2015 Sunshine District Fall Convention By Larry Robinson

For the first time in my recollection, (I’ve only been here ten years), the Sunshine District Fall Convention was the

same weekend as the Sweet Adeline International Convention in Las Vegas. And many of our members

were there, supporting their wives hobby, resulting in a very small turn-out on the distaff side. I heard that there

were only 300 paid registrations. . . so, the District will surely lose money. We probably won’t make that mistake again.

On the plus side, there were no lines waiting to get in or out. The contest venue was still in the same ballroom;

But, they used a sliding partition to cut the floor space in half (so there were no bad seats).

Friday Night: There were eleven quartets in the semi-final round—one quartet withdrew, and ten quartets ad-

vanced to the final round (There was no semi-final score sheet issued.)

Quartet From Score Percentage 1. Signature Miami and Sunrise 1990 82.9%

T - Will Rodriguez, L - Daniel Cochran, Br - Matt Clancy, Bs - Dan Walz

Signature is the 2015/2016 Sunshine District Quartet Champion

2. Rooftop Records Frank Thorne, Orlando and Tallahase 1871 78.0%

T - Chase Guyton, L - Dustin Guyton, Br - Jamie Breedon, Bs - Jackson Pinder

3. Orlando Exchange Orlando and Winter Park 1675 69.8%

T - Jon Kelley, L - Greg Parrerson, Br - Sean Stork, Bs - Matthew Boutwell

4. Lowdown Sound Fort Walton Beach 1667 69.5%

5. Equinox Jacksonville and Tampa 1603 66.8%

T - Ralph Brown, L - Frank Bovino, Br - Wm. Patrick Bower, Bs - Ed McKenzie

Qualified as Senior Quartet Rep to Mid-Winter.

6. Great Western Timber Co. Frank Thorne, Martin-St Lucie and Sunrise 1574 65.6%

(2nd in Senior)

7. Wee Small Hours Martin-St lucie and Sunrise 1532 63.8%

8. Sweater Vest Sebring 1469 61.2%

9. Dewey Singum & Howe Greater Pinallas 1465 61.0%

10. Mint Condition Fort Walton Beach and Panama City 733 61.1%

(3rd Senior only)

--- Rolling Tones—scratched— Panama City and Tallahassee

Saturday Afternoon: The Central Florida Chapter was well represented in the Mike Tester Chorus. I was joined by Jim Busko

and Dick Baird. There were only four choruses competing in the International Qualifying contest, and here are the results:

Chorus From On stage Score Percentage Director THX Sunrise 42 970 80.8% Alex Rubin

Qualifies to represent the Sunshine District at the International chorus contest next July.

Capital Chordsmen Tallahassee 31 862 71.8% Greg Hillard, Jr.

Achieved a Grade Improvement of a B- to a B, and Most Improved Chorus. (Continued on page 7)

The Heartbeat

November 2015, Volume 12, Issue 10

The official newsletter of the Heart Of Florida Chorus,

Central Florida Chapter, Barbershop Harmony Society

The chapter meets every Thursday evening at in North

Lake Presbyterian Church, 975 Rolling Acres Road, Lady Lake, F lor ida—Doors open at 6 p .m.—Rehearsal

s tarts a t 6:30 p.m. heartoff lor idachorus .org

T h e H e a r t b e a t Page 2

Harmony University July 26-August 2, 2015 By Brent Bierma

Nashville—Belmont University hosts the summer camp

for barbershoppers from around the world, and this year

14 countries were represented. This small, hilly campus

near Vanderbilt University in central city Nashville is a

beautiful setting for this event, welcoming men and

women students of many ages.

“older” students were clustered in a dorm away from the

younger guys (you know, the guys who went to bed at 10

p.m.). In addition to the 735 students there were 58 staff

on campus, along with the University personnel. The

women were housed in a different area—can’t trust those

old fogies you know.

November

from our chapter. We were coached by Doug Carnes,

Brent Graham, Gary Steinkamp, and Frank Gifford (bass

from the Musical Island Boys). We arrived on Sunday--

with Willie Williams, Jeremy Reynolds, and Ken Wan-

tuck driving up from Florida, and me driving down from

Michigan to Nashville. Not knowing the campus, we

made plans to call each other when we got there. After

driving eight hours from Michigan, as I am pulling out

my phone, nYour chapter quartet, HarmoniX, attended

the Quartet College track of this July gathering--thanks in

part to support ot even having dialed yet, I see Ken’s car

rounding the corner. That was a great coincidence! To-

gether we figured out where to get settled.

Just like the regular students, we stayed in a typical dorm

room, with two beds on each side of a shared bathroom

(but unlike my dorm room days, we had AC). There was

some late night singing in the halls or outside, but the

Each of the weekdays we had the benefit of four coach-

ing sessions by these top notch coaches. This was a well

organized and productive event, although the summer

crews were doing reconstruction and new building during

our tenure. Despite these few inconveniences, we were

treated well as students, and even the cafeteria food was

great. We had a chance to talk to other students, and

there seemed to be consensus that the faculty was excel-

lent this year. After dinner, we often visited a local pub,

singing to grateful patrons, and sharing what we were

doing in Nashville.

