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 !

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).

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.

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.

Getting Ready for Coaching

Ever Tuesday is a fun busy time for the Hunterdon Harmonizers. But anticipating coaching, especially in the weeks before getting ready for contest, is especially fun.

Why do we participate in contest? It is about the only way to measure our progress toward our goal of improving our good singing to make us, as a group, even better singers.

This past Tuesday our director, Don, went over the vowels that we sing. There was discussion and comparison of the sounds for a fifteen minute session. When one sits and listens it appears that singing is not a very complicated activity. And it is not, except when a singer, or group of singers, want to improve their singing as heard by practiced listeners. We are always up for improvement.

This year in contest we will sing two very fun songs that have been put together by our music team last year. We prepare to do so while introducing three new songs in the first three months of this year.

Come out any Tuesday evening and listen, If you are a man, and so inclined, we invite you to join in singing with us. Call 908-806-NOTE for more information and someone will get back to you.

One of the many fun things we do is learn new performance plans to go with new music. With three new songs on the schedule (a new one next Tuesday – come out and hear it and sing it with us as we learn it together) there will be a lot of learning new performance moves.

The video shows Vida working with Lou, Tony, and Bob as they learn from her the plan for When I’m 64. The video is part of our new instructional tool collection to help the guys get it right.

From the standpoint of each guy they know that each has to embrace the new motto “If it is to be, it is up to me”. I know the guys will, as we move forward faster than usual to learn new music in the constant process of getting ready for the next opportunity to perform for our public.

Have you ordered you Singing Valentine at 908-806-NOTE yet?

Section Rehearsals

An important part of learning a new song, or polishing any song, is bringing all the singers on one part together and working out the details. Here the leads are working with Pat, the section leader. While this goes on the others sections are meeting with their leaders in different parts of the building.

After the section rehearsal the sections come together and put the learning all together to produce music from the words and notes. We drill what we have learned. The next step will be putting the performance package in place.

New Music Introduced

The meeting of the Chapter began with initial work on the two Valentine songs let by assistant director George. New quartet singers are preparing for one of the most fun projects of the year. Start looking for posters for Singing Valentines to appear in your Hunterdon County Barbershops.

The Harmonizers also included the introduction of a new song. The Harmonizer quartet Voice Odyssey (with Jack in as Bass for Lou who experienced recent surgery) introduced the Beetle song When I'm 64. Our director, Don, then led the group in singing the new song.

Additionally the meeting saw the appearance of seven guests. The guests included a High School quartet. The young singers presented a couple of their songs to entertain the responsive Harmonizer singers.

Harmonizers Starting their New Year

On Tuesday January 4, 2011 the Harmonizers start a new year. Come out and visit at 8:00 at the church at the corner of Main Street and Maple Street in Flemington. Enter from Maple.

We will be getting ready for our Singing Valentine program. This year we will limit our assignments to 100. That is the first 100 people to order the exciting experience for their loved one will be served. After that it is wait for next year to have four men in red and white tux uniforms appear at an appointed time, sing two love songs, deliver a red rose and a personalized card from you. We go to schools, offices, restaurants, almost any place in Hunterdon County and neighboring counties. At a cost beginning at $50 you can not send a more romantic experience to someone important to you. Call 908-806 NOTE (6683) for details and to arrange for your exciting Valentine gift.

Tuesday the 4^th we will also be introducing a new song for the guys to sing in our shows and various appearances this year. If you want to become part of the Harmonizers a good time to visit and consider joining is when a new song is being introduced. Hope to see you there.

Our Annual Hospital Sing

Once again Charlie, one of our singers, and a regular volunteer at the Hunterdon Medical Center, lead a group of our guys through the wards. There we entertained people who were spending their holiday days in the facility as patients or workers.

It is always important to bring a little joy to the children's ward, a favorite place for all of us to stop. In the maternity ward we were stopped by a couple who wanted a photo taken of the very soon mother-to-be so they could tell their daughter what joy was happening outside of her room just before she came into the word.

We were asked to sing Happy Birthday for a nurse, as a surprise to her, and she was led into out group for another photo.

This show is always an uplifting experience for the people we sing for and for our singers as well. We close out our singing year with this hospital tour.

Happy Holidays to all !

