Masters of Harmony

The Masters of Harmony and Southern California Vocal Association co-sponsored the 13th Annual Young Men’s Harmony Festival this past weekend. We had 204 young men from 26 high schools and three middle schools attending this year’s event, and the feedback from students, parents and teachers indicates that this was our best festival ever. More than 70% of the attendees were first-timers (including several new schools), and the other 30% were repeat participants.

The day started with introductions and a demonstration of the barbershop style with all of the members of The Crush. After some physical and vocal warm-ups by Dave Tautkus and Jason Remley, we ran through all of the songs and were pleasantly surprised how good they sounded. The young men were more prepared than previous years, and their vocal quality was significantly better.

For lunch, we brought in 525 Arby’s Roast Beef sandwiches, and they were gone in minutes. After lunch, we broke into section rehearsals, and The Crush and other MOH men helped the young singers to work through some of the more difficult parts of the songs. When we reconvened on the risers, the improvement was readily seen. I don’t know what kind of magic happens during those section rehearsals, but I know that the young men were thrilled to work with The Crush.

Meanwhile, Dr. Chris Peterson presented some valuable information to the attending choral music teachers on how to use barbershop harmony to attract more young men into their programs. He also taught the music teachers a simple barbershop arrangement of “I Love You Truly,” which they then performed for the students. It was a real “Professor Harold Hill” moment for everyone.

During the afternoon, we added a few simple choreographic moves to “Coney Island Baby” and continued to refine the songs. When the students were dismissed for dinner, the Masters of Harmony and The Westminster Chorus took to the stage for warm-ups and rehearsal. The young men changed into their performance attire, complete with red or blue bow ties and cummerbunds, expertly packaged for each school by Jackie Palmquist. They then joined the MOH on stage to rehearse “Fun In Just One Lifetime” and America The Beautiful/Overlay.

The evening show featured the youth chorus, performances by quartets and small ensembles from Poway High School, Beckman High School, Granada Hills Charter High School, Scripps Ranch High School, Marshall Middle School and Arlington High School, as well as Masterpiece, The Crush, The Westminster Chorus and the Masters of Harmony. With over 320 singers on stage for the finale, the combined choruses and quartets received standing ovations from the appreciative audience of over 350 parents, families, teachers and friends. This year’s event brings our 13-year total to well over 2,900 students who have participated in one or more of our festivals.

The choral music teachers were extremely pleased with the musical experience that we provided for their singers. They also expressed their sincere appreciation for the positive adult male role models that we provided, especially for some of the mother-only youngsters who don’t have that in their lives.

Many thanks to members of The Crush and the other dedicated members who served as coaches, clinicians and directors. Likewise, all the MOHers who attended the all-day session did an equally “masterful” job of demonstrating that singing can and should be a lifelong recreational activity. The Masters of Harmony, Westminster and the guest quartets all gave championship-level performances.

We are indebted to the Association of International Champions (AIC Endowment Fund), the Far Western District (Youth Education Fund) and Harmony Foundation for their financial support.