Barbershop Harmony Society
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| Barbershop Harmony Society | |
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 Present logo
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. |
| Origin | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Genre(s) | A Cappella Barbershop music |
| Years active | 1938 - present |
| Website | www.barbershop.org |
| Members | |
| 29425 (March, 2007)[1] | |
The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), was the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form. Founded by Owen C. Cash in 1938, the organization quickly grew, promoting barbershop harmony among men of all ages. As of 2007, just under 30,000 men in the United States and Canada are members of this organization whose focus is on a cappella music. The international headquarters was in Kenosha, Wisconsin for fifty years before moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 2007.
A parallel women's singing organization, Sweet Adelines International (SAI) was founded in 1945. A second women's barbershop harmony organization, Harmony, Inc., broke from SAI in 1959 over an issue of racial exclusion,[2] with SAI (like SPEBSQSA) being a white-only organization at that time.[3] Several international affiliate organizations, in countries around the world, add their own flavor to the signature sound of barbershop harmony. See barbershop music for more on these organizations.
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[edit] SPEBSQSA name
The original intention of the name SPEBSQSA was a lampoon on the New Deal alphabet agencies.[4] Because of name's length and the difficult-to-pronounce acronym, society staff and members often refer to SPEBSQSA as The Society. For decades, SPEBSQSA was the official name, while the Barbershop Harmony Society was an officially recognized and sanctioned alternate. There was encouragement to use the alternate name, because it was felt that the official name was an in-joke that did not resonate outside the Society. In mid-2004, faced with declining membership, the Society adopted a marketing plan that called for using "Barbershop Harmony Society" consistently and retaining the old name for certain legal purposes.
The old official name spelled "barber shop" as two words, while barbershop is generally used elsewhere.
In reference to the acronym SPEBSQSA, The Society has said "attempts to pronounce the name are discouraged". [5] Unofficially, it is sometimes pronounced as if it were spelled "Spebsqua."
[edit] Preservation
A key aspect of the Society's mission is in the preservation of barbershop music. To this end, it maintains the Old Songs Library. Holding over 100,000 titles (750,000 sheets) this is the largest sheet music collection in the world excepting only the Library of Congress.
[edit] Recent events
In 2003, in preparation for a new headquarters location, the Society sold both Harmony Hall, a historic lakefront mansion[6], and its nearby facility (known as Harmony Hall West) located in a strip mall which the Society purchased in 1976 and renovated. HHW had housed finance, merchandising, IT and membership. Operations and staff from both buildings were consolidated into a remodeled HHW.
In late 2004, the Society established Barbershop Harmony Society as its new "brand name," with a logo and identity program released in 2005. Although the legal name remained SPEBSQSA, Inc., the decision was controversial, as many members felt that the new name did not reflect a mission of preservation and encouragement of the style. Many members were concerned that the term "quartet" had been dropped, fearing a movement in the direction of choral singing and downplaying quartet singing.
In 2006 the Society announced plans to move its headquarters to Nashville, Tennessee.[7]
In August 2007, the Society completed the relocation to 110 7th Ave N., Nashville, TN.
[edit] Contests
To promote and improve barbershop singing, the society annually runs international and district level contests for choruses and quartets.
The 2007 International Contest and Convention was held in Denver from July 4 to 7 with fifty quartets and thirty choruses contending. The Quartet Quarter Finals, Quartet Semi-Finals, Association of International Champions (AIC) Show, Chorus Contest, The Bank of America Collegiate Contest, and the Quartet Finals were all webcast live.
When a quartet wins the international gold medal, they are considered champions forever and do not compete again. A chorus that wins the gold, however, must sit out of competition for two years, and thus may compete for the gold medal again in the third year following their win.
[edit] Quartet champions
(for a complete list of international champions, see List of quartet champions by year)
- Max Q became the current (2007) International Quartet Champions in July 2007.
- Vocal Spectrum 2004 collegiate champions and 2006 International Quartet Champions
- FRED, 1999 International Quartet Champions - Widely popular comedy quartet. Still active.
