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.

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.

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.

Fun and Learning

We have fun celebrating the monthly birthdays of our members. A new idea our President for this year has started. Here he is with with the monthly cake lined up with the birthday boys in the chapter for February.

We also send time learning some of the technical background of and reasons for what we do. How do we make our vowel sounds consistent? How do we handle the sounds that are not vowels? If we are on the third of a chord do we sing differently than if we are on the root or the fifth?

Yes all of that helps us sing better as we work our way of the scale of achievement as a group of singers. Last Tuesday George conducted the lesson for us all.

Last Chance to Order a Singing Valentine

If you want to order a Singing Valentine to be delivered by a Harmonizer quartet dressed in red and white, you are running out of time. Call 908-806-NOTE now.

The guys are ready. George has taught the leads how to lead a quartet.

Valentines are an exciting and fun experience for our singers. It goes beyond that to the person you send one too. I have been part of a quartet in years past. The surprise is wonderful on the face of your loved one. The excitement of the friends who are there is beyond what you hope for when you get the idea to order.

We sing in restaurants, in offices, in private homes, at parties, and about anywhere you can think of. I remember singing to a guy in a truck garage, another guy behind the counter of a deli, to a women teacher in her class room with all the kids cheering and her fellow teachers looking. One year we sang to a women taking care of horses in their stall on a farm.

Call now to get in on the fun.

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 !

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.

The Joy of Performing

I do not think there is any better, or happier, activity for the Hunterdon Harmonizers than performing for the local crowds in and around Hunterdon County. This past Thursday evening we had one of those opportunities when we performed for the crowd at the County sponsored series of Music Under the Stars in Deer Path Park. We were one of the free series of concerts that include the Hunterdon Symphony and a number of traveling musical groups from out of the area.

The County Park system does a good job of setting up the venue and providing the sound system so that all we have to do is bring our risers and perform for the enthusiastic audience. People tend to gather about an hour before the performance to set up their seats in a good location, and often to picnic with their families while waiting for the program to start.

Although it had rained a little earlier in the day the skies had largely cleared by the time of our performance. Although it was not as hot out as a day or two earlier, it was hot. One gets the sense of standing on the risers in a reflector oven as the sun sets shining in our faces.

The guys arrived early to warm up their voices. We practiced the start of several of our songs and talked about a few changes in the script for the show. We started almost exactly at 7:00, the published starting time.

We opened with The Star Spangled Banner from our Inspirational and Patriotic recording, followed by Applause, and then Happy Together. Five of our quartets, interspersed throughout the program, including Life Renewed, Chordhouse Steps, Voice Odyssey, ReMix, and Untamed, all participated.

We featured one of out new songs, the Armed Forces Medley, during which members of the audience who had served in the various branches of our military stood to be recognized as we sang the song representing and honoring their branch of service. We displayed the flags of each service as we sang about that particular service.

God Bless the USA, You Raise Me Up, When I Lift Up My Head, and God Bless America concluded our program. With the last song the audience was invited to join us in singing God Bless America. Many people had the fun of singing that important song with us.

We all agreed that we enjoy singing for the County series as we have for a number of years. We already look forward to next year.

A most exciting few days. . . .

Probably the most exciting, and most intense, few days every year in the life of the Barbershop Harmony Society are during the annual International Convention. The 72^nd, held practically in our back yard this year was during the days of June 28^th through July 4^th in Philadelphia. The Hunterdon Harmonizers had about 30 members in attendance.

We have not made it a priority to attempt to qualify to sing in the international chorus contest since we did so in 1997. To do so takes an incredible amount of work and dedication on the part of our singers, to the exclusion of the shows and local performances that we enjoy so much. Every year or so we ask our singers what they consider to be our top goal or goals. Singing in contest usually comes in third or fourth. The year it comes in first we will have to change our priorities.

