Masters Take Silver in Near Flawless Contest
On the contest stage, in addition to an outstanding musical performance, the Masters of Harmony sang with great passion and intent, and I felt they greatly moved the audience. My wife Mikki said it best when she remarked that the hair on her arms was on edge throughout both the ballad and uptune. Besides the fine singing, great movement and general involvement with the music, there was a wonderful feeling of vulnerability that truly engages an audience, and I got that reaction from many of them. What I heard from many of the singers afterward was that everything was left on the stage in the performance, and that’s definitely what you want to feel afterward. It was one of the best performances by the MOH that I’ve ever witnessed or been a part of.
At this level of performance, it is the tiniest of differences that affect the scoring, and on this day the panel judged that the edge went to The Vocal Majority. Their performance was indeed a powerful one, and it carried the day.
I can’t tell you how proud I was of the way the Masters comported themselves for the balance of the convention. The visit to congratulate the winning chorus and the subsequent performance and interaction with them demonstrated true class and a great feeling of brotherhood. I think that this was only possible because all knew that they had given all that they had on the contest stage.
Elsewhere at the convention, there were multiple appearances and successes by both current and former members of the Masters of Harmony. First off was the College Quartet Contest where, after a mike testing performance by OC Times, chapter quartet Flightline came in a strong fourth place, followed by the swan song set from outgoing champs The Newfangled Four. Sitting in the judges’ area for this contest was our own Dave Tautkus covering the Singing category.
Next day, the International Quartet Contest started with first round performances by The Newfangled Four, The Crush and American Pastime. Other current, emeritus and former members appearing in this round were Mike McGee in Main Street and Sean Devine in Throwback. American Pastime finished a respectable 34th place, while The Newfangled Four advanced to the next round posting a 16th place finish in their first outing in this contest. The Crush advanced to the finals nudging the medals with a 6th place result. Sitting in the judging pit for the week was former member Richard Lewellen in the Singing category.
Jeff Baker was his usual charming self as the presenter for the second session of the chorus contest on Friday, and he then went on to perform duties welcoming all to the Saturday Night Spectacular and quartet finals. This final evening was capped by an outstanding swan song set from outgoing champs, Masterpiece, accompanied by all their Masters of Harmony brothers . . . a fitting ending to an evening that started out with the word “Spectacular.”
