Welcome to a special bonus edition of Harmony News as we find ourselves 7 days out from this year's festival on the Gold Coast!

In this newsletter, you'll find useful info for first-timers and returners, as well as the lineups for some of our non-contest performance opportunities, and plenty more!

View here.
 

Sadly, Barbershop Harmony Australia has lost one of its early pioneers, the delightful Mr John Wareham OAM.

John started singing at eight years of age, progressing from busking on The Corso at Manly, to singing at weddings. Following his early forays into singing and taking some lessons in Sydney years ago, John gave his vocal chords a rest before joining a barbershop chorus on the Central Coast in 1991.

“I’d seen an ad for the chorus and thought I’d give it a go, but I was pretty shy,” he said. “I remember I got halfway to the first meeting and turned around and went home." Six months later John, a natural leader, became the President of the Central Coast Barbershop Chorus (now known as Soundwaves).

Eventually, John was elected Vice President of the World Harmony Council, as well as holding a number of positions with the (then) Australian Association of Men Barbershop Singers (now BHA), of which he was a member from 1991- 2008, including serving as National President (2000-2001).

But it is chiefly for his services to aged welfare and the community through the ‘Touring Old Farts’ group that John was recognised with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2020. “I wondered what was going on when I heard about the award,” he said. “I really didn’t think I was worthy of something like that. I had lots of positions over the years but I’ve been mostly singing in the shower since then.”

In 2007, The Touring Old Farts group was born.

“Three of us guys used to meet every Tuesday while our wives were singing with Coastal A Capella and we really enjoyed each other’s company” he said. “We got to talking about what we could do for older men we knew who needed to get out and meet a few people. We wanted to do something to improve their quality of life and decided to kick off a men’s social group. On our first outing, there were only a few of us, and we took a train to Thirroul. We didn’t really know what we were doing so we had lunch at a pub and came home.”

Since then, Touring Old Farts grew to a membership of more than 300, with six branches throughout Sydney and one in Foster-Tuncurry. “Each group goes out once a month on a trip, museum visits, walks, factory visits, performances, and any TOFs member can go on any outing he likes."

Our thoughts go out to John’s wife Linda, their children and grandchildren, at this sad time.

May the road rise to meet you…


 

A service will be held to celebrate the life of JOHN SYDNEY WAREHAM at Greenway Chapel and Memorial Gardens, 460 Avoca Drive, Green Point, NSW on THURSDAY 20TH JUNE 2024 AT 2pm. Following the service, friends and family are invited to gather at Erina Leagues Club, 18 Ilya Ave, Erina

The service will be live streamed for those who'd like to watch from afar - details can be found at https://palmdalegroup.com.au/scheduled-funerals-greenway/

A new revision (24) of Contest Rules has just been posted as Standing Order 6.
Amongst the rule changes are:

Rule 1.14 - Removal of the 75/25 ratio for mixed choruses – now just requires two different gender identities without any minimum ratio

Rule 1.17 – clarification that an Invitational quartet or chorus cannot compete, just perform for evaluation, and that scores won’t be published for them

Rules 3.2.5 and 3.3.5 – reinstatement of the one year stand down rule for Open Quartet and Chorus Champions – this previously applied until 2020 (removed during COVID period) - will re-apply from 2024 on (not retrospective to 2023)

Rule 3.2.6 – clarification that a previous Open Champion quartet can compete with more than two members, just not in their stand down year

Rule 3.3.3 – clarification that choruses with common members must satisfy the 75/25 rule as if in Open competition
 

Rule 4.2 – change to entry closure for National contest to 28 days before contest

Rules 7.1.13, 7.1.15, 7.1.20 – removal of gender divisions for youth quartets, and most improved divisions for quartet and chorus

Welcome to the latest edition of the 2023 Pan Pac Newsletter! There is lots of useful information here, so please take some time to read through the content, and hopefully it will address most, if not all, of your questions.

The contest portal is now ready to accept your chorus entry for the PanPac contest in Auckland in Sept 2023. 