For those of our singers who are driven to sing on the big stage there are opportunities for them. Four of our members have become members of three different highly competitive chapters, as well as remaining a member of our chapter, and these guys did get to sing in Philadelphia. One sang with the chorus which sang first to test the sound system, two sang with the Big Apple in New York City, and one sang with the Chorus of the Chesapeake from Maryland (he is getting his doctorate degree at Johns Hopkins).

I personally enjoyed the freedom to attend chorus and quartet contests, socialize with friends from all over the country, and attend open rehearsals of some of the great choruses that did compete. Our group from Hunterdon got together for dinner together. We also sat together in several clusters during contests and shows, depending on when ticket orders went in.

The activities of the week started with a college quartet contest. I had to miss that because I could not get there until late during the first day and the college contest was over when I got there. I would like to have heard the group from Cornell that finished in the middle of the very large group. My specific interest was partly because I went to law school at Cornell, and partly because one of the Cornell singers went to Hunterdon Central High School.

My first evening in Philadelphia was spent at the rehearsal of the Westminster Chorus from California. This group of young men, most all of them less than thirty years old, had been the surprise winner three years earlier in Denver. Now they were one of the favorites. I enjoyed watching their display of energy, hearing their quality singing, and everything about their performance during those couple of hours of intense rehearsal. I have also enjoyed several opportunities to talk to their very pleasant members and leaders. They represent all of what barbershop fellowship is about. You may have seen them on the second season of the TV show America's Got Talent in 2007, where they were passed to go to the second round by all three judges, but were eliminated at the first cut of the second round. By the way they won the contest again this year. You can learn more about them at: http://www.westminsterchorus.org/westminsterchorus/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=29

The Hunterdon Harmonizers got together for dinner. We attended much of the quartet contest. We attended all of the chorus contest together. And we sang all over the convention venues with old and with new friends in quartets and small groups.

Most of our guys also got to watch our VP of Membership live up to his pledge that if we added a net ten new members in the year since the Patriots ball game of a year ago he would publicly shave his head. His brother did the honors of actually shaving his head, in public in the Harmony Market Place, while many of our chorus sang our rendition of The Impossible Dream to the assembled crowd. Linda, our prize winning editor of our chapter bulletin took photos that will soon be appearing in our publication In Tune. I include a couple of her pictures here.

The Hunterdon Harmonizers look forward to carrying the inspiration of the performing at the International Convention to our own stage when we perform this coming Thursday at Deer Path Park, next to the YMCA just off of Route 31, as part of the Concert Under the Stars series put on by the Hunterdon Park System. It is a free concert that starts at 7:00 in the evening. Most people bring a picnic supper with their family an hour earlier.

See you there. The weather prediction for this year is for a clear day.

Last night I attended the opening night of the ShowKids Invitational Theater's production of THE MUSIC MAN at Voorhees High School.

The Music Man is one of my all time favorite musical productions.

Perhaps that is so because I was first introduced to the sound of barbershop harmony when, at the time of my engagement to my wife, we were given tickets to the broadway production that featured the famous, champion, Buffalo Bills quartet. Perhaps it is just the show itself.

This is a show that demands the best of the actors and singers. High energy is required and the kids, and adults, of SKIT delivered.

This productions was special. Carlolyn Newman, founding producer/director of the production company, went beyond her request of some years ago when we were asked to, and did, help coach a quartet of her regular singers and actors. This time she asked for a real barbershop quartet.

Of our three most competitive quartets two were not available to meet the requirements of the demanding rehearsal schedule, especially in view of our own contest schedule that brings us to contest in early May. I was delighted that UNTAMED stepped forward to take on the opportunity. And they did a great job last night.

Perhaps most important is the exposure their participation gave the Harmonizers to this musical theater audience. There will be a total of five performances. Everyone connected to, or part of, the SKIT group that I talked to appreciated the talent of the UNTAMED singers, their contribution to the success of the show, and noted how nice and accommodating barbershopers were to work with.

We look forward to a long and happy relationship with SKIT.