On Friday night, there was a show and our quartet per-

formed along with some other really great quartets and

choruses. The 2015 Quartet Champs Instant Classic

finished the show on a really high note, both figuratively

and actually. On daytime Saturday, the buses loaded us

up to present our voices to the city of Nashville in six

differing venues, and we were divided into five groups.

HarmoniX had fun at several of these locations, and

some children just got a real thrill from our singing to

them. In the evening show back at Belmont, a number of

choruses performed, including a women’s chorus from

Germany. Our 2005 Queens of Harmony, The BUZZ

along with 2014 Quartet Champions, Musical Island

Boys, finished out the Saturday Night Show. Wow! It

was quite an experience. (See page 9 for additional photo)

T h e H e a r t b e a t Page 3

What I Heard At The House of Delegates Meeting By Larry Robinson

At every Sunshine District Convention, the District Board

of Directors (BOD) schedules a House of Delegates

(HOD) meeting. They invite representatives from all of

the Sunshine District Chapters. The speakers bring the

Reps up to date on what the Society and District BODs

are doing, they answer questions on Society issues, and

they vote, along with those Reps, on action items in the agenda.

I attended the Sunshine District HOD on Friday, October 9, 2015. Our at-

tending Chapter Reps were; Pat Haley (Past President) and Jim Busko

(Chapter Secretary). I was a non-voting observer.

The meeting was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., Friday afternoon. I was told

that the meetings usually take about an hour, so we planned to also attend a

special four o’clock meeting. Unfortunately, this meeting lasted 2.5 hours!

The follow-on meeting didn’t get started until four forty-five and had to be

condensed to finish at a reasonable time. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

I’ve never been to a business meeting that concludes on time.

The District President, Nick Schwob, called the meeting to order. The Sec-

retary reported that the meeting had 61% chapter representation. The first

speaker was our representative to the Society BOD, Shannon Elswick, (He

represents two districts; SUN and CAR). Shannon said he just completed a

similar meeting with the Cardinal (CAR) District, and they issued a friendly

challenge to see whose quartets will do best at Nashville in July.

The Society BOD is working to stem the tide of our declining membership.

Their biggest successes have been as a result of creating opportunities for

young men (and women) to sing a cappella music. They have amended the

qualifying procedures to make it easier for youth quartets to enter the Col-

lege Quartet Contests; and they are giving more Harmony University (HU)

scholarships to Music Educators.

Our Harmony Foundation (HF) District Vice president, Ron Carnahan, re-

ported that:

This past year, our HF donors used their “Donor’s Choice” option to

send 30% of their donation to SUN District, totaling $49,000.

1 of 4 High Schools in America have cut choral singing from

their curriculum, leaving thousands of children looking for a place to

sing. The HF, with guidance from the BOD has been very active fund-

ing harmony camps and workshops, exposing music educators to our

music, and hosting the College Quartet Contests.

The Society, in conjunction with a major music publishing company,

has made our barbershop music available online and in stores world-

wide. Initial sales have been encouraging.

In an effort to insure the future of our Society. The BOD, through the

HF, has initiated a “Legacy of Harmony” endowment fund effort that

will sustain the Barbershop Society in perpetuity. Details of how you

can participate will be forthcoming.

Our Convention Committee brought us good news, and bad news. The good

news is that the District has signed a contract keeping the Spring and Fall

Conventions, and Labor Day Jamborees at the Orlando Airport Marriott ho-

tel through 2018. The bad news is; we have been losing money on these

events, and if there is not enough member support (i.e. registrations) to cover

the overhead costs of the Spring Convention, something will have to be done

to secure the necessary funds. Some of the options mentioned were: Raising

District membership dues, raising ticket/registration prices, or levying an

assessment on the chapters.

In an effort to increase attendance, the Board has been surveying the

chapters' presidents and secretaries to determine

what incentives might attract more members to

these events. (At this point, some reps stated that

they had not received the surveys. The Chair

noted that the surveys were sent to the chapter

using contact information taken directly from the

Society Ebiz site. If you’re not getting the mail,

your Ebiz data files may be out of dated). He

gave a recap of the survey questions, which in-

cluded:

Would you come if there were more awards?

What kind of awards?

- 1st time participant awards?

- Audience Favorite awards?

- Numerical placement (Average score,

Latest score, Number of men on stage

etc.)?

- Plateau awards (Average score, Latest

score, Number of men on stage etc.)?

They plan to repeat the survey, so if you have an

idea that will encourage men to attend our con-

ventions, give that information to your chapter

president or secretary.

I used to attend all of the HOD meetings when I

lived in New York, but this is my first HOD in

Florida. I've learned something at every HOD I

have ever attended. I recommend it to anyone

who is interested in how our hobby works., and

what they can do to make it a better hobby.

For the sake of brevity, I have omitted a lot of

topics that were discussed, including the election

of the District Officers for 2016, and some com-

pliance issues for the chapters. If you want to

know everything--you can attend the next HOD

in the Spring.

November

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF CHAMPIONSHIP SINGING:

From the Internet Singer's posture

Active face

Vowels that look right

In-line singing (attenuation)

Focused singing

Know the characteristics of your part

Bring the whole singer

Expect to grow

"I’m talking to you!" (not the guy next to you)

Look, act, and be successful

T h e H e a r t b e a t November

By Roz Fischer

Well, we survived Halloween with all

its goblins, witches, spooks, and jack-

o-lanterns. Thanksgiving is quickly

approaching, as you can tell by the

slightly cooler weather during the

days and the wonderful cooler sleep-

ing weather at night. I think Thanks-

giving is my favorite holiday because

we can look around us and appreciate all the blessings we

have by living in this great country of ours.

