June 23, 2016 
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From the Vault: The Chord Busters
Order from Harmony Marketplace BEFORE July!
Membership grows using self-serve approach
PR 101: Get connected about Convention
Song of the Week
NEW DISCOUNT: Pitch Perfected
Using the new BHS Business Guide
Thank You, Mr. President
Get into the Zone... THE TAG ZONE
Convention brew gets a name!!
#BHSNASH Convention updates
Lombardi joins Harmony Hall staff
Follow us
FROM THE VAULT 
One-take wonder: the Chord Busters
Video may not exist of 1941 barbershop quartet champions, the Chord Busters, but audio sure does. A few years after winning the third annual event, they recorded a three-album set of 78's that included this gem, Back in the Days, where they make fun of 1940 and eventual 1942 champions the Flat Foot Four and the Elastic Four, respectively. Thus, our enduring tradition of making fun of fellow quartet competitors in song finds its roots.

A little history about the record: In 1946, there was to be a farewell party for baritone Bobbie Greer. They realized that the next day would probably be the last chance they would have to create a record. They met the next morning at a radio station and cut their only recording. The guys sang well but the material being used was a "soft plastic" (shellac was a war casualty), therefore they only got to record each song with one take and with no playback. They finished in time for Bobbie to make his 1:00pm train for the west coast and this wonderful recording is the result.

Sit back and enjoy this look into the Barbershop Harmony Society's infancy!

 

Get your Harmony Marketplace orders in now, folks!

Last call to get orders shipped before Convention is June 27 at 10 am. After that, your hard working Harmony Hall staff will be on site at the Convention, getting ready to put on another terrific event. Digital downloads will still be available, but our call center and shipping department will be closed for the week.

Our regular shipping schedule and Customer Service hours will resume on July 12th, processing your requests in the order received. 
Membership growing through self-serve sign-up
Since October 2015, men have been able to do something  they couldn't do before: they found the Barbershop Harmony Society through their own means, clicked "join us" at barbershop.org and became full Society members without first joining a chapter.
After consultation with district and select chapter leaders, the Society Board last year dropped the requirement that members must belong to a Society chapter or district. The move is a small but important first step in a broader membership strategy. In an ever-changing social landscape where the consumer expects to help set the terms, this and coming strategies will help strengthen both the Society and individual chapters.

IN THE NEWS
PR 101: Make a name for yourself!
Man, do we LOVE this lead paragraph from a St. Louis Post-Dispatch preview story on the convention:
Chiropractors. Cooks. Teachers. Students. One-hundred and thirty men from all walks of life have been brought together by their love of singing. They sing together as The Ambassadors of Harmony every Thursday night at the Memorial Hall at Blanchette Park in St. Charles, and have one goal in mind-to change lives through music.
Nashville competitors: Have YOU notified your local news outlets about your upcoming contest experience? This is a terrific opportunity to generate some press for your group... and maybe even promote your upcoming show or membership night in the process. Don't be a "best-kept-secret"... shout it loud and proud! 


SONG OF THE WEEK
COMING SOON: Yuletide Favorites, vol II

Including:
Auld Lang Syne
Chanukah, Chanukah
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Deck the Halls
The First Noel
Go, Tell It on the Mountain
Good Christian Men, Rejoice
Here We Come A-Wassailing
In the Bleak Midwinter
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
Joy to the World!
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
We Three Kings
What Child Is This?

On sale during convention week!

Songbook and E-book - $16/$12 (retail/member)
Individual part learning tracks - $14/$10.50
Full Mix only - $16/$12
Complete set of part tracks (no full mix) - $48/$36 


Make sure to pick up your tickets to see Vocal Spectrum, Masterpiece, Power Play, and so much more in Nashville this summer, appearing at the incredible Schermerhorn Symphony Center for two star-studded shows.

Show times:
Wednesday, July 6  *Use code BARBERSHOP15 for a 15% discount*
Thursday, July 7   
7:30 pm

IT'S BUSINESS TIME
BHS Business Guide: The Business of Barbershop (A Resource for Chapter Leaders)

As a part of the Healthy Chapter Initiative, the Society has published and updated the BHS Business Guide: The Business of Barbershop, which serves as an "at-a-glance" overview of the major tasks and responsibilities of Chapter Presidents, Secretaries, and Treasurers. This document can be found by visiting our BHS Document Center. Please discard any old copies of this guide that you 
might have.

We recognize how crucial it is to have materials and resources that assist leaders in carrying out the valuable work of our organization. This is one of the many steps in updating our materials as a part of the Healthy Chapter Initiative. We recognize you've waited too long for materials and resources related to your work and ask that you rest assured that we are working on all segments of the resources that Harmony Hall provides to chapters.

As always, for comments or questions please contact customerservice@barbershop.org
BARBERSHOP-PARAZZI
Honoring Society President Don Fuson
Have you selfied with the man himself? Per Society tradition, each past president is gifted a scrapbook at the end of their term. Be a part of his keepsake by submitting your photos, personal notes, funny stories about Society Board President Don Fuson to scrapbook@barbershop.org. 

Don't have one yet? Be sure to snap one in Nashville! 

Deadline for submission is September 1st.
GET INTO THE ZONE

The concept? Put great tag teachers where other tag singers will already be singing. We will have big signs around to invite new people to join in and find you! You may have 3 people at first, but it will likely grow to 10 or 20....or 70.

Hundreds of people will walk past you in these locations, and they will see signs and figure out that new people are welcome to try. You will be listed with our other HU faculty online, but mostly you will be helping our attendees who wish they had the courage to try a tag but were never invited. Until now.

If you would be hip to teach for a 90 minute block(s) on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, fill out this simple collection form.  You don't have to know 500 tags.  You don't have to have multiple degrees in music or a gold medal. If you can teach 10 or 20 tags and like to help people, you are IN! You can teach the same tags on different days.
AND THE WINNER IS...
Stop by for a pint of BarbersHop!
Rock Bottom Brewery and Harmony Hall are proud to announce that BarbersHop is the winning entry! Pronounced Barber's Hop, this ale promises to be as cool and refreshing as barbershop itself. 

Among MANY wonderful submissions, a few versions of this name were suggested, but first mention goes to Evergreen District's own resident beer expert John Burri. You can see the list of finalists here! 

BONUS: Pick up a t-shirt with this sweet logo at Harmony Marketplace!


HELPING CHAPTERS HELPS EVERYONE
Antonio Lombardi joins HQ staff as Manager of Chapter Leadership & Education

We are thrilled to announce a new member of the society headquarters staff: Antonio Lombardi, Manager of Chapter Leadership and Education, comes to us with significant leadership experience in the Northeastern District (NED), serving as a district leader, chapter leader, and organizer of the successful Harmony Explosion Camp Northeast. Outside of the barbershop community, he worked for the Community College of Rhode Island in student affairs.

Sharing our belief that the chapter experience is a critical element in the health of our organization, our friends at Harmony Foundation International have completely funded this position as part of our Healthy Chapter Initiative. Mr. Lombardi is excited to continue the fine work already being done by the BHS education team and can't wait to help our chapters thrive!
DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS
We meant THESE Gentlemen Songsters!
The web site for last week's featured chorus, The Gentlemen Songsters was incorrect. You can find them here. Our apologies, gents!

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