Barbershop Harmony Society

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Barbershop Harmony Society
Barbershop Harmony Society logo.png
Official Barbershop Harmony Society logo
Background information
Also known as Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc.
Origin Tulsa, Oklahoma
Genres A cappella
Barbershop music
Years active 1938–present
Website www.barbershop.org
Members 29,425 (March 2007)[1]

The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form. Founded by Owen C. Cash and Rupert I. Hall in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1938,[2] the organization quickly grew, promoting barbershop harmony among men of all ages. As of 2014, just under 23,000 men in the United States and Canada are members of this organization whose focus is on a cappella music. The international headquarters was in Kenosha, Wisconsin for fifty years before moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 2007.

A parallel women's singing organization, Sweet Adelines International (SAI) was founded in 1945. A second women's barbershop harmony organization, Harmony, Inc., broke from SAI in 1959 over an issue of racial exclusion,[3] with SAI (like SPEBSQSA and many other organizations) being white-only at that time.[4] Several international affiliate organizations, in countries around the world, add their own flavor to the signature sound of barbershop harmony.

Name

The original name SPEBSQSA was intended as a lampoon on Roosevelt's New Deal alphabet agencies.[5] Because of name's length and the difficult-to-pronounce acronym, society staff and members often refer to SPEBSQSA as The Society. For decades, SPEBSQSA was the official name, while the Barbershop Harmony Society was an officially recognized and sanctioned alternate. Members were encouraged to use the alternate name, because it was felt that the official name was an in-joke that did not resonate outside the Society. In mid-2004, faced with declining membership, the Society adopted a marketing plan that called for using "Barbershop Harmony Society" consistently and retaining the old name for certain legal purposes.

The old official name spelled "barber shop" as two words, while barbershop is generally used elsewhere.

In reference to the acronym SPEBSQSA, The Society has said "attempts to pronounce the name are discouraged".[6] Unofficially, it is sometimes pronounced as if it were spelled "Spebsqua".[7]

In late 2004, the Society established Barbershop Harmony Society as its new "brand name", with a logo and identity program released in 2005. Although the legal name remained SPEBSQSA, Inc., the decision was controversial, as many members felt that the new name did not reflect a mission of preservation and encouragement of the style. Many members were concerned that the term "quartet" had been dropped, fearing a movement in the direction of choral singing and downplaying quartet singing.

Preservation

A key aspect of the Society's mission is in the preservation of barbershop music. To this end, it maintains the Old Songs Library. Holding over 100,000 titles (750,000 sheets) this is the largest sheet music collection in the world excepting only the Library of Congress.

The "Barberpole Cat Program" is an essential repertoire of 12 songs (commonly known as "polecats") that every barbershopper should know.[8] The purpose of this program is to give all barbershoppers a common repertoire so that any new quartet will have something already prepared to sing.

Harmony Foundation International, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, was incorporated in 1959 as a charitable subsidiary of the Barbershop Harmony Society; it raises financial support for the society's programs.[9]

Headquarters

Current headquarters in Nashville

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. In 2003, in preparation for a new headquarters location, the Society sold both Harmony Hall, a historic lakefront mansion in Kenosha, Wisconsin,[10] and its nearby facility (known as Harmony Hall West) located in a strip mall which the Society purchased in 1976 and renovated. HHW had housed finance, merchandising, IT and membership. Operations and staff from both buildings were consolidated into a remodeled HHW.

In 2006 the Society announced plans to move its headquarters to Nashville, Tennessee.[11] In August 2007, the Society completed the relocation to 110 Seventh Avenue North, in Nashville.

Contests

To promote and improve barbershop singing, the society annually runs international and district level contests for choruses and quartets.

When a quartet wins the international gold medal, they are considered champions forever and may not compete again. A chorus that wins the gold, however, must sit out of competition for only two years and thus may compete for the gold medal again in the third year following their win.

Quartet champions

(for a complete list of international champions, see List of quartet champions by year)

  • Instant Classic, 2015 International Quartet Champions.
  • Musical Island Boys, 2014 International Quartet Champions.
  • Masterpiece, 2013 International Quartet champions.
  • Ringmasters, 2012 International Quartet champions. First quartet outside of the North American continent to claim the gold.
  • Old School, 2011 International Quartet champions.
  • Storm Front, 2010 International Quartet champions.
  • Crossroads, 2009 International Quartet Champions.
  • OC Times, 2008 International Quartet Champions.
  • Max Q, 2007 International Quartet Champions.
  • Realtime, 2005 International Quartet Champions.
  • Vocal Spectrum, 2004 collegiate champions and 2006 International Quartet Champions
  • FRED, 1999 International Quartet Champions – widely popular comedy quartet; still active.
  • Bluegrass Student Union, 1978 International Quartet Champions – 33-year career ended in 2006; produced innovative recordings still available.
  • Happiness Emporium, 1975 International Quartet Champions – still active and performing
  • The Suntones, 1961 International Quartet Champions
  • The Buffalo Bills, 1950 International Quartet Champions were widely known, as they appeared in stage and screen productions of The Music Man and frequently appeared on Arthur Godfrey's radio show.

Chorus champions

(for a complete list of international champions, see List of chorus champions by year)

  • The Vocal Majority, based in Dallas, TX, twelve-time International Chorus Champions (1975, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2014). The chorus with the most international gold medals, ten of which were in succession (each time the chorus was eligible to compete) until 2009.
  • The Ambassadors of Harmony, based in St. Charles, MO, International Chorus Champions in 2004, 2009 and 2012. Their 2009 championship interrupted the Vocal Majority's streak at 10 consecutive championships.
  • The Masters of Harmony, eight-time International Chorus Champions (1990, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011).
  • The Westminster Chorus, a youth barbershop chorus in California started by young members of the Masters of Harmony, International Champion in 2007, 2010, and 2015.
  • The Louisville Thoroughbreds Chorus, the first 7-time International Champion chorus of the Barbershop Harmony Society, winning the Gold Medal in 1962, 1966, 1969, 1974, 1978, 1981 and 1984.

Districts of BHS

For purposes of administration (particularly of local schools and contests) the society is organized into geographical districts as illustrated.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Document d200703.pdf, SPEBSQSA District Membership Summary, March 2007; Membership summaries. Other totals, all for December 1: 1998, 33,764; 1999, 32,980; 2000, 32,580; 2001, 32,242; 2002, 31,966; 2003, 31,309; 2004, 30,900; 2005, 30,195; 2006, 29,227.
  2. ↑ Hicks, Val J. (1988), Heritage of Harmony New Past Press, ISBN 0-938627-04-X, p. 14
  3. ↑ Averill, Gage (2003), Four Parts: No Waiting, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-511672-0, p. 132: "Sweet Adelines had no black members, and no one was aware of any black singers who had petitioned to join the organization. Still, the board argued that there had always been tacit agreement about racial exclusion and it was time to formalize this policy...."
  4. ↑ SAI and SPEBSQSA lifted their restriction a few years later during the Civil Rights movement.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  10. ↑ "Remembering historic Harmony Hall". Barbershop Harmony Society. November 28, 2006. Retrieved on May 19, 2007.
  11. ↑ "Barbershop Harmony Society to seek HQ site in Nashville". Barbershop Harmony Society. January 20, 2006. Retrieved on May 19, 2007.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  16. ↑ http://www.evg.org/
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  24. ↑ http://www.rmdsing.org/
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Further reading

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External links

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