Masters of Harmony

For the last three months, most of us have been in preparation for our eighth “swan song” set to be performed in Portland. Yet we also knew that there would be a bittersweet moment when we finally reached that last performance with Mark Hale at the director’s helm. Our final chance to publicly thank him for the 12 years he spent with the Masters of Harmony was going to be a “recognition” luncheon, to be held on the day of the contest, just prior to our preparations for the swan song set.

The entire week in Portland was filled with acclaim and various forms of recognition for Mark. The MOH had a full-page ad in the printed convention program and a Jumbotron graphic that played throughout the contest sessions, congratulating Mark on his years of service to the organization. During the morning contest session on Friday, Mark was presented with the Joe Liles Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, a wonderfully informative Harmonizer article, penned primarily by Scott Hansen, was released and posted to our website. Scott’s article provides the reader with amazing insights regarding Mark and his experiences with the chorus and the quartets that he influenced along the way.

By the end of the week, everyone in the Barbershop Harmony Society was reminded of the many contributions Mark had made to the barbershop art form and specifically to the Masters of Harmony. Yet, it can be said that Mark was genuinely surprised when he was presented with the most prestigious award of all (at least from a MOH perspective): induction into the Masters of Harmony Hall of Fame.

On July 6, 2012, exactly 10 years to the day of winning his first international chorus gold medal with the Masters of Harmony in Portland, Mark became only the 10th member of the Masters to receive the Hall of Fame award. The nine prior recipients – Dr. Greg Lyne, Joe D’Amore, Jack Hines, Bill Roth, Dan Fullerton, Wayne Mendes, Doug Maddox, Frank Ortega and Marlin Fors – all had significant roles in building the chorus or in helping to maintain the chorus’s level of excellence within the Society. Mark fits very well in this elite group of men, having directed us to four of our eight chorus championships.

The luncheon to recognize Mark and his accomplishments was held at the Ambridge Events Center and was attended by over 160 people, including the 80 active members of the chorus, emeritus members and extended MOH family. Included in the crowd were past presidents Bob Lally, Marlin Fors, Bernard Priceman and Kirt Thiesmeyer, as well as previous Hall of Fame recipients Joe D’Amore and Bill Roth. Also in attendance were our beloved chapter quartets, OC Times and Masterpiece.

Prior to the award presentation, Mr. Fors spoke of Mark’s bringing stability back to the director’s ranks, after a succession of short-term leaders following Dr. Lyne’s departure in 1996. Mr. Priceman spoke of Mark’s personality development during his tenure as a director, including his unique sense of humor. Mr. Thiesmeyer told the group that Mark was the only barbershop director he had ever sung for, having completed his Society membership only 6 days before earning his first gold medal in Portland in 2002. Kirt also had the privilege of helping Mark add a few lyrics to some of our songs over the past 10 years.

Current president Bill Rosica presented the Hall of Fame award to Mark, after a poignant video showing pictures of Mark with various members of MOH and its extended family of coaches and special friends . . . set to the music of the Masters singing “For Good” with solos by OC Times. There was not a dry eye in the house at the end of the presentation, including our departing director. Mark gave an emotion-filled acceptance and thanked the chorus for the opportunity to be in front of us. Few in the audience had seen the emotional side of Mark. It gave us new insight into what drives him to demand excellence from himself and the chorus. Creative kudos go to Gary Stone for putting together both the Mark video and the “Hoagy Carmichael Medley” video used later in the day for our swan song. When the curtain closed that afternoon, the chorus swarmed around their director for the last time.

In the final analysis, Mark’s tenure here was not just about the gold medals. He literally brought the chorus into the 21st century by exposing us to exciting and different musical styles and performance. With the help of Erin Howden and Aaron Dale, he helped establish new benchmarks of excellence in choreography and music with each new championship and subsequent trophy sing-away. As the song says:

"I do believe I have been changed for the better, and because I knew you, I have been changed for good."

We, as a chorus and as individuals, have been changed for good!