Away from the caterwaul of traffic and summer heat, 10,000
barbershoppers yesterday bathed in the cool, dulcet melodies
of the best chorus and quartet singers in the world.
And yet the final day of competition at the International
Barbershop Harmony Convention at the Bell Centre seemed more
like a family reunion than the world's premiere barbershop
music contest.
"It's that people like to sing, and the friendship that
goes along with that," explained Al Barnes of Rochester, N.Y.,
of the power of the music that drew barbershop enthusiasts of
all ages to Montreal last week.
As one singer explained, with a repertoire of 15 "polecats"
- favourites every barbershopper knows - spontaneous
renditions of My Irish Rose or I Love You Truly can make two
strangers fast friends.
Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to the best
choruses - groups of 45 to 160 men - and quartets from the
U.S. and Canada. Ten quartets and 21 choruses competed in the
final yesterday.
Nine-time gold medal champions The Vocal Majority, a 148
man chorus from Dallas, Tex. made history, winning a 10th gold
yesterday. They defeated The Northern Lights, a Toronto
chorus. That crowd favourite took silver.
The barbershop style originated in the 1800s when men would
gather in barbershops to chat with friends and sing the day's
popular songs.
In 1938, Owen C. Cash founded the Society for the
Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing
in America, the SPEBSQSA, after a gathering of 150 enthusiasts
on the roof garden of the Tulsa Club in Tulsa, Okla. stopped
traffic and made waves across the U.S. Today the SPEBSQSA has
a membership of 32,000, with about 3,500 members across
Canada.
For more information about the Montreal Chapter of The
Barbershop Harmony Society and how to join, phone Bob Ebers at
(450) 424-0721.
ptodd@thegazette.canwest.com
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