It is a time that "family" becomes a word used on the car

radio and on TV, bringing back memories of when we,

ourselves, were children, sitting at the family table, giving

thanks. It is also a time when we think of all the Thanks-

giving dinners we have prepared for our own families, in-

cluding little children, uncles, and aunts, and grandpar-

ents. Some of us still prepare a huge dinner; but isn't it

nice to be able to make a reservation at the many restau-

rants surrounding us now. Ah, yes, age does have its benefits.

Our October luncheon was held at Ruby Tuesdays on

Main Street in the Villages. We had a very nice atten-

dance and had a great meal as we discussed all the world's

problems and came up with our own solutions. Sometimes

when we attend a social luncheon, we learn many things

from others who are there. Word of mouth about a good

doctor, dentist, or repair service is very helpful, since we

can ask the person speaking about very personal matters.

Our November luncheon will be on November 13 at 1:00

at Panera's, across the street from Ruby Tuesdays on

Main Street in The Villages. Our luncheons will always

be on the second Tuesday of the month at 1:00. So, mark

your calendars now for next year. Please join us for a

good time. We have lots of laughs, good food, and just

plain ole' fun.

Our snow birds are gradually coming back to The Villages.

Some arrived in October, but a great many more will be

here this month. We are so glad to see you and have you

back. So, everyone, enjoy Thanksgiving; and as you

count your blessings and look around at your family, re-

member, "Families are like fudge . . . mostly sweet, with

a few nuts."

Meet the HeartThrob — Martha Baird

This very talented lady was born in Port Hudson, Michi-

gan, on July 19. Martha has lived in quite a few places

including Dearborn, Michigan; Ann Arbor, Michigan;

Pensacola, Florida; Portsmouth, Virginia; Great Lakes,

Page 4

Illinois; Fort Myers, Florida; and The Villages. Her fa-

vorite place to live is Virginia. Martha has been a grade

school music teacher, teaching both vocal and instrumen-

tal music.

She now plays French

Horn with the Concert

Band Wind Ensemble

and the Orchestra and

French Horn Ensem-

ble. Her ambition and

desire has been to

play with the Boston

Pops Orchestra. She

is extremely proficient

playing the French

Horn and has sung

with the Belle Chords

and the Christian Chorale. She usually sat behind me in

the Christian Chorale and would state, "Someone is not

singing the right note." I knew that "someone" was me,

and try as best I could to sit somewhere else, I always got

placed in front of Martha, who always caught my wrong

note.

Her hobbies are playing cribbage, doing cross stitch, and

playing in her various musical ensembles. On Thursday

evenings, when her husband of six years is gone to bar-

bershop practice, Martha reads and does her weekly iron-

ing. She and Dick share seven children, sixteen grand-

children, and two great-grandchildren. I think that con-

stitutes a small orchestra. If she won the lottery, this

very kind and lovable lady would pay off her children's

mortgages and travel to Europe.

Martha met her husband through a blind date, and was

introduced to Dick by Jan and Pat Haley. Never too

busy to lend a helping hand to the HeartThrobs, this lady

who completes Dick's life is also a wonderful musical

addition to our HeartThrobs.

Attent ion

If you have not joined the Heart Of Florida Chorus Ya-

hoo email list, there is another option for you to join

the list. Send an email to: <Heart_of_Florida_Chorus-

subscribe@yahoogroups.com> and your request to join

will be queued up to me for approval. As soon as I

receive the notice, I will verify your email address and

approve your membership. When typing the address,

there is an “Underscore” character between each of the

words. The underscore key is above the dash. You

need to use the shift key. It is NOT a space. Most pro-

grams automatically make the address a hyperlink and

by default draw a line under the whole address. If you

have any problems, give me a call. John Fleming, 352-

430-1445

T h e H e a rt be a t November

Let’s Talk Craft—Vowel Matching

From the PROBE Web site

Question: When does 2 + 2 = 5? Answer: When barbershop harmony is sung correctly, creating harmonic overtones and “expanded sound.” One of the most important factors in the achievement of choral blend and expanded sound is unity of vowel

sounds. Vowels are what we sing and sustain, separated by consonants to make words. When we match vowel sounds, we create like harmonics, and the sound ex-pands in intensity through reinforcement. In singing, vowels are created through the natural resonance of the human vocal tract. The tongue, lips and jaw are used to fashion the resonators into their vowel shapes. Some basic rules to follow when forming vowel sounds are:

1. When producing all vowel sounds, the tip of the tongue should be placed gently on the lower gum ridge, with the tip barely touching the base of the lower teeth. This helps keep the throat open so the vocal chords can vibrate naturally through the reso-nators (mouth, throat, and sinus cavities).

