September, 1949 Vol
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SEPTEMBER, 1949 VOL. IX No.1 "Lincolo Memorial"~Wa8hlngton, D. C. © Rideout DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CHAPTER is a guild of quanet singers who collectively compose the SINGING CAPITAL CHORUS Director DR. ROBERT HOWE I-IARMON Assistant Directors EDWARD A. CAREY FRA ·CIS H. TOWi'lSEND JA~IES L. EWIN CAPT. H. H. COPELA:--ID This great chorus which participated in the ceremonies attending the inauguration of President Truman and Vice-President Barkley and which made for the Treasury Department of the United States the recording of HKeep America Sabin,," will appear in Constitution Hall in the HARVEST OF HARMONY OF 1949 October 28, 1949 and it will be featured in the HARMONY GALA January 21, 1950 during tlte meetin.g oj the Inler1'1alionalBoard oj Directors THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION "'NO ENCOUR"'GEMENT OF S"'RBER SHOP QUARTET SINGING IN ... MERIC .... INC. VOLUME IX NO.1 SEPTEMBER. 1949 CHICaGO'S MID STaTES TaKE CROWN Those incomparables, Chicago's Mid States Four, song·and-dance men, INT'L. BOARD MEETS, BUFFALO SCORES comedians, and by the most exacting standards, serious harmonists, made MEETS AND MEETS "WOODSHED" SUCCESS their third Medalist flight at Buffalo, In a successful singing society all is The Society's first Woodshed on Stat and took back the Int'!. Champion not song. Whether chapter, district ler mezzanine at Buffalo was so suc ship to disJ}lay it proudly to Chicago or internati011aI·wise, somebody's got cessful that there is no doubt about 10 . 1 Chapter alongside those already to deal with the immediate practicali 'won by the Elastic Four ('42), the the important part it will play in fu Four Harmonizers ('43), and the Mis ties and to plan for the future. At ture International, and perhaps Dis Buffalo, the Int'l. Executive Commit fits ('45). The Mid States achieved tee meetings got under way on Tues trict gatherings. Conceived to give third place :Medalist status in '47, day evening with 42 items on the the unattached singer it place '.... here and took second in the final-finals in age n d a, and continued through he could find three others just as ~48. F<?ur Int'l. championships lodged Wednesday. (The Committee recom desirous of song, it was under "man In ChIcago No. I Chapter give it mends to the full Board, which then agement" of the former IntJI. Board unique status which will take years accepts or rejects recommendations. members, now known as the Antique to equal. Eight were made and seven accepted.) Relics (for short). Treading on the Mjd States' heels The Board met for the first session ("too close for comfort" they said) on Wednesday evening, with only two At times it was crowded to capacity, came the Clef Dwellers of Oakland members, Stanton of California and at other times audiences and singer,:,; County (Mich.) Chapter, Flint's Ant Cripe of Indiana absent. The latter drifted elsewhere. Experience at Buf lers, Lansing's Songmasters and La arrived on Saturday. The 1948-49 falo taught the Antiques that (1) A fayette (Ind.) VarSity Four in that Board sessions continued through Woodshed should be located vel'Y close order. Michigan set a record, by plac· Thursday, and the 1949-50 Board met to the center of activities. (2) It ing three quartets in the five-quar for organization that evening. should have a very large idelltification tet Medalist contest, and all of their 4 in the Finals. Board Aclion sign. (3) An fn. c. should be in charge at all times to induce the yearning, "Tied for 6th place" in the FrLdav Highlights of Boar'd action include: but sometimes bashful, unattached night fun-off which cut the original Adoption of a new district charter bal'bel'shopper to join up and take 40 (see June if;sue for complete list) similar to chapter charters. All four over the platform. It is very likely down to 15 were the Buzz Saws, Co teen districts now have them. too that I'ules for future Woodsheds lumbus; Vikings, Rock Island; Buf falo Bills, Bu/ralo; Four Naturals After discussing all angles of school will be elal:itic enough to permit or th~ ganized quartets to sing there, pro New Haven; Gardenaires, Detroit; and college graduations, reunions, va Chicagoans; K. Co's Hy Power Ser cations, and other matters affecting vided they have not won District or International honors. enaders; Hi-Los, J\.fihvaukee; Potomac attendance, it was decided to continue Clippers, Washington. D. C.; and the to schedule Conventions and Int'1. Cardinals, Madison, Wis. contests during the second weekend Imm. Past Pres. Chas. M. Merrill be lieves that this year's expenence of June of each year. }<....OT many members the two Semi proves a pet point of his (Le.) that e.'