All your singers will need to be financial members of BHA as well as paid convention delegates.  Registrations for convention are found on this webpage: https://convention.barbershopharmony.nz Please note that the early bird rate ceases on July 14^th, after that the convention rates will increase.

The contest portal is open now and all entries must be completed by 11^th August.   

You can access the contest entry portal here: https://contests.barbershop.org.au

There is no additional fee to enter the contest.

All choruses will enter the PanPac divisions along with the relevant BHA contests. 

The contest rules are available to read from the Convention website and it is expected that these have been read before completing your chorus entry. 

Linda Vinall
Contest Administrator – Category Specialist
Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges
calindav@internode.on.net
0412 195 110

Exciting news: you can now register for Pan Pac 2023! You won't want to miss out on this epic event which is shaping up to be the largest Barbershop Convention in the Southern Hemisphere - ever!

Check out all the details in the latest newsletter, which is hot off the press and attached for your convenience. There's some awesome updates for you, including an Early Bird extension and some seriously cool merchandise. And don't forget to hit that registration link - it's time to get pumped for Pan Pac 2023!

1. Any quartet that had to withdraw from their nominated Regional contest due to COVID or other health issues,
2. Any quartet that did not enter their Regional contest due to COVID or other health issues, and
3. Any mixed or women’s quartet that did not enter their Regional contest due to them being new members of BHA and missing the entry dates to enter the applicable Regional contest.

Details are in the Festival News (PDF attached) and on the Festival website.

1. Prepare a guide track. This is essential as it means your quartet will stay in time with each other. Often its easiest to let the lead or bass (or member with best rhythm) lay down their video first for the rest to sing to!
2. Record your video! A phone will generally be pretty great for this. Just remember to have plenty of light - move those lamps around until your face is clear and bright and don't be afraid to use props in the background
3. Use software to combine the videos. This can be as complicated as you're able. If you have some technical skill iMovie and Final Cut Pro are great tools for preparing a multitrack video. Otherwise A Capella (mixcord) and WeVideo are free app and web based options which are readily available. Downside is A Capella is only for iDevices and costs a small subscription to have videos longer than 30 seconds, and WeVideo leaves a watermark on the end product
4. Export the video and share! Most of the free and paid software options include ways to share the video directly to Facebook or Youtube, or to save it to your PC/Phone. Then you can do what you will!

• If your sound is too echoey or sounds like a wet paper bag (boxy) you can liven or dampen the sound by adding more sound sponge surfaces. For example if the room has an echo, placing rugs, sheets etc over hard surfaces will dampen the sound. If the issue is outside noise, use pillows or a mattress over the door and windows to stop that pesky noise from coming in!
• If you're having trouble singing your part on its own, try singing along to a past recording of your quartet singing the song. Or ask the lead to sing the melody and you can sing along to that!
• Practice. This one might sound obvious to some, but singing and performing on video has its own difficulties which need practice to really nail! Practice taking your video, watch it back, take notes, and repeat!

BHA MEMBERSHIP REVIEW UPDATE

• Singing has been identified as a high-risk activity as it relates to the spread of the virus from human to human.
• This is due to the nature of singing whereby there is outward breathing and close contact to others.
• The general age demographic of many members puts them in the target range for those most likely to be seriously affected by the virus.
• While we recognise that this is each Club’s decision, we recommend that you cancel or postpone any performances, shows and rehearsals until public health officials indicate it is safe to resume normal activities.

Are you interested in becoming a judge? If you are, please submit an Expression of Interest to our Chairman of Judges, Ian Mulholland, at ianmul58.im@gmail.com. The window for this year’s intake ends on 15 March 2020.

With our chorus year coming to an end, it's time to start planning for 2020. Yikes!

Next year, in place of August A Cappella, Sweet Adelines Australia will be bringing you the Region 34 Education Symposia. These days will be a fantastic opportunity for your members to experience and work with fabulous visiting faculty. Take this opportunity to save these dates in your chorus calendar, before your chorus retreats and coaching weekends etc. are locked in. Venues are TBA.
 