2. The jaw should be allowed to relax naturally with a swinging down and back motion.

3. The lips should leave the teeth uncovered.

4. Although the mouth must be open wide, it is not how wide it is open but the shape that is most important.

Every vowel can be sung with one of three mouth shapes: round (example—”oh”), square (example— “ih” as in sit) and oblong (example—”ah” as in pop). Refine-ments to form each specific vowel sound are made by the degree to which the tongue is arched in the mouth, and the degree to which the jaw is dropped. For instance, both the “oh” sound and the “oo” (as in moon) sound are made with the round mouth shape, but the “oh” sound is made with the mouth as open as possible while the “oo” sound is made with the smallest, most rounded shape.

As we sing the songs in our repertoire, keep in mind the basic mechanics of producing vowel sounds and think about the target vowel sound for each word in the song. Properly matched vowels can enable our chorus of 30 something men to “fill the hall” and create the expanded sound that makes barbershop harmony so much fun to sing and hear.

WHICH ONE ARE YOU? By Keith Mullen, Music VP

Every person has a different voice quality

and personality. These differences help to

create a unique vocal sound that is theirs

and theirs alone. How many times do you

receive a phone call and know who is on the

other end as soon as they say “hello?” This

is because you recognize their voice and it

is different enough, that you can recognize

it from other people you talk to. These different vocal

qualities, when blended in a vocal ensemble, create a rich-

ness that should be enjoyable to the listener. This richness

doesn't just happen right away, the ensemble has to work on

it to make it work correctly.

This means that some singers must change the sound of

their voice to blend with the unit. An opera singer cannot

use his opera voice to sing barbershop and many times a

quartet singer, although singing well in a quartet, cannot use

his quartet voice in the chorus. To sing in a quartet you are

the only one singing your part, so you only need to blend

with the other three parts. In the chorus, you need to blend

with the other voices in the section and you may need to

adapt your singing style to create a unit sound.

Once this unit sound is achieved, the director, in our case

Scott, may further modify our section's sound so it blends

with the other parts. The better we do this, the better the

chorus sounds as a group and the more enjoyable our per-

formance is to the audience.

Our primary objective when singing with the HOF Chorus

is to entertain our audiences. The best way to do this is to

sing well. The audience has come to the performance to

hear the chorus sing. The audience didn't come to hear indi-

vidual voices sing their part.

So, getting back to the title of this article “WHICH ONE ARE

YOU?” Do you sing “in” the chorus, or do you sing “with” the

chorus. It's your choice! People who sing “in” the chorus,

usually sing louder than those around him, or use their individ-

ual voice instead of their chorus voice when singing. They try

to (help?) in a difficult section of the song but don't realize that

their voice may be too loud and sticking out. Singers who

don't adapt and use their chorus voice are there primarily for

their own pleasure and the sound of the chorus is secondary in

their mind. People who sing “with” the chorus are constantly

aware of what is happening in their section and in the chorus.

They learn what their chorus voice is and use it to blend with

their section. They learn their notes, words and visuals along

with the vowels and diphthongs. If mistakes are made, they let

Scott correct them. They work to improve both personally

and as a chorus singer to make the chorus better.

Many of us don't realize we are just singing “in” the chorus

until we stop and think about it. Maybe it's me! Changing

these habits is difficult and takes a continual effort to stop.

Habits are hard to break, so we need to keep reminding our-

selves that we must sing with the chorus. Think about it,

WHICH ONE ARE YOU?

Page 5

C R a f t

O

R

n

E

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T h e H e a r t b e a t Page 6 November

Prepare Your Entire Body Before You Sing

By Jim DeBusman

One of the things you can do to make your rehearsal or performance as a singer more effective is to prepare your body as well as your voice. Some vowel matching and tuning exercises are needed as you prepare for a rehearsal or performance; however, you or performance; however, you still need to involve your entire body if you want to sing your very best.

This exercise is one way to relax and prepare your entire body. Flex your knees, bend over at the waist and keep your upper torso higher than your buttocks. Then allow your arms, shoulders and head to go completely limp. Your upper torso should feel and look like a rag doll. The bent knees assure that there will be no tension be-low your waist. Then slowly start breathing deeply for approximately 30 seconds.

Having done that, slowly raise your upper torso upward half-way, with your knees still bent, and repeat the deep breathing. After another 30 seconds, slowly raise your body to an upright position. Keep your knees flexed, slightly roll your shoulders back and elongate the back of your neck. At this full and upright position, do the same deep breathing for another 30 seconds. This is a great way to take all of the tension out of your body and to re-mind yourself how to breathe correctly. You can then start your rehearsal or performance and sing with ease.

The Big Guy Speaks By President Fran Donohoe

Once again we come to that time of year

when we must choose a leadership team

for the coming year. As our numbers

dwindle this becomes increasingly diffi-

cult. Fran Tougas and Jim Busko will

remain in their current positions and I

will be the Immediate Past President (IPP). We must

elect a new President, Marketing VP, VP of Chorus De-

velopment and Music VP. The time commitments in-

volve nine or ten meetings for 1.5 hours per meeting.

Meetings are held at Water Oak Club House at 10 a.m.

on the 3rd Wednesday of each month except for July and

August. Not an overwhelming schedule! We must com-

plete this task by November 19 for submission to District.

As was pointed out by Pat Haley, a chapter that cannot

function as prescribed by the Society must surrender

their charter-forfeiting all on hand funds. Now we just

busted our butts for five months for the Super Show—I

for one do not want to hear about forfeiting a dollar of

what we worked so hard to accomplish. We have made a

commitment to the Charter High School and we must

continue to honor it.

