Far Western
District, Northeast Division
Convention & Contest - May 19, 2012
by Dick Frantzreb
This day-long event at Folsom High
School was the first level of competition in the Barbershop Harmony
Society. Of the 9 choruses and 15 quartets competing, the best would go
to the Far West District Convention & Contest in Mesa, AZ in October,
and the best in that competition would go on to the International
Convention. I don’t know a lot about barbershop singing or the
intricacies of the Barbershop Harmony Society, and today’s event felt
more like a convention than a concert, but that didn’t make it any less
entertaining. And any member of the public could have bought a ticket.
I was anxious to see the chorus competition part of
the day, because 6 of the 9 competitors are choruses whose performances
are covered in the Sacramento Choral Calendar. And I have to say that
the whole thing made an excellent show. These choruses work for months
to develop their “contest set” – two songs that are as polished as they can
make them, including outfits and choreography that can often be
quite elaborate. In my opinion, it all paid off. I was delighted from the first
mellow chords that I heard.
The event was emceed by the President of the Far
Western District, and performances by the choruses were interspersed
with organizational announcements and presentations. The singing began
with a pick-up chorus of a variety of experienced singers from different
choruses and quartets, who sang a couple of “polecats,” a group of 12
songs that every barbershopper knows. This was followed by the parade of
competitors over the next 2 hours.
Most of the choruses consisted of from 16 to 25
singers. Reno’s Silver Dollar Chorus was an exception with 38 men. So
was Sacramento’s American River Chorus with 65 singers. The smaller
choruses seemed populated mostly by men of retirement age, though there
were a fair number of men under 50. Regardless of age, there was no
doubt in my mind that the singing was pure fun for all involved. It was
pure fun for me, too, and I could hardly stop smiling. There were a lot
of sweet tunes, familiar and unfamiliar – expressively presented. And
there was a fair amount of humor, too. A highlight for me was
Placerville’s Gold Rush Chorus singing, “How Can I Miss You If You Won’t
Go Away?” But there were many highlights. And there was a
technique used by many of the groups that had enormous effect, and is
apparently increasingly common in barbershop numbers. When the
song ends in a crescendo, the director turns to face the audience,
cutting off the chorus with a gesture of triumph. It has an
amazingly dramatic effect.
The winning performance was delivered by the
American River Chorus, which put on quite a show, with not only
excellent singing, but elaborate choreography and comic bits. Also
exceptionally entertaining was the second-place effort of the Silver
Dollar Chorus. It almost seemed a pity to rank and judge these efforts,
because they were all such fun to watch – and hear. But competition is
the driving force for excellence in the Society, and the judging was
very much in evidence, with 8 judges scoring each performance on
well-thought-out criteria. (Click here for a page from the program that
explains both the nature of barbershop singing and the judging
standards.) Although it appeared that everyone on stage was having
great fun, I can imagine that it might be pretty daunting to perform in
front of your peers, and know that everything you’re going to do will be
evaluated by them with an experienced and critical eye.
But that overlooks the fact that this whole
activity is built on camaraderie, which was plainly evident in the
interactions I observed among people and what appeared to be so many
long-standing friendships among members of different choruses. And there’s an almost religious fervor to
this activity which is so highly organized on an international basis.
That came out in a presentation by the man who was, I believe, either
the President or one of the Development Directors of The Harmony
Foundation, whose purpose is to promote barbershop singing among young
men. He described the experience of a young man from a dysfunctional
family who was introduced to barbershop in high school and carried a
love for it through a succession of challenging life experiences. When
the speaker said he was the “young man” for whom barbershopping led from
a destructive life path to a positive one, the entire audience rose to
their feet with applause. It was extraordinarily inspiring – especially
in light of the fact that he said he was from Grass Valley and got his
start with the Sierranaders Chorus, one of the 9 in the competition.
Despite the convention-like features of the day,
and the fairly long (5 minute or so) intervals between the performances
of the choruses, this was excellent entertainment for anyone who has the
least appreciation of choral singing. When the day began, there were
only about 150 people in the audience. By the end of the chorus competition,
the crowd numbered about 400, but there should have been a lot more. It
might be tough for the average person to spend a whole day at an event
like this: personally, I had to miss what was, no doubt, a
brilliant quartet competition and the “Show of Champions” that capped the
formal convention activities. But hearing those 9 barbershop choruses
give their best performance was a great way to spend a couple of hours
on a Saturday afternoon. Experienced barbershoppers can probably
appreciate this event the most, but anyone can enjoy the music, both
familiar and unfamiliar – and delight in the showmanship on display.