JUNE 20-21 – NSW

From the 2018 Champions, Scottsdale Chorus, we have Director Lori Lyford and Assistant Director Jana Gutenson bringing all their wealth of experience and knowledge to share with you.

AUGUST 21-23 – WA and AUGUST 28-30 –  QLD

Then in August, we will bring you Rob Mance, sought-after barbershop coach and BHS singing judge.

For more information about our fabulous coaches click here

Although this event is being organised by Sweet Adelines Region 34, all members of BHA are welcome to attend. Save the date now!

Our first association involvement in the 2019 Movember campaign has delivered some extraordinary results.   We all know the health benefits and camaraderie that comes from singing together as part of this wonderful Barbershop family and this activity allowed us to collaborate across our nation as we shared that message with the Australian community.





Here is our participation in the Barbershop Harmony Australia Movember Challenge by the numbers:
48 BHA members registered
7 states and territories represented
10 teams involved
$21,566 raised for the BHA Challenge
80th position in all Challenges
$5,941.66 raised by Vox Canvas
$4,070 raised by James Wanjura
3 participants who achieved Platinum Status of over $1,411 funds raised
13 members who raised more than the average MoBro
A hearty well done to all who participated and supported!   We set a target of $12,000 and to raise nearly $10,000 above our target is an excellent effort.
Many commented on the fact that it is fully inclusive for any member, from the classic “Mo growing” experience, to Movement challenges, through to simply fundraising with other members of the Movember community.   During the month we shared stories, photos, fun and friendship whilst engaging in community events, being covered by the media and sharing our love of Barbershop.
Some of the creations were a sight to behold, and whether they were wispy or bushy, dark, salt-and-pepper or vintage blonde, they all stimulated the conversation on men’s health.

And it sounds like a conversation that might continue, with a number of people keen to join in or go around again next year.   We will also talk to our Pan Pac neighbours and see if we can get a collaboration the spans the sea!

For shaving off treasured beards or suffering hairy faces or endured aching feet or making donations or helping with fundraising in the pursuit of improving men's health, thank you! 
 
Yours in Hairmony!
Paul Adams
Barbershop Harmony Australia
www.barbershop.org.au

 

Thank you to all those who have completed the delegate survey from the 2019 BHA Festival held in Hobart last September.

To date 113 responses have been received and the process of reviewing the data is underway, but here are some of the highlights.

Some of the early results appear to be supportive of the Festival concept and some of the newly introduced aspects that may feature again in future Festivals.

87% of respondents rated the Festival as Very Good or Excellent and another 11% as Fairly Good, with 74% rating the value for money as Good or Excellent.

The host city Hobart and venue were rated as Excellent or Very Good by 88% of respondents.

88.5% of respondents said the Festival was about the right length and to show that too much barbershop is never enough, 7.1% said it was too short! 

91.1% of respondents were Satisfied (36.3%) or Very Satisfied (54.9%) with the Gala Dinner and 94.4% of respondents were Satisfied (37%) or Very Satisfied (57.4%) with the A Cappella Spectacular Showcase of Champions.

The Pub Chorus and Pop-up performances were well supported and of course our guest quartet Signature received huge wraps.

Most found the venue arrangements were good but feedback on the Chorus stage (20.5% Dissatisfied) suggests that it could have been better and is something that despite the best endeavours wasn’t quite where the organisers would have liked it to be.

There were a couple of errors in the survey but hopefully most people recognise that we are volunteers who spend time building, preparing and then analysing the survey for the benefit of future events.

Thank you to all those who have participated and it will provide some great ideas and information back to the national council for future consideration.

Paul Adams
VP - Membership

• President
• Treasurer
• Vice President Marketing and Development
• Vice President Events

Hello members

Photo Galleries from the Festival are now available.
They will be active until 1st November 2019.

The images are organised into separate galleries for each day - Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

To obtain the images you want, search through the thumbnails and click the Download button.

There is no cost for images. You may download as many as you wish.

