Hunterdon Harmonizers Enjoyed Performing Their Holiday Show

Yesterday the singers of the Hunterdon Harmonizers enjoyed performing their Holiday show twice for enthusiastic and appreciative audiences. We had the most people in our audience that I have seen for some time. Perhaps that is because our reputation for producing a good show has spread, perhaps because we partnered with the Hunterdon Medical Center as a benefit for their fund raising campaign, perhaps because our promotional team with the addition of a new guy who really pitched in did a great job, perhaps because our President organized a quartet to appear at a local paper where they were the subject of a video broadcast on the newspaper web site, perhaps because our web master organized the site to better promote the show than in the past, maybe because our guys got flyers up all over the area better than usual, maybe because of the mailing organized and out to everyone who has attended a show in the past.

The only thing we know for sure is that we had a very good audience turn out and their reaction to the show was very good.

The show was described by one audience member as creative and cute. One said the singing was great. Another liked the theme of love and Santa and Christmas.

A video was made of the afternoon show by the Somerville cable television show where you can see the show again, or for the first time if you missed it Saturday.

I have included a few snap shots and a little video taken at the last rehearsal of the morning of the show and a few back stage snap shots on the day of the show.

We will next be singing at the Medical Center "Lights of Love" event this Wednesday, and on the 13 on Main Street in Flemington before our 8:00 rehearsal. Then we will be singing on a free show sponsored by the Hunterdon County Library on Route 12 on Wednesday evening December 14th. Check our web site at NJHarmonizers.org or call us at 908-806-NOTE for details.

Tec Rehearsal -- a couple of days to go 'til show time

Last night we gathered for the technical rehearsal. A time when the lighting guys, the sound guys, the show and stage director, the stage manager, the music directors, the quartets, the actors, the Harmonizers kids, the choreographer and the show chairman all make sure they are on the same page. It is the last rehearsal before the dress rehearsal. A time with lots of pauses to bring things together and make minor adjustments.

We look forward to performing the show for our audience.

You save $5 if you call and order your tickets in advance. Go to NJHarmonizers.org for details or call 908-806-NOTE for information and tickets. Shows at 2 & 7 this Saturday on the Hunterdon Central High School main stage.

Less than a week to go to Show Time

Tomorrow night the Hunterdon Harmonizers will be on the stage at Hunterdon Central High School for the technical rehearsal for the Holiday Show.

Tickets sales are going well. I hope you have gotten yours. Remember a ticket in advance will cost $5 less than waiting to to get your ticket at the door on the day or night of the show.

Look for the five guys above on stage. Do you know any of them?

There are two shows on Saturday December 3. One is at 2:00 in the afternoon and the other is at 7:00 in the evening. Check our web site at http://njharmonizers.org/show11/ or call 908•806•NOTE and leave a message. Sharon will get back to your message to arrange for your ticket purchase.

I look forward to seeing you there.

A show for the Lions Club before rehearsal for our Holiday Show

An ensemble of Hunterdon Harmonizers warm up in preparation for performing a show for the Flemington Lions Club at their annual holiday dinner last night. They then performed their show before heading off for rehearsal in preparation for their Holiday show.

The Harmonizers show, The Cycle of Love, a Santa Claus Love Story, will be performed on Saturday December 3, at 2 in the afternoon and again at 7 in the evening. Both performances will be on the big stage of Hunterdon Central High School, 84 Route 31, Flemington, NJ. Tickets can be obtained from any Harmonizer or by calling 908-806-Note (6683). General admission tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Tickets for students are $10 (age 6 – 17) and kids under 5 are free. A portion of the show proceeds will benefit the Campaign for the Hunterdon Medical Center Foundation. 

A month 'til show time

One month to go. The last of the new music is introduced last Tuesday. Photos are taken of Mr. & Mrs Santa. The script is reviewed so we all know how things fit together. Tickets are available. This is the fun time so many of our singers wait for all year.

Call 908-806-NOTE to get additional information or to order your tickets. You save $5 a ticket by buying them in advance. Only $15 a ticket in advance. Shows on saturday December 3 at 2 in the afternoon and again at 7 in the evening.

