Where Has the Time Gone?
The chorus was much the same then as it is now with many of the same familiar faces producing similarly excellent work. The April 2000 Masters of Harmony had less than a year earlier earned a gold medal in a close contest. My first big challenge was to put together a swan song set in a couple of months for a chorus I’d never directed. We crammed a lot of learning into a short period of time and managed a four-song set, albeit with light choreo.
We survived that event although it was apparent to outsiders that we were in a big state of flux. People were coming and going and the future of the Masters was under heavy speculation. Was this contest giant going to handle yet another director change without dropping stride?
The history of the past decade has now been written and the story of our continued success is part of barbershop lore. And what a tremendous time we all had along the way! If you’ll indulge me, here are some of my favorite memories of my time with the Masters of Harmony (some of which you might have enjoyed as well):
- Meeting with each chorus member privately during my first couple of months to give a personal vocal lesson and get to know him better at the same time;
- Putting together the music for our CD Christmas Eve in Our Hometown including the telling of the Christmas Story and Brian Beck’s arrangement of “Some Children See Him” with Pam Pieson on the solo;
- Learning “Here Comes The Showboat” in only two weeks for a Top Gun school and seeing the look on Darryl Flinn’s face when he found that out;
- Working with Erin Howden and establishing a friendship and bond with her that has lead us to most of our finest performing moments;
- Inviting Aaron Dale to arrange a couple of songs for us way before he became such a barbershop powerhouse. Remember “Into The Fire” from our 2003 swan song? Or “Go Tell It On The Mountain,” which we sang with the Harborlites on a joint holiday show? That was all Aaron;
- Watching OC Times performing with the chorus during our acceptance of the 2005 gold, complete with “Roll On, Mississippi” choreography, and then immediately going on stage to sing first in the quartet finals where they secured their first medal;
- Being stunned by the huge audience reaction to our debut of the Armed Forces Medley in Calimesa circa 2006;
- Performing “The Way We Were” at our 2006 Master Class. Absolutely spellbinding!
- Witnessing our amazing performances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in June of 2008 where we sang about as well as we ever have on a show;
- Hearing Rich Hasty profess his love for his daughter at our 2008 pre-contest retreat and the sad but chorus-bonding moment when we sang “Wonderful One” to her at his funeral a month later;
- Remembering the energy and love shared during our crazy 2008 medal ceremony;
- Seeing Les Weiser jamming on his sax to “Please Come Home For Christmas” during our many holiday performances;
- Directing the many Young Men in Harmony show finales with the Masters and about 250 high school kids;
- Remembering our home run performance of “The Dream Is Carried On” at our swan song set of 2009 featuring OC Times, Nightlife and The Westminster Chorus. And then the next day the energy of our joint rehearsal with the Vocal Majority and the Ambassadors of Harmony in preparation for our Harmony Foundation Show finale;
- Hearing the small chorus of our newest members singing like champions for the rest of the chorus during each of our pre-contest retreats. These were always amazing moments;
- And recently watching Erin Howden and our hard-working front row take “Don’t Break The Rules” from inception to epic in 24 hours.
Well, I could go on and on. Suffice to say, there were many funny, exciting, touching, inspiring, frustrating, joyful moments with each passing year. When I think of the primary emotion that I’ve been feeling recently, the one that comes up the most is simply gratitude. I’m grateful for the opportunity to start a new life in California where I was to be able to lead a dedicated band of brothers through some incredible musical and life-altering experiences. And make wonderful friendships along the way. I look forward to seeing where my life goes next and also watching the current dedicated Masters of Harmony as they continue their legacy. We will meet many more times along the way. Thank you all for the ride of a lifetime.
