INSIDE: How to be a great guest or a great host • Midwinter in Long Beach • Be an effective quartet spokesman November/December 2013 November/ December 2013 VOLUME LXXIII NUMBER 5 Features Real Men (help others) Sing 12 When you say “no strings attached” and really mean it, prepare to watch a music educator’s jaw drop to the floor DR. SCOTT DORSEY, AMERICAN CHORAL DIRECTORS AssOCIATION Stringless with “Real Men Sing” 10 14 Great Northern Union sponsors a youth singing event that covers several musical styles besides barbershop JEFF TAXdaHL, PRESIDENT, GREAT NORTHERN UNION Give, and watch what happens! 16 The Rogue Valley, Ore., Chapter found plenty of outside help once they started focusing on someone else’s problems LORIN MAY, EDITOR, THE HARMONIZER YiH = “No Strings” 18 While we expand our vision to promote singing anything, many youth and educators still love singing barbershop VARIOus Be Our Guest KEEP THE WHOLE WORLD SINGING: That’s our motto, 21 This process improvement guy and weekly chapter but do we know what that means? CEO Marty hopper shows how to be a good guest or a great host Monson say that if we work with others to promote NIEL JOHNSON singing—singing anything—and let the chips fall where they may, the influence and visibility of the Barbershop Harmony Society will grow exponentially. On the Cover Departments Cutting the Strings COVER BY EDDIE HOLT BACKGROUND PHOTO: THE ALLANCE CHORUS 2 8 THE PRESIDENT’S PAGE HARMONY HOW-TO After four years, I’m even more optimistic Be an effective quartet or chorus spokesman 3 24 STRAIGHT TALK StaY TUNED “No Strings Attached” not a slogan but a path A Gold Medal Moment for two college quartets 4 She said yes! … to prom LETTERS 26 Toronto coverage, Jerry Orloff passes away MEMBER SERVICE DIRECtorY 6 Where to find answers TEMPO 28 First-page sheet music previews only the beginning THE Tag Captain America sang Barbershop? ... Well, duh! “Winter” November/December 2013 • The HARMONIZER 1 the President’s PAGE Shannon Elswick, Society President • [email protected] After four years, I’m even more optimistic As promised, I’m sharing this column My most important contribution to the Society space. Rick Ashby has been a highly During the past four years, I’ve worked with some valued member of the Society Board truly talented and dedicated men I now call friends. for the past four years. His expertise We are fortunate to have men like these who give in banking and finance has helped us so much of their time and talent for no other reason navigate some challenging and dif- than to improve the Society. As a board member, I ficult issues. He now chairs our new have been given some truly unique opportunities. Finance Committee. – Shannon Elswick I have traveled to many of our District Conven- tions and spoken with Houses of Delegates about arbershop has been a part of my life since I was a our Society, its plans and its future. I’ve spoken with toddler. My Dad’s quartet rehearsed at our house individual members about their concerns, their each month. I’d sit on the stairs, just out of their hopes and their dreams. I’ve served on the Planning sight while I was supposed to be in bed, and lis- Committee where I’ve had a chance to help set the Bten in fascination. Later, as a teen, I wore out his priorities and to shape the programs for our future. LPs of the Buffalo Bills (1950 champ), Schmitt I’ve chaired the new Finance Committee, where we Brothers (1951), Confederates (1956), and Four have tried to plot the course for a financially sound Statesmen (1967). I could sing lead for any song Society. on the records. I was hooked! The most important thing in which I will ever After law school, I finally joined the Society in participate during my barbershop life experience 1972 and almost immediately was recruited to sing was when I served on the Executive Search Com- lead in a quartet—hooked again! I’ve mittee, to help select the next CEO of our Society. been in three quartets since then and We were fortunate to have some wonderful can- haven’t regretted a minute of the many didates but blessed indeed to have Marty Monson hours of rehearsal, dozens of contests and among the choices. He was the visionary leader for hundreds of chapter shows. Chorus per- whom we had been searching. formances have been fun, but my heart The more I have worked with Marty, the more has always been in quartetting. convinced I am that he has the “it” factor. He has what we need to move the Society into the next I don’t measure What we achieve matters more phase of our evolution. And that is one reason why our success by Over those 40 or so years, the I