careers they pursue.

What followed was an excellent rendition by Ms. Schneider’s class of the barbershop chart of Jingle Bells and of a beautiful arrangement of White Christmas. Con Men then earned a standing ovation with Taking a Chance on Love to close the session. Ms. Schneider asked Con Men to linger a few minutes to work with her women’s choir, who were polishing a jazz chart of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. The quartet readily obliged and, predictably, earned new fans.

Kent Roosevelt High School was the final stop of the day. Choral director Corey Fowler hosted as Con Men performed for nearly a hundred choral students in the school’s auditorium. One of the highlights occurred when Con Men called the school’s own barbershop quartet, Tetrad, on stage and taught them the In Lillie’s Eyes tag. After singing the tag once through with Con Men, Tetrad sang it without assistance and nailed it, much to the delight of their peers.

The day climaxed with a lengthy private coaching session as Con Men worked with Tetrad on Darkness on the Delta and Roll, Jordan, Roll. Tetrad plans to compete in the Johnny Appleseed District high school quartet contest in the spring. Judging by their performance and their responsiveness to coaching, they should do very well at contest. If they continue to progress, there is a good chance they will be invited to perform on our annual show in April. Wouldn’t that be a treat for our audience

Thanks, Mike, for all you do.