For 549 students last week, each day at the Ohio State University began in Independence Hall with waving hands, twisting torsos, shaking bodies and buzzing lips.
But these 549 students were not OSU students. They were men and women of all ages from across the United States, Australia, Canada, Finland, Israel and the United Kingdom who showed up for Harmony College, an international conference on barbershop quartet singing.
Hosted by the world’s parent barbershop singing organization, the Barbershop Harmony Society, Harmony College attracted singers, music educators, directors, newcomers and enthusiasts to learn about the “best kept secret” in the musical world. Whether students came to enjoy the company of other quartet singers or to improve the quality of their local chapters and their voices, they all share a common bond – music.
The love of making music is what brings everyone together for this event, said Todd Wilson, the 45-year-old marketing director hired by the society just over a year ago.
“It’s fun, it’s easy, and anyone can do it,” said Wilson, a Florida native and current Kenosha, Wis. resident.
It was so easy that Wilson and his accomplices tried to get me to sing a part in what is called a “tag.”
A tag, otherwise known as a grand finale “tagging” the end of harmonic barbershop-style songs, is what many barbershop quartet singers enjoy the most.
“They’re special endings to a song, sometimes so popular we write tags to songs that don’t exist,” said Joe Liles, 74, dean of the Harmony College event. “Singers call it ear candy. You get all sorts of overtones and different tones from four voices singing together, locked in harmony.”
For the men of the Mitts family of Amity, Ore., the bond of barbershop singing goes much deeper than the joy music — it’s a family tradition. Nathan Mitts, 72, is the oldest of the quartet and is father to Ceric Mitts, 43, and grandfather to Jordan Mitts, 14. The odd man out in the quartet is Aron Helligas, 51, of West Linn, Ore., who joined the Mitts three years ago after a member of his church told him about barbershop singing.
“Barbershop singing lets us share something across generations,” said Ceric, who sings baritone in the quartet. “There are a lot of benefits to spending time with others.”
Jordan, one of the youngest members present at the event, became a barbershop quartet singer because his dad had been singing since he was 6 years old.
“It’s also hard to pack a horn,” Jordan said. “And it’s more recreational and fun than playing symphonic music.”
Aside from being close to his family, “Grandpa” Nathan Mitts described barbershop music as an important way to release his daily frustrations.
“Everyone has some kind of out and for me it’s singing barbershop,” he said.
Working against the all-male stereotype of barbershop singers is Jessica Thompson, 34, of Lansing, Mich. Although the Barbershop Harmony Society is an all-male organization, Thompson said they welcome women to take part in their events.
“At first I didn’t know if I would be welcomed (at Harmony College) or not, but I was welcomed with open arms,” she said. “Everyone just cheers me on.”
Thompson is a barbershop chorus director and member of the mixed quartet Sidekicks, a group rare in the barbershop community in that it is comprised of two men and two women. But Thompson said mixed quartets are growing in popularity and recognition.
“It’s different and it’s a growing hobby,” she said. “One of the few events which hosts mixed quartet competitions is called the Buckeye Invitational and it is held every year in Columbus, Ohio.”
To close up their week of classes dealing with all things barbershop, the Barbershop Harmony Society organized the “Saturday Night Show” at the Mershon Auditorium. The concert-like event featured Thompson’s Sidekicks quartet, the internationally renowned Alliance Chorus from Central Ohio, and Gotcha!, the recent world championship winning barbershop quartet. Three other choruses that formed at the beginning of the week practiced in the five days leading up to the show, and performed Saturday. Wilson said that such quickly-organized ensembles are not too uncommon, for barbershop singers that are strangers to one another frequently get together to sing.
“You can literally go into any town and have an instant network of friends,” Wilson said. “People will come up to barbershop singers who just met and say ‘Wow, how long have you been singing together?’ and often the singers will say in response, ‘We just met!'”
Although barbershop singers can find friends almost anywhere, Wilson said the barbershop singing community is battling an increasing average age of its members.
“Our median member age is 62 years and growing, and 40 percent of our members are 70 years or older,” Wilson said. “If we don’t make a proactive effort to get more members, we’ll die out.”
Wilson said that Harmony College is a great way to do grassroots work to strengthen the barbershop society; he also said that this year was the first that the society offered marketing classes, one of which he instructs.
“We’ve been the best-kept secret for years, but we want to change that,” Wilson said. “We’re providing our local chapters which come to the event with tools for recruiting, media relations, advertising, and more.”
Wilson said one aspect of the problem is that it is hard for the barbershop quartet leadership to see the need for a business side.
“But if you treat it like just a hobby, it’s hard to see growth,” he said. “We have our work cut out for us, but it’s fun, it’s easy, and anyone who can carry a tune can do barbershop singing.”