believe in our future. We have a leadership team, Society has changed—sometimes staff and volunteers who are energized and filled numbers of mem- gradually, sometimes rapidly. with ideas and plans to make our future exciting if bers, but rather by The judging program and rules we take up the challenge. have changed a number of times. The growth of the youth movement, our global what the members Quartet singing styles and sound expansion, embracing mixed quartetting, seeking have changed greatly. The music to serve our communities through music, col- and our Society and arrangements are more var- laborating with music educators to revive choral achieve. I have ied in genre and in style. Chorus singing in our schools, and creating a real presence singing and performance have for barbershopping in the minds and hearts of all great confidence improved immensely. The way who hear our musical message, all these things give that our future is we learn music and hone our me great confidence that our future is bright. We craft has changed as well. should strive to measure our success by the lives we bright. Some changes however, are touch in our barbershop experience, through song disturbing—our membership or through service. Then, having so touched a decline, for example. But societal and demographic life, regardless of whether we have 100 or 100,000 factors often work to our disadvantage as men members we will have achieved success. are pulled in many different ways by competing Thank you all for the opportunity to serve on choices of how to use their time. As a result, some your Board these past four years! might say our future looks bleak. I did not and do not believe that, and that is why I stood for board – Rick Ashby election four years ago; I don’t measure our success Society Board & Finance Committee Chair by numbers of members, but rather by what the [email protected] members and our Society achieve. 2 The HARMONIZER • November/December 2013 STRAIGHT TALK Marty Monson, CEO/Executive director • [email protected] “No Strings Attached” not a slogan but a path hope you’ve enjoyed the articles from to sing along with you. Then sing the Rick Spencer and Heather Verble the song a second time and have your past two issues of The Harmonizer and chorus or quartet harmonize against taken action. Those strategies will al- it. I believe audience members ap- What’s in Marty’s Daytimer? I low us to become better Barbershop- preciate music because at some point • Nov. 6-9, Sweet pers, chapters, subsidiaries, districts and they liked to sing or play an instru- Adelines Interna- a better overall Society. ment …if not, why are they there? tional Conven- While I have been on break from writ- Let them experience the joy of sing- tion ing articles for The Harmonizer, my days ing—and not always just listening. • Nov. 21, Choral Arts have been full of meetings with Bar- • Reach out to a high school choir Link meeting, Nashville bershoppers, singers, songwriters, music director and offer to pay for a concert • Nov. 21, Downtown directors, business suppliers, community program. Nashville meeting, leaders, teachers, preachers, new neigh- • Establish a scholarship program to a Nashville bors (finally bought a home), high school senior who is interested • Dec. 1, 75 Years of sister organizations, international in pursuing a music degree. Barbershop, Heart of affiliates, non-profit organizations • Donate money to a local middle America Chorus, Carn- and university presidents. I’ve school choir to help pay music ex- egie Hall, New York come to the conclusion that the penses. City Barbershop Harmony Society is in • Find a certified choir director or • Dec. 8, Society Monthly a great place to really make a dif- educator and help them start an after Board meeting, conf. ference in our global society. school choir by leveraging the chap- call • Dec. 15, Monthly DP ter’s non-profit status. The Barber- Council conf. call The Society’s potential • Partner with your local Rotary or • Dec. 16-20, Staff Meet- shop Harmony In the May/June, 2013 is- Lions Club and see what types of ser- ings, Year in Review & Society is in a sue), I said the following: vice projects they are interested in as 2014 Rollout “We hope to take you on a well. They like to help, too! • Jan. 4, NSC Leadership great place to journey about how the Bar- My recent travels have broadened my Academy, Hamlet, NC bershop Harmony Society view of all the good we are doing, like really make a (23,000+ members, 762 Inland Empire Harmony Carousel What is Marty reading? difference in our chapters and 17 districts) Chorus (www.welovetosing.com).