We start our Holiday Music

After the fun of a pizza party, and the internal group singing contest of last week, the Harmonizers really get into the preparation process for the Holiday show to be held at the Hunterdon Central High School theater on Saturday December 3 at 2 in the afternoon and 7 in the evening.

Men of all ages are invited to be our guest as we prepare. Perhaps you will want to give singing with us a try for a few of the songs in the show.

Best Barbershop Chorus in New Jersey

The Harmonizers had a fun time this past weekend in Lancaster PA. We did not expect to win the contest, but we scored higher than any other group from New Jersey.

Now it is time to get ready for a great Holiday Show. More about that as we go along.

The show will be given twice on Saturday December 3. Tickets are available from any Harmonizers or by calling 908-806-NOTE.

Getting Ready for Contest

Here we are at our next to last rehearsal before we go off to Lancaster Pa for our District Contest. Of the 100 chapters of the Barbershop Society in our District we are among the 23 chapters that will be part of the contest following success in the Division contests of this past Spring.

Also three of the 25 quartets in the contest will be partly, or all, from our chapter. We are proud of them as well as being proud of our singers for representing our chapter, The Hunterdon Harmonizers, as well as they have in contest.

We look forward to the contest and to the fellowship with singers from Washington DC to New York City and from Long Island to Harrisburg Pa that will be part of the contest with us.

Successful Craft Fair

Even better weather for the second day of the Harmonizer Craft Fair than the first day. The photo shows the group of people that joined us for the last song of the day — America one of everyone's favorites.

The guys did well performing. A few missing people were substituted for by able singers who carried on with good success. We did not miss a beat.

I talked to a number of people who had craft booths. Each one I talked to looks forward to being back next year. This is a good event for the Harmonizers and perhaps an even better one for the merchants on Main Street. One of them told me her business was better for our being on the scene this weekend.

Flemington Craft Fair

A great Craft Fair Day in Flemington on the Main Street. The crafters seemed to be doing well. They look forward to an even better day tomorrow.

The weather was not as clear and bright and blue sky as the weather report predicted, but never the less it was a very good day. Bright over cast day, not rain, and warm without being as hot as some years.

Of course the Harmonizer chorus, and a couple of their quartets, performed a free show for the crowd. This has been a tradition of the Harmonizers for all the years I have been involved.

And the first tickets for our December 3 Holiday show were sold to some of the people who heard and saw the show today. IF you want a ticket you can get one from any Harmonizer or by called 908-806-NOTE.

Come out tomorrow and enjoy the crafters and hear and see the show at 1:00 in the afternoon.

10th anniversary of the 9 / 11 tragedy in Lebanon Township Park

Those who died in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 will be honored on the 10th anniversary of the tragedy with ceremonies in the Lebanon Township Memorial Park. We will be there and part of the ceremony.

This year’s commemoration begins with a gathering in the park pavilion at 3:30 p.m. The Hunterdon Harmonizers will sing and the Somerset County Police Pipes and Drums will perform pre-ceremony music at 3:45 p.m. After the pledge of allegiance, Richard Cudina’s widow, Georgia Cudina, will give a welcoming speech.

The Most Rev. Paul Bootkoski, bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen will lead opening and closing prayers.

Brittany Hill will sing the national anthem, and the Harmonizers will sing several songs throughout the program.

The keynote speaker will be Congressman Leonard Lance. Guest speakers are Sen. Mike Doherty, Christie Whitman and Michael Rubright, principal of Woodglen School.

The Somerset County Pipes and Drums Corps will escort attendees to a Field of Flags where Brianna Hill will play taps.

Then there will be readings of In Remembrance by Lieutenant Tom Robinson, read by Patrick McCluskey and What Happened? by Gwen Loiacono, read by Kelly O’Reilly. The Pipes and Drums will then play while they leave the field of flags to conclude the ceremony.

The photos show what was in place yesterday in the pary. The flags in the field represent the 3,000 people who lost their lives in the tragedy. The Memorial includes a steel girder salvaged from one of the towers. 

Rolling Thunder Sept. 11 memorial motorcycle ride

We will be singing at the the 9/11 activities in the Borough of Flemington on Sunday at about noon. 


