Tag: barbershop

Exciting HI Quartet Semifinals in Ohio

Each year, Harmony, Incorporated kicks off the International Contests with the quartet semifinals, making for a exciting start to a long weekend of excellent singing.

With powerful ballads, charming uptunes, and even a handful of well-done parody pieces, 31 quartets put their best on the stage, likely setting themselves up for possible record-breaking scores.

The top ten features multiple Harmony Queens, longtime barbershoppers, a large number of cross-registered Sweet Adelines quartets, and a handful of quartets brand new to Harmony, Incorporated. These groups will compete in finals on Saturday afternoon in Sandusky. Which quartet will be the new Harmony Queens?

In order of appearance:

Mic Testers – Generations
1. Something Good
2. Fierce
3. Take 4
4. Swing Theory
5. New Q
6. Resolution
7. Vivace
8. Hot Pursuit
9. Lip Service
10. Balancing Act

Check out the full semifinal results HERE. Scores for the ton ten quartets will be announced after finals.

The 1998 Harmony Sweepstakes Finals on Friday Night Live

The Olympics were in Nagano. Titanic broke all the box office records and won 11 Oscars. Two Stanford PhD candidates created a little thing called “Google.” Hugo Chávez was elected President of Venezuela, while North Korea officially became a military dictatorship. The Drudge Report released reports about the blue dress that would lead to a Presidential impeachment.

And in a cappella news, Metropolis Quartet took home the national title at Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival. Their baritone was this guy “Mike McGee” – anyone ever heard of him?

The finals also featured Ball in the House, Blind Man’s Bluff, The Heebee-jeebees, +4dB, Cool Shooz, ACApelicans, City Lights, and a reprise from SoVoSo!

Hear it all tonight at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern on Acaville! You can also catch the rebroadcast at 8 am & pm Pacific on Sunday.

Vocal HERspective Episode 13 – Kris Adams

Kristina Adams is a two-time Harmony Queen and longtime music educator. We like to call her the barbershop whisperer as what this singer does is nothing short of magic.

Kris talks about singing, teaching, and even some new ways she is incorporating music into her life and career.

Tune it at 9:30 pm Eastern tonight or listen to the rebroadcast Sunday at 1:30 pm Eastern, Monday at 1:30 am Eastern if you are a night owl! The episode will be available Monday for download!

New Queens Crowned in Sweet Adelines

The Sweet Adelines International Finals for both quartets and choruses certainly ended the convention week on a high note.

The women’s barbershop organization crowned their newest Queens of Harmony in Viva! who earned a final score of 2862. This quartet features 2013 Queen of Harmony Patty Cobb Baker on tenor, 2013 Queen of Harmony and three-time silver medalist Gina Baker on lead, longtime audience favorite and frequent top ten finisher Chris DeRosa (yes, Tony’s sister) on baritone, and 2016 Queen of Harmony Peggy Jones on bass.





Earning second place was longtime crowd favorites, Titanium, who had everyone wanting Insta-bangs of their very own! Just 2 points short of 1st place with a 2860, they are certainly favorites going into 2020.





Third place went to the darlings of Sweet Adelines, GQ, with their slightly humorous set about love and relationships, which earned them the highest Showmanship scores of the night and a total score of 2758.





Tenacious took 4th place with a score of 2701 and The Ladies moved into 5th place at 2647. See the full results here or watch all of the sets here.

 

On Saturday night the spotlight turned on the chorus finals with Sweden’s Rönninge Show Choir taking top honors for the third time, with an incredible journey through Swedish music, including a pretty extensive look at discography of Max Martin. Their final score topped the field by over 100 points at 3061.





Lions Gate Chorus out of Vancouver took 2nd place with a total score of 2945 and an introduction of the “fairygoldmother.”





And out of Northbrook, Illinois, the 2015 International Champions, the Melodeers, started their set out dancing, visited with some of the most iconic songs of all time, and ended with the 3rd place medals.





Check out the full finals results or watch the top ten sets.