Link to gallery page: http://www.industryphotographer.com.au/photogallery/ BHA 19-9-2019 BHA 20-9-2019 BHA 21-9-2019

The galleries are password protected.
(Members please refer to my email to all BHA members dated 27 September 2019 for details of the required password)

Happy Hunting


Trevor Rootes
Secretary
Barbershop Harmony Australia
secretary@barbershop.org.au
www.barbershop.org.au

Here's your opportunity to sing with the 2019 International Gold Medallist Quartet, Signature. This will be held from 11.30am on the Sunday at the Wrest Point Hotel.

All it takes is a donation of $50 to BHA youth development. Register here or click on the link on the Festival website home page.

Note: this is limited to only 10 people - make sure you register and pay to secure your spot! Don’t miss out!

Please see the John Little Show Schedule below.

Come along, see, hear and support your fellow quartets!

If your quartet is listed below and for some reason you are no longer able to perform in this event, please let me know immediately, as there are other quartets champing at the bit to get in the show

Competing quartets may have noticed that on the Festival website Schedule there are 2 Session times. However, in the Order of Appearance there are 4 Session times.

Some of you may be confused about this. The explanation is that the Quartet Contest Semi-Final is a ticketed event with tickets sold for 2 separate sessions.

Best advice if you’re in a competing quartet is to avoid trying to remember what session you’re in and just note the actual time you need to show up as detailed in the Order of Appearance schedule.

As usual this year you will have access to a printed schedule of events and activities in your Festival Handbook which will be available at the Registration Desk when you register on arrival.

The schedule is also accessible on the Festival website via your device.

In addition, this year, we are also making the schedule available in Google Calendar
As well as being easily accessible, this will enable immediate updates of any last-minute changes to times or venues. This can also be accessed by clicking on the FESTIVAL SCHEDULE hot button on the Convention website as shown below.

Thanks to Russell Jones, BHA Western Region Chairman, for this great idea and for setting it up for us.

Tickets to Sunday Lunch are now closed.

Please note that if you have purchased entry to the Sunday Lunch you will receive a ticket with your lanyard when you report to the Registration Desk on arrival at the Festival.

As we are catering for a specific number of delegates, please make sure that you have your ticket with you when you arrive for the lunch as you will otherwise be refused entry.

If you or your non-competing delegate partner have not pre-purchased a ticket there will be no opportunity to do so at the Festival.

Delegate registrations closed as at 1^st September.

Please note, however, that the following events and activities remain open:

• HARMONY ACADEMY – DAY PASSES

• COMMUNITY PUB CHORUS

Join with lots of locals (we are well on our way of reaching our goal of 1500 participants – Yes! This is going to be huge!) and other barbershoppers to learn and perform Throw Your Arms Around Me in 4-part harmony in just 90 minutes.
The Pub Chorus is lead by Alex Morris and the Electric Barbercats with support from Ryk Goddard, breakfast announcer from local ABC Radio.
 

• CONTEST SESSIONS

Tickets to the contest sessions will be available right up until the end of the relevant sessions.

• CHORUS CORRAL

Tickets to the Chorus Corral will be available right up until the end of the event.
Please see the Chorus Corral Schedule below which includes performances by local school groups.            

• A CAPPELLA SPECTACULAR  - SHOWCASE OF CHAMPIONS CONCERT

If you know any Hobart locals or you have invited your friend or partner to the Festival but they’re not registering as a delegate – make sure they don’t miss out on this!

• SING WITH THE CHAMPS

Here's your opportunity to sing with the 2019 International Gold Medallist Quartet, Signature. This will be held from 11.30am at the Wrest Point Hotel.

All it takes is a donation of $50 to BHA youth development. Register here or click on the link on the Festival website home page.

Note: this is limited to only 10 people - make sure you register and pay to secure your spot! Don’t miss out!

An email was recently sent to all Club Presidents inviting them to submit a nomination for your Club to be considered for the BHA Club of the Year Award. This is a reminder to get your nominations in as the deadline is not far away. 

With so much great work happening throughout our organisation we need to take the opportunity to recognise and acknowledge the clubs that are leading the way for Barbershop in Australia.   We do this through your participation in the BHA Club of the Year.

