Hi, guys !

Official Barbershop builds on competition and has
done so almost from the start of SPEBSQSA = The
Society for Preservation and Encouragement Of Barbershop
Quartet Singing in America ! I won´t go into any more
detail, but I only note that SPEBSQSA (nowadays BHS)
was founded in 1938 ! Before that Bshop had been sung
as far as we know from around 1850 or so. In the beginning
everything was more or less improvisation, someone coming up
with a tune and the other guys harmonizing to the melody.
Written arrangements came into the picture much later.
BHS even has an affiliated organisation called AHSOW (Ancient and Harmonious Society Of Woodshedders) if I remebered the word right ?
This is for the purists that like to woodshed as they did back in time !

The winner of the first quartet competition was Bartlesville Barflies
back in 1939 and the Chorus competitions started as early as
1954 (with an invitational competition in 1953) ! Every barbershopper
knows the basics regarding history. We know that everything started
with quartets and that was in fact really very long ago. Today,
most quartets are offsprings from choruses and the guys ususally sing
in choruses. F.i. Ambassadors of Harmony has 2 in fact three
barbershop world champion quartets: Gas House Gang (not active)
Crossroads and Vocal Spectrum. If you follow AOH:s rendition of
"Higher" on Utube you can see (and hear Crossroads on the left seen from you, and Vocal Spectrum on the right ! I have met many of these guys and I am proud to say I have got to sing with them also (what a treat)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br_0rTrOYHo

For those who want to probe deeper into this wonderful artform I can
recommend a visit to our homepage:

http://barbershop.org/home.html

Guys ! I am proud to be a barbershopper, be sure of that !:))


Cheers
Dani







Last edited by dani48; 10/09/13 06:45 AM.