After you read this in our newsletter, pause and ask your-

self, ”Can I find a small amount of time to help my cho-

rus?” We still have a cadre of members who have

stepped up for 12 years to help run the Central Florida

Chapter. Is it your time now? Think about it! In Har-

mony, FRAN.

AS I AGE, I REALIZE THAT: From the Internet

1. I talk to myself, because sometimes I need expert advice.

2. Sometimes I roll my eyes out loud.

3. I don't need anger management. But I do need peo-

ple to stop pissing me off.

4. My people skills are just fine. It's my tolerance of idiots that needs work.

5. The biggest lie I tell myself is, "I don't need to write

that down, I'll remember it."

6. When I was a child I thought nap time was punish-

ment. Now it's like a mini-vacation.

7. The day the world runs out of wine is just too terrible to think about.

8. Even duct tape can't fix stupid, but it can muffle the sound!

9. Wouldn't it be great if we could put ourselves in the dryer for ten minutes; come out wrinkle-free and three

sizes smaller.

10. If God wanted me to touch my toes, he would've put them on my knees.

Questions To Consider

Seen on the Internet, author unknown

Did you hear about the guy who lost his left arm and left leg in a car crash? He’s all right now.

How do crazy people go through the forest? They

take the psycho path.

What did the fish say when he hit a concrete

wall? “Dam.”

What do Eskimos get from sitting on the ice too long? Polaroids.

What do the letters D. N. A. stand for? National Dys-

lexic Association.

What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t work? A stick.

What is a zebra? Twenty six sizes larger than an A bra.

What lies on the bottom of the ocean and twitches?

A nervous wreck.

What’s the difference between an oral thermometer and a rectal thermometer? The taste.

Why are there so many Smiths in the telephone book? They all have phones.

Why do gorillas have big nostrils? Because they have

big fingers

T h e H e a r t b e a t Page 7

(From page 1) See 2015 Sunshine District Fall Convention

Emerald Coast Chorus Fort Walton Beach 19 827 68.9% Paul Whittlesey

Harbor City Harmonizers Melbourne 19 742 61.8% Gretchen Lux

But, the session did not end . . . three more choruses performed for scores only. This is a new Sunshine initiative to encourage/

enable small chapters to perform as a larger group, by letting chapters combine. This concept is still being developed, and, if this

weekend is any indicator, the results so far, are promising. Here are the three Combined Choruses (listed in the order of appearance) :

- The Salty Dog Singers Canaveral, Daytona Beach, Melbourne, Orlando, and Winter Park.

- The Southeast Coast Ramblers Boca Raton, Martin-St Lucie and Palm Beach.

- The Panhandlers Fort Walton Beach, Panama City, Pensacola and Tallahassee.

The Saturday Night Show lead off with The Sisters of Sound, a Harmony Inc. chorus from Clermont, Florida, who sang while the

judges completed their tabulations for the quartet contest. Then the announcement of the winners with a victory song by the win-

ners. Then, the 2014/2015 Sunshine Duistrict Quartet Champions, Throwback, did an amazing show package (so we didn’t mind

that they were the only act).

All in all, it was a very entertaining weekend. I hope we get a better turn out in the Spring.

November

Mentoring Leads To Mentoring Seen on the Internet

Barbershop youth camps and clinics are terrific for men-

toring the next generation of singers. But who could

guess that the mentored would in turn so quickly become

the mentor!

Charlie Lotspeich is a middle school choir director in

Coppell, Texas. When he himself was in high school, his

choral director started him on barbershop, ultimately

leading him to attend various Harmony Explosion

camps. The encouragement of Brooks Harkey, a devoted

supporter of youth programs, brought Charlie to join the

Vocal Majority when he enrolled at the University of

North Texas, and eventually his love of the barbershop

lifestyle grew into a career in music education. Along

the way, he picked up a fifth place collegiate quartet

medal with Phantom 5th in 2013.

As a young teacher, Charlie incorporated some light, fun

tag singing at the end of classes. He came across four

youngsters with exceptional pitch-matching ability for

their age, who quickly absorbed all the barbershop he

threw at them. Soon, he was rehearsing them twice a

week, and Polaris was born.

"At the end of the school year, I sat them down and dis-

cussed going to the district competition in the fall," said

Charlie. "Each guy was wholeheartedly up for the task,

and we continued to rehearse throughout the summer.

Originally, I had planned to have the boys compete in the

regular quartet contest because of the age restrictions of

the collegiate contest. As fate would have it, the collegiate

competition has undergone some changes and the mini-

mum age requirement had been dropped, allowing Po-

laris to compete in the Youth Barbershop Quartet Contest."

Polaris was the 28th quartet to compete at the South-

western District contest that day, and the packed house

gave it up for them! The quartet mingled in the lobby for

hours, singing for anyone who would listen and passing their

top hats, ultimately raising $1,700 to advance to the YBQC

championships next summer in Nashville.

A life path directed into music . . . a second generation of

young singers grown from the seeds planted in high school...

and a performance to delight and move hundreds. That's the

kind of intergenerational magic at the heart of our barbershop

experience. We look to big things from the boys and from

Charlie, and we're thankful for mentors like Brooks Harkey,

whose influence extends further than we might imagine in the

moment.