All BHA clubs are eligible to submit a nomination for Club of the Year, and the winner will be announced at the Hobart 2019 Convention, as noted below.

The deadline for Club of the Year submissions is Tuesday 3rd September 2019.   

BHA Club of the Year

The BHA Club of the Year is an annual award, coordinated by the Vice President Membership and adjudicated by a special Committee of representatives appointed by the BHA Council.

The Award Committee will review each Club’s nomination and make recommendations to the BHA Council, with the winner to be announced at the 2019 Hobart Festival.

The following criteria aligned to the BHA Strategic Plan will be considered for the 2019 BHA Club of the Year Award:

 
Enriching Australia Through Harmony - make our world a better place through the joy of singing barbershop music

Engage - with the community and our members in promoting contemporary Barbershop Harmony

Educate - educate people in high quality vocal production and contemporary Barbershop Harmony

Enjoy - share our enjoyment of contemporary Barbershop harmony and demonstrate our love of singing

To apply, simply address each of the above criteria (in whatever form you like but keep it succinct) and submit on behalf of the Club, including the details of a contact person for follow up as required.

The application needs to reach the BHA VP Membership Paul Adams (membership@barbershop.org.au), by close of business on Tuesday 3rd September, 2019.


I look forward to seeing you in Hobart.

Paul Adams
Barbershop Harmony Australia
www.barbershop.org.au

The BHA National Council continues to work through the results of the 2018 BHA membership survey . We are referencing the information contained within the responses in consideration of the key strategies and objectives for BHA. This is in line with our strategic vision of Enriching Australia Through Harmony.

This time we are focusing on the importance of education.

When it comes to personal member satisfaction,

“BHA's Music Education faculty visits are valuable to myself and my club”  tops our scores with 82% agreement followed by

“BHA’s Music Educator resources are valuable to me” with a 67% agreement across our membership.  

This is hopefully contributing to the score for “my Club has good musical leaders” with a 90% agreement.   

We didn’t specifically survey musical leaders on their group satisfaction with the resources provided by BHA, but as always, we would love to get feedback on ways that we can continue to grow in this area.

Our premium opportunity for personal growth and education, Harmony Academy sees only 47% agreement that “Attending Harmony Academy is valuable to me”.  This is an area that we will continue to explore. The feedback that we have received from participants in the past few years continues to suggest it is an excellent opportunity and participants attest to significant personal breakthroughs (not to mention a whole lot of fun).  Certainly, the plans for the 2019 Harmony Academy in Hobart have an exceptional faculty, including the members of our visiting International Gold Medal quartet, Signature.

The evidence of our development within the key strategic objective of Educate may be demonstrated by the improvements in our open quartet qualification scores, with the 2019 qualification of 63.5 our highest ever level.   More importantly, the quality of our education relates to the quality of our ability to do the one thing we are all here for – to sing and ring those chords for the benefit of others!

We know there are still opportunities to grow our education offerings and effectiveness, and welcome feedback and innovations that can support our plans to Engage, Educate and Enjoy.

Paul Adams
VP-Membership
Barbershop Harmony Australia
membership@barbershop.org.au

With the 2019 BHA Festival drawing near this is the last call for nominations for the 2019 BHA Medal and we have extended the deadline for entries to Thursday 22nd August 2019.

First awarded in 2017, the BHA Medal recognises an individual’s exemplary contribution to the advancement of barbershop in Australia.   It will be awarded to a current BHA member in good standing who has consistently “put in” for barbershop.    In limited circumstances, individuals may also be considered for nomination whilst no longer an active member due to retirement on the basis of incapacity.

The award is kindly sponsored by Derek Cosburn, and to reiterate his advice with regards to the nomination:

1. Think about what that person continually does for the benefit of their fellow BHA members.  It can be for their chorus, quartet, state, or the nation.  In fact any reason is worth mentioning regarding they do when they "put in" their time and effort for the benefit of others. This is the one main reason for the existence of this medal, to acknowledge someone of your choice.
2. Think about re-nominating someone who had previously been nominated.   Let’s face it, if you believe they deserved your nomination in the past, they are probably still doing their thing for the benefit of us all and they will still deserve you nominating them again.

