Morethan 450 of New Zealand’s finest barbershop singers willsoon head to Wellington to battle it out for the crown ofthe country’s best barbershop chorus or quartet at theSING Wellington Barbershop Harmony New Zealand NationalConvention at the St James Theatre between 27-29September. The stellar cast of singers, drawn from 12choruses and 20 quartets throughout the country, will becomplemented by the brilliant world-champion SignatureQuartet from the USA. Signature will headline theconvention’s Saturday night public That Signature Soundshow, which will also showcase the top three winningchoruses and quartets.
“Thecapital is New Zealand’s home of barbershop singing, withits current gold medal Vocal FX chorus just the latest in aline of choruses and quartets, including Pacific Connexion,and the renown Musical Island Boys, that have beenrecognised as among the world’s best. “So it’sfitting that we give Wellingtonian’s the opportunity tosee and experience for themselves the beauty, richness andpower of barbershop from the best in thebusiness.” No longer a solely men’s singing style,the convention and show will feature mixed choruses andquartets, a style that’s taken hold in recent years andbrought barbershop to a broader range ofaudiences.
“Repertoire has broadened too, with agreater mix than ever of songs. Everything’s on the table,from pop to traditional to cultural and sometimes comedy,barbershop today is a broad church,” saysCurrington. Contestants will each sing two songs, oneup-tune (quick tempo) and one ballad, before a line-up ofKiwi and Australian judges.
Gold, silver and bronze medalsare awarded to the best choruses and quartets forperformances that, in many cases, have taken the best partof a year to hone to perfection. All the competitions,which run across Friday 27 and Saturday 28 September, areopen to the public for a nominal Day Pass fee of $10 for apass to chorus and quartet contests. That Signature Soundshow at 7:30pm on Saturday night at the St James Theatrecosts $30.
All tickets are available from the Ticketmasterwebsite:https://www.ticketmaster.co.
nz/sing-wellington-tickets/artist/3195348. AboutSignature Quartet We’re really pleased to announcethat the exciting USA quartet Signature has signed up as theheadline act for the Sing Wellington show on Saturday 28September. Their smoky R&B songs and a passionate,crowd-pleasing delivery have propelled them to the pinnacleof a cappella singing, capturing the 2019 internationalquartet championship of the Barbershop Harmony Societyfollowing two second places and a fourth in 2018, 2017 and2016.
Quartets can win only once, though up to two membersmay appear together in another quartet and competeagain. We’re looking forward to hosting the quartet,who are known for singing a funky and soulful range of ongsincluding the Ike & Tina Turner classic “ProudMary,” Aretha Franklin’s “Think” and a heartwrenching rendition of “Dance with My Father” by LutherVandross. About the convention NationalBarbershop Conventions are held annually in a differentlocation on behalf of Barbershop Harmony New Zealand, hostedand organised by affiliate choruses in the chosen location.
Wellington’s Harbour Capital Chous is this year’shosting chorus. Full details can be found athttps://convention.barbershopharmony.
nz. Where: StJames Theatre When: 27-29 September Contests:Quartets Friday 11:00am-12:30pm; 2:00-3:15pm ChorusesSaturday 10:00am-11:00am; 11:30am-12:30pm Show: ThatSignature Sound – Saturday 7:30pm Tickets:https://www.ticketmaster.
co.nz/sing-wellington-tickets/artist/3195348. What is it? Barbershop vocalharmony is a style of a cappella close harmony, orunaccompanied vocal music, characterized by consonantfour-part chords for every melody note in a primarilyhomorhythmic texture.
Each of the four parts has its ownrole: generally, the lead sings the melody, the tenorharmonizes above the melody, the bass sings the lowestharmonizing notes, and the baritone completes the chord,usually below the lead. The melody is not usually sung bythe tenor or baritone, except for an infrequent note or twoto avoid awkward voice leading, in tags or codas, or whensome appropriate embellishment can be created (thanks toWikipedia). How popular is it? Barbershopsinging is immensely popular in New Zealand, with thousandsof participants ranging from young singers to adult chorusesand quartets.
For younger singers, the Young Singers inharmony programme enables hundreds of singers to compete inregional contests around the country hoping to qualify tocompete in the chorus and quartet finals at the annual YSIHNational Convention. The Barbershop Harmony New Zealandnational conventions promote similar opportunities for adultand more experiencedsingers..