{ Finals and the Finals in Kleinhans The U. S. Army program, to promote perienced qU3rteters can meet in the barbershop quartet and chorus sing Music Hall, with its perfect acollstics Woodshed lor the first time. decide and setting, surpassed even the Med ing wherever troops are stationed, re who'll sing which, and what, and can ceived enthusiastic approval. alist competition in Municipal Audi do a creditable job without any re torium where it was difficult in some (vmlimud tm fllX: pug,) heal·sal. spots to hear the quartets clearly. IN"TERNATIONAL OFFICERS FOR 1949-50 More Than Four Parts From the beginning, the beautifully serious business of quartet selection was enlivened by the quips of Past Presidents Hal Staab, Phil Embury, and Frank Thorne and Imm. Past President Charley Merrill who l\LC'd. the preliminary sessions and the Sat urday afternoon Jamboree in which the 25 eliminated foursomes made many ..vonder "·Why?". The audience got its highly satisfying innings in these meetings with John Hanson, Thorne. and Tom Needham giving the downbeat. The Steuben County Chor us, ' .... ith Robert. Hughes directing, performed harmon.iously at the Jam boree. To open the Medalist show. Int'!. President King Cole presented the Niagara Frontier Chorus, under di rection of Walter Reitz. The audience, again, participated while George W. Front Row-L. to R.-Founder etc. O. C. Cash, Tulsa. Okla.; Charles M. Merrill, Reno, Nev., Imm. Past President; O. H. King Cole, Manitowoc. Wis., President: j. D. Campbell played one section against Bel.'ler. Evansville. Ind.. First Vice Presidenl: Standing-L. to R.-James F. Knipe, another. On this show, former cham Cleveland, Treasurer: Clare E. Wilson. Omaha. Neb.; Jean Boardman, Washington, pions Harmony Halls, Misfits, Garden D. C.; Arthur A. Merrill. Schenectady, N. Y.; Vice Presidcnlli: Carroll P. Adams, Detroit, Secretary. (Yes. Adams had a coat on). (CI)"titl/({:d 1)11 flO:1 pag~) SEPTEMBER, 1949 ----- 4 The Harmonizer MID STATES TAKE BROWN IN DEFIANCE (Continutd from pr~(,Jj"g pag,) States, and the outgoing Pittsburgh ers were on hand to prove "once a champion, always a champion". The judges, who had pre'....ious!y gone through three sessions of elimination, were: Mark Bowsher, Buzz Haeger (Warren), Wm. Hotin, Joe Jones. Jim Knipe, Arthur Merrill, Chas. Merrill, Maurice Reagan (Assoc. Ch'm'n.), Frank Rice, .Mark Roberts, Ed Smith, Frank Thorne (Ch'm'n.) and Joe Wodicka. Jean Boardman, Jim Em!'ley, Bob Irvine, and Berney Sim ner (Ch'm'n.) acted as Secretaries. Singing at Joe. E. Brown Day. Holgate, 0., Brown's birthplace. L. to R.-Fran Geographical distribution of the SIebert, "Happy" Chandler. Maj. Gt'n. Beightler. Brown and behind him Jim Imber, Bob Gallit'rs aDd Bud Hanawalt.-Crescent_New.7 Photo. judges was from the eagt coast to '-------- one-state-removed from the west coast. INT'L. BOARD MEETS AND MEETS (Contino.d) Mutual Network carried the show Location of the Regional Preliminaries lapel buttons, to be passed on to their from the Auditorium stage from 11:00 in the future will be determined by successors. (The President, lmm. to 11:30 E.n.T. time, with coopera the District Boards, rather than the Past President, Foundel' and Secre tion of Buffalo station WEER. Int'1. Exec. Comm. The Board voted tary already have theirs.) to recommend to the new Laws and A recommendation of the Laws and More Than Singing Regulations Committee that it give Regulations Committee that all four For flavor and atmosphere of the serious consideration to abolishing vice presidents be of eqnal rank, and Society's 11th annual convention and proxy voting by absent Int'I. Board that the Executive Committee be re-= contest, Stub Pencil Notes in this is members. duced from six to four members was sue records a host of on-the·spot inci Date of the annual audit of the Int't. withdra';vn. dents, while reports of the many spe Secretary's and Treasurer's records Toledo in 1951 cial meetings are also scattered will be July 1st, rather than June 1st, through the magazine. lnt'l. Sec. in the future. ..o\..fter cal'eIul study of invitations Adams set another record. Although from Kansas City, Minneapolis and The work of the Contest and Judging Tampa, the Board selected Toledo as at past conventions he had been at Committee, Frank H. Thorne, Ch'm'n.. only two places simultaneously, re· throu~hout the 1951 Int'I. convention and contest the last half of '48 and city in 195]. liable authorities testify that, on num cont.inuing into the '49 contest, re erous occasions, he was working at ceived high praise. The Category Adoption of three recommendations three separate spots at the same Chairmen of the Committee consisted by the Committee on Quartet Ethics time ... M. of Webster and Knipe, Cleveland; (Beeler, Ch'm'n., C.