The passion evident in Derek’s words convey the passion that many members hold for this wonderful barbershop community, so we encourage you to actively support this recognition.

So, if you wish to nominate someone, write it all down and send it to BHA Executive Officer, Jeannie Hattendorf admin@barbershop.org.au, by close of business on Thursday 22nd August 2019.

As best you can, please ensure the nomination includes details of nomination, the rationale for nomination and supporting evidence, certification of the BHA members supporting the nomination and contact details for follow up with regards to the nomination.   Importantly, in relation to the nomination the evidence of the nominee’s contribution to the advancement of BHA needs to be clearly stated. 

For clarification on any aspect of the BHA medal purpose or nomination process please contact VP Membership via email on membership@barbershop.org.au

Yours in harmony

Paul Adams
Barbershop Harmony Australia
www.barbershop.org.au

Your Hobart 2019 Festival Committee is comprised of members of Hobart Men's Barbershop Harmony Club which operates as Deep South. Led by Festival Co-Convenors, Trevor Rootes and Anthony Burrows, the committee has been extremely busy since last year, working together to ensure the production of a first-class event.

Of course, as this is the inaugural Barbershop Harmony Festival, I’m especially proud of the way that the Hobart team has embraced this concept and taken on the additional activities to provide more opportunities for delegates and members of the wider Hobart community to sing and attend performances.

The team will continue to work hard throughout the Festival week so when you are helped by a volunteer please give them a hug (or at least a smile) They deserve it!

Richard Wadick – BHA VP Events

In case you still haven’t sorted your accommodation, there are still a few rooms left at Festival headquarters – Wrest Point Hotel. An easy process for booking your accommodation has been set up here, however, if you want to make a bulk booking for your Ensemble, it is best to phone the Wrest Point Hotel directly on 03 6221 1888 or free call 1800 030 611. Make sure you tell them you’re a BHA member!
Oh, yes, and we do have a winner of the one night’s accommodation at Wrest Point which was drawn in the first week of July. For privacy reasons we’re not disclosing their name, but if you have signed up for the Pub Choir being held on the Tuesday night, you’ll get to sing with them!

Have you registered yet? Early Bird rates have closed, however, you have still got until 1 September to register. So head to the Festival website now or register here or click on the link on the Festival website home page.







As part of the registration process you can also register for Harmony Academy and pre-order Festival merchandise.

The Festival Contest entry portal is open. Qualifying quartets will have received an invitation email to register. If you haven’t already done so, please follow this link to register your quartet or chorus now. The closing date is 1 August.

Please advise by email to calindav@internode.on.net if your quartet is not intending to register for the contest so that an invitation can be sent to those further on the list. 

Quartets need all four members to be registered delegates before the entry can be completed.
Choruses need at least 8 plus MD to start the entry process, however, members can be added up until 31 August.  
Each contestant is entitled to a “Contestant’s Package” which provides the following benefits:

• Downloadable digital photographs of your ensemble      

• A link to a video of your performance soon after you contest      

• Free access to the webcast      

To cover these costs and subsidise the general costs of running the Contest, the Contest entry fees have increased this year and have been set as follows:
Quartet                            $160
Small Chorus                    $280 (< or = 16 members excluding MD)
Medium Chorus                 $330 (17 to 30 members excluding MD)
Large Chorus                    $380 (> or = 31 members excluding MD)               

Note : that these fees are per ensemble entered, not per member.

This year Harmony Academy is shaping up to be one of the best yet. Don’t miss out as there won’t be a Harmony Academy next year and you’ll have to wait until 2021 for the next one!

We have an awesome faculty lined up including the Festival headline quartet and BHS International Gold Medalist, Signature, our current quartet champions, Blindside, and two of the BHS contest judges – Steve Scott and Paul Wigley.
 
Previous attendees of Harmony Academy will be accustomed to regular dormitory style shared living arrangements. Discovery Park is a step up from this and offers superior self-contained cabins suitable for 2, 3, 4 and 5 berth accommodation along with their own kitchen, bathroom and lounge.