Rolling Thunder Chapter 3 of NJ is holding a Sept. 11 memorial motorcycle ride starting and ending at Cheeburger Cheeburger, 100 Reaville Ave. in Flemington. Line up is from 9-10:45 a.m., a bike blessing is at 10:45 a.m. and the ride leaves at 11 a.m. (includes a pass by the War Memorial in Flemington). 


The cycles will leave with a full police escort that will stay with the riders for their full loop. They expect to return by 12:00 noon for entertainment, food, guest speakers and a presentation. We will be part of the event singing our Armed Forces Medley and America the Beautiful. Then off to our next 9 / 11 event in Lebanon Township.
 

New Holiday Music

We have come to the time of year when we begin to prepare for our annual Holiday Show.

We still have the 9-11 events where we will sing. We still have to get ready for our own Flemington Main Street Craft Fair where we will perform on each Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. We still have to do some more work to get ready for the fall contest. But one of the most fun things we get to do is to put on a Holiday Show.

In the picture some of our music leaders introduce a new song that will feature dancers and children and grandchildren of our singers. We project the new sheet music while a quartet introduces the song. Then the quartet leads their section through the song. The guys leave with the sheet music and a learning recording for practice at home or in their cars.

The show itself will help raise funds for the Hunterdon Medical Center, our local hospital. One more community service project for our Barbershop Chapter.

We Sing at the Ball Game

Beautiful weather greeted us and our friends from three other area barbershop chapters when we gathered to perform a show before the Patriots ball game in Bridgewater this evening. Included in the show package was out rendition of America the Beautiful, part of which I captured in video.

Of course we also sang the Star Spangled Banner before the game began.

Back to Work and Fun

Following our performances at the Red Mill in Clinton and at Deer Path Park in Readington Township I got off for a little vacation with my family. That meant I missed participating in the performance at Heath Village. I understand that it went very well and the folks were well entertained.

We will next be singing at a Patriots Ball Game on Wednesday August 24th before the game. The Hunterdon Harmonizers were the first group of our kind to sing in the ball park.

Then, three days later, we will be at the Warren County Renaissance Faire in Harmony, NJ on Saturday August 27 at about 2:00.

We are getting ready for these fun opportunities as well as our 9-11 performances. We will perform again, as we have twice before, at the Richard Cudina Memorial in the Lebanon Township park.

We are well underway in our preparation. Last Tuesday we had a coaching session with one of our favorite coaches. We all always enjoy working with Stephanie (see photos)

Of course our show committee of Ron, Carmen, and Don, with others helping, are getting us ready for our Craft Fair performance on Main Street in Flemington on Saturday and Sunday September 17 & 18 at 1:00 in the afternoon.

Not to forget preparation for District Contest in Lancaster on October 1st this year.

This all works up to our annual Holiday show that is now confirmed for Saturday December 3 at Hunterdon Central High School on Route 31 in Flemington. Busy !

Performances at Deer Path & at Red Mill

The Harmonizers performed at Deer Path two nights ago. Usually we are unaccompanied. But Thursday we were accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightening. A brave audience sat under umbrellas for at least part of the show although much of it could be sung out in the open after the worst of the storm passed. From my place on the risers I could see water drip on our director from time to time from the front of the shell we perform in at the park.

While waiting for the storm to pass we watched the speakers blow over, our LOVE letters blow over, our banner take a dive, and our audience run for cover. But the show must go on — and it did.

Today we performed at the Red Mill in Clinton for a Medieval event. Of course our contest package of Knight School Medley and Heroes of Chivalry fit right in. We added The DRAGON Sleeps Tonight to complete the theme. The show was of only forty minutes which is short for us. I stayed after and heard all sorts of good comments. I even watched a little Medieval fighting.

I especially thank our guys who put in the time to do two shows so close in succession.

Music Under the Stars

Last night I attended the Hunterdon Symphony performance in Deer Path Park. It was a great night. Perfect weather — not to hot and not to cool with a clear blue sky. The orchestra performed well to what was reported to be the best and largest crowd of the season.