Believe In Yourself From the Internet

Think the road to barbershop competition is frustrating?

Consider all the obstacles Abraham Lincoln overcame

on his road to the White House.

• Failed in business in 1831 (age 22)

• Defeated for Legislature in 1832 (age 23)

• Again failed in business in 1833 (age 24)

• Elected to Legislature in 1834 (age 25)

• Sweetheart died in 1835 (age 26)

• Had a nervous breakdown in 1836 (age 27)

• Defeated for Speaker in 1838 (age 29)

• Defeated for Elector in 1840 (age 31)

• Defeated for Congress in 1843 (age 34)

• Elected to Congress in 1846 (age 37)

• Defeated for Congress in 1848 (age 39)

• Defeated for Senate in 1855 (age 46)

• Defeated for Vice President in 1856 (age 47)

• Defeated for Senate in 1858 (age 49)

• Elected President of the United States in 1860 (age 51)

Lead’s Creed By David Bailey-Aldrich (Hilltop, Minneapolis Chapter)

From the Harmonet

We believe in providing equal time for all voice parts;

therefore, we will present all the creeds, starting with the

one for leads, since leads believe they are the alpha and

omega of every quartet and chorus.)3

3

1. We will not flaunt in front of others the fact that we

have the best voice in the group (unless the music calls

for it, which, come to think of it, it usually does).

2. We will do our best to stay in tune, but won't do too

much about that since the other guys have to follow us

anyway.

3. As consummate gentlemen, we will continue to let the

basses feel like they're the most important part of the

group, even though without the melody they would have

nothing to harmonize.

4. As we focus on shaping and caressing the song, if we

forget a word (or all of them), we won't worry too much,

since the other guys have to follow us anyway.

5. We will never allow a baritone to sing louder than us,

even when we're on the seventh. The melody must be

heard!

6. We will be sensitive to the tenor's need to feel special.

We won't overdo it, though.

7. In a chorus, although we will do our best to follow the

director, we realize that we have to take advantage of all

of the opportunities in a song to show off our wonderful

lead voice. After all, that's what the audience has come

to hear, right?

8. We will do our best to cover the fact that the baritone

has a weak, emaciated instrument, otherwise he'd be sing-

ing lead.

9. When in doubt, pitch it up!

10. When a Coach/Director advises us that we were un-

der pitch, or too loud, we will always nod appreciatively,

all the while knowing that we were just doing what the

Composer/Arranger originally intended (even if the

Coach/Director IS the Composer/Arranger).

Next month—another part.

T h e H e a r t b e a t Page 8 November

O. C. Cash: The Early Years By Idress Cash, seen in The North Shore Harmony Rag

I was not aware of barbershopping until the big explo-

sion of 1938. My brother, Owen, worked in a barber shop when he was a youngster, and I suppose he en-

countered the craft there. At home, my mother was al-

ways singing—hymns, ballads, Stephen Foster songs—while she was in the garden or busy with housework.

Mother and Dad attended singing school when they were young and we had the book they used. Dad used to sit

in a big chair with the book and we would look over his

shoulder and sing, but not often. Dad’s time to sing was Sunday mornings. He used to get up singing some fa-

vorite hymn—very loud.

When we were teenagers, groups of us used to spend a lot of time singing around a piano. Owen was the leader

in our crowd. He managed to get songs from the current New York musicals shows. He also visited with friends in

neighboring towns. Then Owen learned to play the cor-

net and played all the Sousa marches. I played all the accompaniments and we made a lot of noise. Then he

switched to the trombone and more noise. Then he took violin lessons and explored the world of classical music

for a time. In the latter part of World War I, Owen was

in Officers’ Training School. I have no idea whether he sang barbershop style there; he could have. It is evident

he knew the craft so surely he must have practiced it.

One Friday afternoon in the spring of 1938, I stopped by my brother’s house. The table was set for 12 and he

told me he had invited some men friends for a stag din-ner; they wanted to see his new house. He was anxious

to show them the club room which was decorated ac-

cording to his plan. It was in that room that the seed was sown that grew into the Society for the Preservation

and Propagation of Barbershop Quartet Singing in the United States (SPPEBQSUS).

The men had such a good time, someone suggested that

they meet again, and that was the meeting on the roof garden of the hotel. When the story appeared in news-

papers all over the USA, men began writing letters to Owen wanting to know how they could be part of such a

group. When Owen and Mr. Hall met in the Muehlebach

Hotel and talked it over, the answer became clear: incor-porate. That provided a home for the many “orphans”

out there crying to be adopted. The movement was really born that night when 27 men sang under the stars

on a hotel roof.

YOU KNOW YOU’RE A BARBERSHOPPER WHEN: Submitted by Joe Burns

You hear and feel a four-part cord at the same time.

You cringe whenever there is an off-sound voice-part in a cord.

You dedicate time to practice new music so each cord will ring

Your eyes brighten when you hear a make-up quartet singing

old chestnuts

You take pride singing the first note of a song accurately.

You understand - without your voice part, that lovely cord

would not ring

You get an arm-hair follicle erection when you hear a quality

quartet move through a series of chord changes.