Getting Ready for the Show

The big show for the Hunterdon Harmonizers in December will be on Saturday December 4, 2010, the first show being at 2:00 and the following show at 7:00 in the evening, at Hunterdon Central High School. Holly Days & Jolly Knights lets you, our loyal audience, in on the graduation of the Knights of the Class of 1322. Watch these guys celebrate the Holiday Season.

The picture above lets you in on the scenery building that has been going on in the barn by Tony and his crew.

Do order your tickets in advance of the shows. By doing so you will save $5 on each ticket as compared to buying at the door.

Our Next Big Show

Tuesday night, not long ago, the Harmonizers had the first read through of the script for the December 4, 2010 Holiday show.

Each year we entertain our fans with an original fun show that ends with Holiday music. In the photo, the cast reads the script for the chapter members.

In addition to the songs to go with the script we are beginning to introduce the Holiday music for the last third of the show.

Besides the Harmonizer members we expect to have a chorus from each of two regional high schools in the area perform on the show. It is an honor for the high schools that are selected because being selected recognizes the strong music program of the schools participating.

Tickets for the Holiday show can be obtained from any Harmonizer, or by calling their telephone number 908-806-NOTE (6683), or from their web site njharmonizers.org. Ticket prices are all General Admission at $15 advanced sales or $20 at the door. Students 6-17 are $10, kids 5 and under, accompanied by an adult, are free. A group discount of 10% is available for 10 or more tickets bought at one time.

Successful Contest Experience

I am pleased to report that the Hunterdon Harmonizers met their expectation participating in the Barbershop contest last week. We achieved our best District contest score in a number of years. We are ranked, based on this contest, among the top 15% of chapters in the District that runs from Washington DC north to include New York City and from Long Island west to Harrisburg in Pennsylvania.

I am proud of our guys with this record. Especially in view of our goals, which do not include a hard focus on contest. We are a fun chapter that is more interested in the fellowship among our members, and taking our time to prepare for and entertain our various audiences.

Now it is time to get ready for our Holiday Show that will take place the first Saturday in December, and our other holiday performances. Call 908-806-NOTE to get further information, or to get tickets at the pre-show reduced price.

Hunterdon Harmonizers Annual Patriots Baseball Game

The Hunterdon Harmonizers finished the month of August with one of their annual fun activities. They gathered together yesterday with friends from a number of other barbershop chapters to perform a show for the early arrivals of the crowd of more than 5,000 fans at the Somerset Patriots baseball game in the TD Stadium in Bridgewater New Jersey. The stands were packed with children and their parents interested in the Star Wars theme of the night.

Rusty Williams of the Harmonizers organized the event. He invited the leadership and singers of all of the chapter in the Northern Division of the MidAtlantic District. Participating, in addition to the Hunterdon Harmonizers, www.NJHarmonizerrs.org were singers from the local chapter, The SomerTones of Somerville New Jersey, www.somertones.org, the Morris Music Men of Morris County in New Jersey www.morrismusicmen.org the High Point Harmonizers of Sussex New Jersey, and singers from the Jerseyaires of Rahway, New Jersey. www.Jerseyaires.org.

Music had been provided in advance for the 20 minute show to be performed. The singers gathered outside of the stadium to practice their show set. All of the singers came prepared and opened the show with a rendition of Coney Island Baby.

The music directors of each of the chapters took turns directing a song with all of the singers joining in. As the crowd entered the stadium they heard the performance of this barbershop group projected over the stadium sound system. As the audience grew the applause level increased. It was obvious that the performance was appreciated.

The staff from the patriots ball team filmed the singers, projecting their video on the large scoreboard so that everyone in the stadium could see the close-up faces of the various singers.

At the conclusion of the show the group paused for the introduction of the ballplayers of both teams, the introduction of the game officials, and a representative of the sponsor for the night throwing out the first pitch. Star Wars characters were introduced. Following that pause the barbershop group sang the National Anthem which concluded with thunderous applause from the appreciative audience.

The singers and their guests took their seats in the stands and watched the Somerset Patriots defeat the Camden Riversharks 5-2 before 5,043 fans. Representatives of the participating chapters took turns staffing a table in the food court area that was used to promote barbershop, and the participating chapters in particular.

The next major Harmonizer event is the annual Craft Fair on the Main Street in Flemington on Saturday and Sunday September 18 and 19^th. The craft fair will feature a full free show performed by the Harmonizers chorus and quartets at 1:00 pm on each of the two afternoons.