PARTY LIKE IT'S HU WEEK
NextGen + New Wave = Celebration!
When you have superstar faculty like Clay Hine and Debbie Cleveland in the mix, it's no surprise when the end result is an on-stage party like this one. This year's crop of Next Generation guys and (the newly-named) New Wave girls put on a fantastic show and left no doubt that barbershop harmony is alive and well... and something to celebrate!
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| | NextGen and New Wave Choruses, plus The Newfangled Four and Rackartyg - Celebration! |
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WE ARE FAMILY
Barbershop gets some love from the Melodores!
 BHS Associate and barbershop superfan Ann McAlexander shares a great moment from the Illinois District contest weekend:
"At the Melodores concert this afternoon, they mentioned that there had been a barbershop convention in the same theater all weekend and said in honor of that they were going to sing a barbershop song. Nine of the guys left the stage, and the remaining four broke into a very awesome rendition of "Go The Distance". The place went nuts afterward! It was a proud moment for this barbershopper!" |
A BREEZY BREEZE BLEW
Don't let the deadline pass you by!
When A Mighty Wind takes the stage, you never quite know what's going to happen. Heartfelt ballad? Yup. Sinatra classic? Got it. Pure comedy? Coming right up!
Be sure to pre-order your convention recordings before October 5th!
LAST WEEK TO ORDER
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THE GOOD OLD SONGS FOR ME
From the Vault: 3 Classics
Looking for some timeless charts? How about these from yesteryear. (Not to be confused with Yesteryear.) It's all about vintage these days, so why not drum up some nostalgia and share one of these good ol' chestnuts with your audiences. Everything old is new again!
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'TIS THE SEASON 
Fall contest update!
Contest season is well underway, and the results are in:
Illinois District
Quartet Champion - Union Station
Chorus Champion - Sound of Illinois
Senior Quartet Champion - Take Note
Nashville qualifiers - Union Station, After Hours
Youth Quartet Champion - Boom! Shakalaka
Seneca Land District
Quartet Champion - J.A.M.
Chorus Champion - Upstate Harmonizers
Senior Quartet Champion - Leftover Parts
This weekend:
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GET IT TOGETHER! 
Make sure you're ready to roll
The hard-working Customer Service team reminds us that fall contest season usually means a crush of activity from quartet and chorus competitors. Processing applications and quartet registrations for all of our members does take time, so
Read on for timelines, useful links, and resources to make sure your to-do list... and contest eligibility... is taken care of.
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UP PERISCOPE! UP MEERKAT! UP YOUTUBE AND BLITZEN! 
Five great uses for live video streaming
While not every "next big thing" in social media pans out (which explains my empty Second Life chorus rehearsals,) some seem likely to last a while. Photo sharing expanded to video sharing, and this year, to live video streaming from your smartphone to the planet. Connected to your Twitter, Facebook or YouTube accounts, these tools make it easy to bring yourself to your fans over even a crummy old cellular connection.
Want to make the most of your broadcasts? Some suggestions:
Build fan ownership of your group's music and process. Everyone loves an inside view of the process that brings you to stage. Stream a portion of a rehearsal that demonstrates the hard work and fun you have while hammering out the tricky parts.
Build fan ownership of your group's identity. Sure, you sing great, but folks haven't yet learned what nice guys you are, too. The offstage fun of getting lost en route to the show, of kibitzing together as you review your rehearsal video, etc. all help humanize your quartet.
Give the gift of vocal training. A great rehearsal starts with a great warm-up. Stream it out and let others see and hear the quality technique you enjoy. Share the good stuff and maybe you'll recruit some fellow singers in the process.
Give the gift of TAGS. Know a Barbershopper who doesn't enjoy a good ringer taught by a good tag teacher? Yeah, we don't either. If your chapter meeting includes a tag of the week, expand the number of singers via Periscope! And if you find the perfect stairwell at 2:00 a.m., shouldn't all your night owl friends around the world know about it? YES, THEY SHOULD.
 Keep it in your pocket. Yep, the last great use is to know when not to stream. Don't stream shows. Don't stream contests. Both are prohibited by copyright law... and someone other than you spent time and money to secure the necessary licenses. Now that we're on the subject, probably best not to even let the screen light up while a performer is on stage. They might not be distracted, but every other eye in a darkened theater will be drawn moth-like to the light. Not cool, bro... not cool. |
BUT ARE THEY SENTIMENTAL?
MIDWINTER HIGHLIGHT: Southern Gentlemen
Honestly, if it weren't for barbershop, would kids these days even know great old charts like this? Bringing our youth participants together with our Seniors quartet competitors is pretty much the greatest, and we love hearing songs like this Amos Lee hit from the stage... no matter who performs it!
Southern Gentlemen - Sweet Pea
Don't miss great performances like this!
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GET SMART ABOUT GRANTS 
Webinars next Wednesday will unravel grant mysteries
Chapters, districts and quartets have been making a difference in people's lives thanks to underwriting through Barbershop Harmony Society Outreach Grants underwritten by Harmony Foundation International. Applications are now being accepted for another round of grant awards, and we hope to see an expansion of the program from new grantees in addition to still greater successes from repeating applicants.
With the application window closing on October 31, you may find yourself with unanswered questions about the program, and Outreach Assistant Ashley Torroll is just the person to guide you to answers. Ashley will host two webinars on YouTube LIVE next Wednesday in a Q&A format: -
Wednesday, October 7, noon Central Time
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Wednesday, October 7, 7:00pm Central Time
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CHOIR IS WHERE IT'S AT... JUST ASK PTX 
Sing to Inspire: It All Started With Choir
"After a few more minutes of talking with them, they began reminiscing about the amazing times they shared while participating in their school music programs. There are so many things that I learned from this conversation with PTX, but hearing their stories about rehearsing for all-state and sitting in practice rooms just singing together, truly warmed my heart and gave me hope that groups like Pentatonix can help keep music relevant in the classroom."
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CAN'T HARDLY WAIT
Harmonizer online now
If you just can't wait one more second the the convention issue of the Harmonizer... wait no more! Re-live the magic of Pittsburgh photo by photo, line by line.
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HARMONY MARKETPLACE: DOWNLOAD EVERYTHING! 
Because your kid is only at bat one in nine times.
Is it worse to be the dad sending email during Little League, or to be the dad nailing the bass part before rehearsal? Hey, we're not judging.
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CONNECT WITH US!
Flood your social media feed with BARBERSHOP
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