T h e H e a r t b e a t Page 9 November

The Very Best Vocal Coach By Carol Johnson, Director, Manahawkin, NJ Chapter

I will remember the first time I heard myself on a re-

corder. It didn't sound anything like me! My friend

sounded exactly like herself, but that strange voice sing-

ing with her just wasn't mine. I was shocked to realize

that it was indeed me. I suddenly knew that the

"wonderful voice" I have lived with all of my life isn't the

same voice that everyone else hears.

For months, I recorded myself singing in the chorus. I

listened in amazement to this awful voice . . . it sang

wrong notes, wrong words, bad vowels, made funny

sounds, scooped, and even went flat! I became very

aware of pitch and went right to work to produce a better

voice. Little by little, I improved myself as a singer under the

cold truth of this heartless coach, my recorder.

Yes, your recorder is the best coach you'll ever find! It gives

you the opportunity to hear the voice that everyone else hears.

Remember that the only person who hears the voice in your

head is you! Any time you are serious about good singing, the

truth is there for you to hear. Just press the button.

Tag Time Again Get your quartet to give this one a try. If you’re not in a quartet, find three other parts and see what you can do!

(From page 2)

said Sam, “is that there is barbershop singing in heaven, and

I’m in the best quartet you’ve ever heard. We could have

won the International Contest hands down.” “Really?” said

Moe. “That’s wonderful! What’s the bad news?” “Your quar-

tet has a gig Tuesday!”

Barbershop in Heaven? From Hanover, N.H. Chapter Chips- Roger Arend, Editor

Two 90-year-old baris, Moe and Sam, had been friends all

their lives. Sam was dying, so Moe came to visit him. “Sam,”

said Moe, “You know how we’ve both loved barbershop all

our lives. Sam, you gotta do me one favor. When you go,

somehow you’ve got to tell me if there’s barbershop singing in

heaven.” Sam looked up at Moe from his deathbed and said,

“Moe, you’ve been my friend many years. This favor I’ll do

for you.” And with that, Sam passed on.

At midnight a couple nights later, Moe was sound asleep when

a distant voice called out to him, “Moe . . . Moe . . .” “Who is

it?” said Moe, sitting up suddenly. “Who is it?” “Moe, it’s

Sam.” “Come on. You’re not Sam. Sam died.” “I’m telling

you,” insisted the voice, “it’s me, Sam!” “Sam? Is that you?

Where are you?” “I’m in heaven,” said Sam, “and I’ve got to

tell you I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”

“Tell me the good news first,” said Moe. “The good news,”

T h e H e a r t b e a t November Page 10

HOF Chapter Quartets

Four Sharps

Joe Pfiefer, tenor

Rich Casanzio, lead

Don Barnes, baritone

Jim Castanien, bass

So Far So Good

Jerry LaDue, tenor

Dave Kirkpatrick, lead

Dick Fischer, baritone

Jerry Weisenreder, bass

Sun Chords

Lee Shawcross, tenor

John Fleming, lead

Joe Burns, baritone

Dick Gordon, bass

Further Adieu

Lee Shawcross, tenor

Paul Smith, lead

Jim Gehrlein, baritone

Jim Castanien, bass

HarmoniX

Jeremy Reynolds, tenor

Willie Williams, lead

Ken Wantuck, baritone

Brent Bierma, bass

Senior Moments

Bob Vincuilla, tenor

Norb Schneider, lead

John Carter, baritone

Mo Foisy, bass

Barbershopper Of the Year

Ha l l o f Fame

Joe Pfeifer 2003

Wayne Page 2004

Marty Martin 2005

Ken Carter 2006

Dave Kirkpatrick 2007

Joe Burns 2008

Jim Gehrlein 2009

Elbie Ford 2010

Elmer (Elmo) Wagner 2011

Rich Casanzio 2012

John Fleming 2013

Dick Fischer 2014

? 2015

PRESIDENTS COUNCIL Dick Baird Cullen, Bill*

Haley, Pat Yahn, Jerry

AMBASSADORS OF SONG Applegate, Don Baird, Dick

Barnes, Don Beck, Dick Bierma, Brent Burnett, Ann*

Burns, Joe Busko, Jim Casanzio, Rich Castanien, Jim

Cullen, Bill* Donohoe, Fran

Dunn, Steve Fischer, Dick Fleming, John Foisy, Mo

Gehrlein, Jim Gordon, Dick Haley, Pat Hogshead, Tom

Holmberg, Dave Johnson, Reed Kirkpatrick, Dave LaDue Jerry

Leslie, Bill Mann, Dave

McCoy, Gene Mullen, Keith Nichoret, Lou Page, Wayne

Pfeifer, Joe Robinson, Larry Schneider, Norb Wakefield, Bob

Wantuck, Ken Weisenreder, Gerry

Wells, Peter Werner, Scott *not a chapter member

Our brothers who have passed but will always be on the risers with us in our hearts

Charlie Borders Gil Mason Floyd Guernsey Mel Lee Harry Olds Don Polley John Raymond Bob Yenney Emil Bajus George Murphy Don Himmelman Bud Mason David MacEllven Spike Kenn Nick Nichol Marty Martin John Burnett Hugh McLeish Bill Davidson Lloyd Cole Dutch Schultz Jim Miller Carl Rostek Wally Costello Verne Manning Bill Hoag Harold Lathom Doc ‘Bill’ Weir Larry Nuckles Don Benbow Elmer Starret Erhard Oppeheimer-Freeman Morrison Russell Gilliam Bob Werkema

Chapter Eternal

We Always Welcome Guests In October we had no first-time guests.