- Happiness Emporium, 1975 International Quartet Champions - Still active and performing
- The Suntones, 1961 International Quartet Champions
- The Buffalo Bills, 1950 International Quartet Champions were widely known, as they appeared in stage and screen productions of The Music Man and frequently appeared on Arthur Godfrey's radio show.
[edit] Chorus champions
(for a complete list of international champions, see List of chorus champions by year)
- The Vocal Majority [1], based in Dallas, TX, eleven-time International Chorus Champions (1975, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006). The chorus with the most international gold medals, the last ten of which were in succession, each time the chorus was eligible to compete.
- The Masters of Harmony [2], six-time International Chorus Champions (1990, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005). The only international champion chorus to earn every gold medal in succession, each time they were eligible to compete.
- The Westminster Chorus [3], a youth barbershop chorus in California started by young members of the Masters of Harmony, 2006 Silver Medalist, and current International Champion (2007).
- The Louisville Thoroughbreds Chorus [4], the first 7-time International Champion chorus of the Barbershop Harmony Society, winning the Gold Medal in 1962, 1966, 1969, 1974, 1978, 1981 and 1984.
[edit] Districts of BHS
For purposes of administration (particularly of local schools and contests) the society is organized into geographical districts as illustrated.
- Cardinal District — KY, IN: 27 chapters and 916 members.
- Central States District — MO, IA, KS, NE, SD, AR: 61 chapters and 2314 members.
- Dixie District — TN, MS, AL, GA, NC, SC: 56 chapters and approximately 1900 members.
- Evergreen District — WA, OR, AK, ID, MT, AB, BC: 62 chapters and 2147 members.
- Far Western District — CA, AZ, NV, HI, UT: 83 chapters and 3223 members.
- Illinois District — IL: 36 chapters.
- Johnny Appleseed District — OH, WV, PA, KY: 60 chapters.
- Land-O-Lakes District — WI, MN, ND, MI, MB, Northwestern ON(Central timezone), SK: 55 chapters.
- Mid-Atlantic District — VA, MD, PA, NJ, DE, DC, WV, NY: 98 chapters.
- Northeastern District — NY, CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT, NB, NL, NS, PE, QC: 62 chapters.
- Ontario District — ON: 33 chapters.
- Pioneer District — MI, ON: 28 chapters.
- Rocky Mountain District — CO, WY, NM, UT, ID, KS, MT, NE, SD: 36 chapters.
- Seneca Land District — NY, PA: 32 chapters.
- Southwestern District — TX, LA, AR, OK, NM, KS: 50 chapters.
- Sunshine District — FL: 41 chapters.
[edit] References
- ^ Document d200703.pdf, SPEBSQSA District Membership Summary, March, 2007; Membership summaries. Other totals, all for December 1: 1998, 33764; 1999, 32980; 2000, 32580; 2001, 32242; 2002, 31966; 2003, 31309; 2004, 30900; 2005, 30195; 2006, 29227.
- ^ Averill, Gage (2003), Four Parts: No Waiting, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-511672-0, p. 132: "Sweet Adelines had no black members, and no one was aware of any black singers who had petitioned to join the organization. Still, the board argued that there had always been tacit agreement about racial exclusion and it was time to formalize this policy...."
- ^ SAI and SPEBSQSA lifted their restriction a few years later.
- ^ Preserving an art form: the Barbershop Harmony Society. Barbershop Harmony Society (November 28, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
- ^ Stebbins, Robert (1996). The Barbershop Singer: Inside the Social World of a Musical Hobby. University of Toronto Press, 23-37, 117. ISBN 354063293X.
- ^ "Remembering historic Harmony Hall". Barbershop Harmony Society. November 28, 2006. Retrieved on May 19, 2007.
- ^ "Barbershop Harmony Society to seek HQ site in Nashville". Barbershop Harmony Society. January 20, 2006. Retrieved on May 19, 2007.