PLEASE NOTE: Accommodation on campus at Police Academy is already sold out. You can still register for Harmony Academy, however, the registration package now only covers accommodation at Discovery Park.
If you purchase the Harmony Academy – Discovery Park Accommodation Package you don’t have to pay for anything else. Day Passes are available only for delegates that don’t require accommodation provided.
  
Firm numbers need to be provided to Discovery Park management by 31 July 2019 so we suggest that you register for Harmony Academy by that date. Accommodation beyond that date cannot be guaranteed although we will help you find a suitable alternative in need. If accommodation at Discovery Park cannot be provided, you will need only pay the non-residential price of $200 by purchasing 2 x Day Passes (i.e. we will refund the difference of $175 if you have already paid the full price)

Those who came to our Hall of Harmony in Adelaide last year will remember that we had a lot of new BHA merchandise on offer. Well, we have the same exciting range for Hobart this year with several additional lines available now to order.

Along with the standard BHA polos, tees, caps, coffee mugs, etc we will also have Festival specific polos and tees as well as BHA-branded short sleeve shirts, hoodies and beanies.


 

The best way to ensure that you get what you want is to pre-order. You can do this now at https://www.barbershopconvention.com.au/Shop 

Those who pre-order will have their purchase bagged and ready to collect when Harmony Marketplace first opens.

There are two chorus rehearsal rooms available at Wrest Point for use by competing choruses on Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 September (limited Friday sessions are now full).

Each Chorus requesting the use of one of these rooms will be allocated a one hour session. Every effort will be made to allocate a time as close as possible to your requested time. If a second session is desired, these will be allocated once all choruses, who have requested a time, have been allocated their first hour. Any times still available after the two rounds of allocations will be advertised on the Festival website and will be available on a first-come basis.

Applications will close on 25 August with the final session allocations advised soon thereafter.
To apply for the use of one of these rehearsal rooms please have a member of your Club Management Committee email events@barbershop.org.au indicating two or more time preferences.
Your bookings will be confirmed via return email.                       

The fee is $100 per hour and is payable via EFT by 25 August to: 
Account name: ABCMA        
BSB: 036-051
Account number: 218960
Description: Your Chorus Name
 

Choruses are invited to appear in the traditional Chorus Corral from 2.00pm on Friday 20 September 2019 in the Tasman Room, Wrest Point Hotel.

This is a chance for around 17 Choruses to perform in a friendly, informal atmosphere.
Choruses who would like to sing one or two non-competition songs at this event should register here to reserve their spot on stage.

A very popular event but limited to a maximum of 20 quartets. This event is now closed.
Come and enjoy competing quartets perform before the big contest in a friendly, informal atmosphere.

This is a two-and-a-half hour harmony singing workshop open to delegates and Hobart locals who love to sing in harmony. Festival delegates are encouraged to attend to swell the numbers and support the locals.

Date:        18 September 2019

Time:       2pm to 4:30pm

Venue:    Derwent Room, Wrest Point Hotel, Sandy Bay

Electric Barbercats will workshop the new Australian polecat Throw Your Arms Around Me ready to perform at the official Civic Welcome and Massed Sing to be held at 12.00pm on Friday 20th September in the Tasman Room, Wrest Point Hotel.

Register here or click on the link on the Festival website home page.

A fantastic event wrapping up six days of contest, fun and singing, this separately-ticketed event is not to be missed!

Proceedings will include a special Q & A session with Signature

There are still plenty of seats available.

Purchase your Sunday Lunch ticket here

 

Here's your opportunity to sing with the 2019 International Gold Medalist, Signature. This will be held from 11.30am at the Wrest Point Hotel.

All it takes is a donation of $50 to BHA youth development. Register here or click on the link on the Festival website home page.


Note: this is limited to only 10 people - make sure you register and pay to secure your spot!