Birthdays in November

Mark Lewis 3

Jeremy Reynolds 4

Dave Mann 7

Dave O’Dwyer 12

Joe Burns 13

Doc Mann 13

Scott Werner 14

Jerry Yahn 22

Dick Beck 23

Keith Mullen 26

True Fact Recycling one glass jar saves enough energy to watch TV for three hours.

November

Purpose The purpose of this chapter

shall be three-fold:

1.) To perpetuate the old American

institution, the barbershop quartet.

2.) To promote and encourage vocal

harmony and good fellowship among

its members.

3.) To encourage and promote the edu-

cation of its members and the public in

music appreciation of barbershop har-

mony.

The chapter activities shall be con-

ducted without personal gain for its

individual members and any profits or

other inurenments to the chapter shall

be used in promoting the purposes of

the Society, district or chapter.

Assistant Director and

Baritone Section Leader:

Don Barnes

352-259-8634

dode@thevillages.net

T h e H e a r t b e a t

The 2015 Central Florida Chapter Leadership Team

Page 11

Immediate Past President:

Brent Bierma

352-750-2272

brentsings@embarqmail.com

Marketing and PR VP:

Dick Baird

352-753-0455

rmbaird777@gmail.com

Board Member-At-Large:

John Fleming

352-430-1445

john@w3gqj.net

The Heartbeat Staff

Secretary:

Jim Busko

352-409-2462

jimbusko2003@yahoo.com

President:

Fran Donohoe

352-637-4369

franairways@tampabay.rr.com

Staff Reporter:

Larry Robinson

352-357-7328

larry4lead@comcast.net

Senior Editor:

Elbie Ford

352-438-8882

elbieford@aol.com

Front Line Director and

Lead Section Leader:

Scott Werner

352-259-2572

lovebbshp@aol.com

Bass Section Leader:

Pat Haley

352-753-3351

phaleybbs@comcast.net

Tenor Section Leader:

Joe Pfiefer

352-751-2415

the4sharps@comcast.net

Treasurer:

Fran Tougas

507-381-2261

tougasfm@gmail.com

Staff Photographer:

Mary Tougas

507-381-2261

tougasfm@gmail.com

HeartThrobs Editor:

Roz Fischer

352-750-6755

rozfish@comcast.net

Stage Presence Coach:

Jan Haley

352-753-3351

phaleybbs@comcast.net

Heartbeat Mailer:

Dolores Burns

352-259-8732

joeburns5@embarqmail.com

Librarian:

Elmo Wagner

352-753-0449

phylmo22@gmail.com

Heartbeat Distributor:

Joe Burns

352-259-8732

joeburns5@embarqmail.com

Music VP:

Keith Mullen

352-259-9893

kmullen2003@yahoo.com

Chapter Development VP:

Steve Dunn

352-205-8032

sadunn49@gmail.com

HOF Music Team

P r e s i d e n t s C l u b Fran Donohoe

Current President

Wayne Page 2003 -2004

Ken Carter 2005 -2006

Marty Martin 2007 -2008

Dave Kirkpatr ick 2009

Pat Haley 2010-2011

Brent Bierma 2012 -2013

Mission Statement

We are an organization of community

minded singers, dedicated to spreading

the joy of close harmony in our schools

and in our community.

Deadline is the 20th of the month.

Articles with no byline are written by

The editor. Clip art courtesy of the

Barbershop Harmony Society.

The Heartbeat

WITHOUT MUSIC,

LIFE WOULD BE A MISTAKE.

—Fr iedr ich Nietzsche

November-2015

December 17—Show at 7 p.m.—Umatilla High School December 27—Choir Replacement—8:30 and 11:15—North Lake Presbyterian Church

Elbert Ford, Editor

1520 152nd Place

Ocala FL 34473

Cell: 352-438-8882

Email: elbieford@aol.com

Printing of The Heartbeat done

by Ultrex Printing, Inc.

302 Oak Street, Suite A

Lady Lake, FL 32159

352-205-8222

jhicks@ultrexprinting.com

See them for your printing needs.

Place

Postage

Here

Important Websites

Central Florida Chapter www.heartoffloridachorus.org Barbershop Harmony Society www.barbershop.org

Harmonizer www.barbershop.org/harmonizer Sunshine District www.sunshinedistrict.org

Sunburst www.sunshinedistrict.org/sunburst

Harmony Marketplace www.harmonymarketplace.com Update your information www.barbershop.org/ebusiness

Top Hymns for Old Folks Seen on the Internet

1. Precious Lord, Take My Hand . . . And Help Me Up.

2. It Is Well with My Soul . . . But My Knees Hurt.

3. Nobody Knows the Trouble I Have Seeing.

4. Just a Slower Walk with Thee.

5. Count Your Many Birthdays, Name Them One by One.

6. Go Tell It on the Mountain . . . But Speak Up.

7. Give Me the Old Timers' Religion.

8. Blessed Insurance.

9. Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah . . . I've Forgotten Where I Parked.