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.

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.

Three more rehearsals before the big show

Only three more rehearsals before the big show when the Hunterdon Harmonizers will present their performance of Holly Days and Jolly Knights, their annual holiday show, at Hunterdon Central High School at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM on Saturday December 4, 2010. Lords and ladies, princes, paupers and peasants, common folk and uncommon folk, are all welcome to the dubbing ceremonies for the Royal Knight School.

The musical is set in the year 1322. It tells the story of two young men, Dropsalot and SuAve, recent graduates of Knight School. Dropsalot and Lord Malice each seek the hand of Rose, beautiful daughter of King David.

Who will bring the head of the very, VERY ugly dragon, a dragon with musical scales, to the King? He who does will win the hand of Rose, says the King. Time to woo the fair Princess and take over the Kingdom says Malice!

A King, a beautiful princess, a squire assigned to each knight, Harolds, Sir Sultan of Turkey Club, a Bard, a yellow page, the dastardly braggart Lord Malice, Dropsalot and SuAve, Erasmus B. Dragon (the dragon), S’Andrew Wizard, the bartender at The Still of the Knight’s and many others, together with the Harmonizer chorus, are the cast.

Does the dragon survive? Do the most noble and brave-ish knights do battle? Does Malace or Dropsalot win the hand of Rose? Do Harmonizer quartets perform? Do the parties put their differences aside, and regale in true friendship and harmony? Does the day end as a day of great joy and celebration?

Tickets for the Holiday show can be obtained from any Harmonizers, 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.

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.

Less than one week before contest

The Harmonizers have qualified for the District Contest again this year. It is less than a week before contest. In fact by this time next week the contest will be over. Most of us will be in the Lancaster Convention Center in Lancaster PA Friday in time for the quartet contest in the evening. Two of our quartets, Re-Mix and Untamed, will be singing Friday night. Saturday the chorus contest begins at 9:00 AM. We expect to sing at 9:50 if all is on time.

Even with the contest just around the corner, our show committee has been working on our Annual Show. The photos were taken after our performance at the Craft Fair last week. The guys are out about town giving our local business people an opportunity to participate in our show program as advertisers. If they have missed you, let us know at 908-806-NOTE and, someone will call on you.

Tickets are also now available. Call the same number to get early tickets at a price lower than buying at the door. The show, Holly Days & Jolly Knights will be at Hunterdon Central High School at 84 Route 31 in Flemington. Shows are at 2:00 and 7:00 PM on Saturday, December 4, 2010. The advance ticket price is just $15 (at the door $20) and students $10 in advance. Kids five and under, with an adult, are free. We expect a very fun show.

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.

An Educational Opportunity

Although the Hunterdon harmonizers are best known for the fun they offer their singers, the great sound of their four-part harmony, and the entertaining performances they provide to their audiences, there is a great deal more to the organization.

To hear them sing you would not know that more than half of the singers do not read music. That does not mean that they do not want to learn all they can to improve and support their singing. A regular part of the harmonizer activity is an educational component.

The group is blessed with excellent, experienced, music leadership. The music vice president has many years of singing, both in barbershop chapters and in church choirs. The music director has been singing from the time he was in college and has sung in a renowned barbershop quartet. He is best known for his exciting and entertaining shows. But the depth of his music knowledge, and his leadership of the group as a musician, are invaluable in producing the results the audience hears.

The music leadership has among its members three assistant directors. Two of them having been front-line directors. It is this music leadership that contributes mightily to the wonderful close harmony sound produced by the group.

One of the assistant directors, George, teaches a course we refer to as “Barbershop 101”, or as some call it “Barbershop For Dummies”. The course itself is really not for dummies, but is for singers who want to learn the theory of barbershop Harmony, and want to learn to read music. The pictures here were taken a couple of weeks ago during the course George has been teaching every week for six weeks. The course is repeated from time to time.

It is the dedication of experienced, as well as new singers, reaching for the educational opportunities offered, that make the Harmonizers what they are. The educational opportunity provided by this program is taken advantage of by all levels of singers. Guests of the chapter are invited to join the group as well so they gain an understanding of what they may become part of if they join the chorus.

Additionally, every other year the chorus takes its singers to a weekend of coaching and educational experience at the society provided Harmony College East. Our members look forward to this opportunity because of the exposure to some of the leading music educators in the country involved in the barbershop style of singing.

Anyone who is interested in getting the benefit of these educational opportunities is invited to be a guest of the harmonizers at their regular Tuesday night meetings and rehearsals. Additional information can be obtained by calling 908-806-NOTE, or by visiting the website at NJHarmonizers.org.

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.