This year the performers are not being paid by the County — budget problems, we are told. Hopefully next year the County Park System will be able to help the performers underwrite their costs. For this year all performers not only volunteer, that is do not get paid, but have to provide their own sound systems and cover their other expenses out of their budgets.

A number of Harmonizer families were there last night to support and to enjoy the orchestra performance. Next week, on July 7, the Harmonizer chorus will be performing as a chorus with a number of their quartets. You will learn about LOVE and enjoy a series of patriotic and inspirational songs.

Hope to see you there. Call the Park Service for details or call the Harmonizers directly at 908-806-NOTE (6683).

The Memorial Day Parade

It has become a tradition for the Harmonizers to participate in the Flemington Memorial Day Parade. It is fun to be together to sing in public and to honor our veterans. A number of our singers are themselves veterans.

I did not get a picture of our singing in front of the veterans monument because I fully participated in the singing myself.

It was a beautiful day, although a little hot for us dressed in our formal uniform. But the occasion deserved, in fact demanded, nothing less.

Something Different Tuesday This Week May 17

Because the church where we usually meet and rehearse needs to use their full facility, because of an event they are holding, the Harmonizers had to find another place to gather for the evening.

Where better to spend an evening singing our new songs, and preparing to sing on Memorial Day in Flemington, than in an ice cream parlor on South Main Street in Flemington. What could be more American that ice cream and barbershop singing and harmony? Nothing !

Guests are welcome to come out and enjoy the singing, participate if you wish men, and enjoy ice cream too. See you there at 8:00

Successful Send Off

This past Tuesday the Harmonizers had a great send off evening. Friends and family were there and a few people who read about the event in one of the local newspapers. The audience was treated to an evening of singing by the chorus and by all but one of our quartets. We sang all of our contest songs for the folks.

Followed by very good refreshments, provided by our program committee, concluded the evening. Oh, as always, guys hung around after and sang songs and tags from the end of refreshments until . . . .

Getting to Contest Time

Contest for the Harmonizers is just a week away. And that means that our send off, open house, guest night is just a couple of days away. Yes, Tuesday night the Hunterdon Harmonizers will be having a final get together before going off to Morristown to participate in the Northern Division Barbershop singing and performing contest. Join us at 9:00 (an hour later than our usual rehearsal time) for a free performance by our chorus and some of our quartets. It is free and there are refreshments too!

As always you can find out more by calling 908-806-NOTE or visiting our web site at www.NJHarmonizers.org.

Today we had a final rehearsal before the contest. Vida was there to drill performance. Sandy was there to make sure all were fitted out with the great costumes she has gathered or made for us. And all of the section leaders of our music team were there to run us through final preparation.

And of course Don, with very few small changes, drilled our singing to get it up to what he and our coaches know we can do. Do come out Tuesday to see what we are up to. And with the contest behind us at the end of the month it is a great time for men who always wanted to do a little singing to come out and give it a try.

The video is just three minutes of clips of what we were doing this morning.

Coaching & Dressing for Contest

Just a couple of more times to get together before we go off to the Northern Division singing contest of the Barbershop Harmony Society Mid Atlantic District. Close by this year as we will only be going to Morristown.

This past Tuesday we were coached by Stephanie, Vita worked with the back row, and Sandy continues in the process of getting the guys dressed for their part in the performance.

You can come see the results of all of this work by coming to our open house, guest night, send off that will take place in the back of the church (our usual place to gather) on Tuesday April 26 at 9:00 in the evening. The Harmonizers will gather to make final preparations to entertain you and get their party set up at their usual time of 8:00. The show, featuring their competing quartets and the chorus will perform at 9:00.

Love to see you there.

We Start Contest Preparation

Contest preparation is underway.

Improving Our Singing

The goal is to always improve. We measure progress through participating in singing contests. The guys know that if we are to improve as a chorus each singer has the responsibility for his own improvement as part of the group.

Of course the music team takes responsibility to work with each singer that wants to be part of the process. No man who works to be part of the group is left behind.

We obtain coaching for the group, and individual voice coaching for our singers. In the included photos you see Pat, the lead section leader working with his guys. You also see visiting coach Mark working with our director Don and both of them working with the chorus.