There is so much happening at the Festival this year that we're starting early to fit it all in!
This year we are offering a diverse program that celebrates barbershop culture and will connect more intimately with the broader Hobart community.  
As well as reaching out to the locals while we’re in town, the additional activities provide many more opportunities for quartets and choruses to sing.

Most of these new activities are available to delegates as part of their Festival registration.
Please register your interest now.

Tuesday 17 September
10am to 4pm     City Pop-Ups (choruses and quartets singing in city venues) Register here

Pop-Up performances give choruses and quartets the opportunity to perform indoors at many leading hotels, MONA, Hobart International Airport, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG), and shopping centres. Outdoor venues include Salamanca Market, Salamanca Square, Elizabeth Street Mall, Farm Gate Market and the Red Decker Bus.

Pop-Up performances will be from 15-20 minutes in any location.

Most locations are within walking distance of the Hobart GPO. Transport of ensembles will be provided, if required.

We will allocate venues that are considered suitable as far as possible to the times you choose. You may nominate more than one performance slot.

2pm to 4.30pm Cascade Brewery – Beer School. Spend the afternoon in one of the country's best breweries. Expect to pay around $25. There will also be an opportunity to sing at this event. Register your interest here

7pm to 9.30pm Community Pub Chorus at a city hotel (led by Alex Morris with the Electric Barbercats). Learn and sing a song in a local pub. All delegates are welcome to join locals for an enthusiastic barbershop sing along. Register here

That’s right, we have one free night’s accommodation to give away. One lucky delegate will receive free accommodation on Tuesday the 17^th September 2019 in a Tower Deluxe room at Wrest Point Hotel valued at $200.
 
The prize will be drawn on 1 July 2019, the day after early bird delegate registration pricing closes.
To be eligible for the draw, all you need to do is register for at least one of the Tuesday activities, i.e.
a City Pop-Up, the Cascade Brewery event or the Community Pub Chorus.

So, get your registrations in and good luck!

10am to 4pm     City Pop-Ups (choruses and quartets singing in city venues) Register here

2pm to 4.30pm Workshop - Everyone Singing in Harmony Chorus. Delegates are invited to share the joy of barbershop with local singers. The new Australian Barberpole Cat “Throw your arms around me” will be workshopped for presentation at the Massed Sing on Friday. This provides a great opportunity for non-competing delegates to get involved. Register here

10am to 12pm   City Pop-Ups (choruses and quartets singing in city venues) Register here

Of course, as a contest delegate, you can also participate in all the traditional activities you enjoy:
Harmony Academy, John Little Show, Chorus Corral, Massed Sing, Sing with the Champs, Youth Workshop and, of course, the Contests!

Have you registered yet? Don't forget you only have until 30 June to secure the Early Bird rate and save $60 on the cost of a full registration. So head to the Festival website now or register here

As part of the registration process you can also register for Harmony Academy and pre-order Festival merchandise.

Registration for other activities such as City Pop-Ups can be made via the “Delegate Activities” portal on the website or via the links in the previous articles.

The Festival Contest entry portal is open.

Qualifying quartets will have received an invitation email to register. Follow this link to register your quartet or chorus now. The closing date is 1 August.

Please advise by email to calindav@internode.on.net if your quartet is not intending to register for the contest so that an invitation can be sent to those further on the list. 

Quartets need all four members to be registered delegates before the entry can be completed.
Choruses need at least 8 plus MD to start the entry process, however, members can be added up until 31 August.
 
Each contestant is entitled to a “Contestant’s Package” which provides the following benefits:

• Downloadable digital photographs of your ensemble  

• A link to a video of your performance soon after you contest 

• Free access to the webcast 

To cover these costs and subsidise the general costs of running the Contest, the Contest entry fees have increased this year and have been set as follows:

Quartet                         $160

Small Chorus                 $280 (< or = 16 members excluding MD)

Medium Chorus              $330 (17 to 30 members excluding MD)

Large Chorus                  $380 (> or = 31 members excluding MD)               

Note that these fees are per ensemble entered, not per member.

This year Harmony Academy is shaping up to be one of the best yet.

We have a fantastic faculty lined up including the Festival headline quartet, Signature, our current quartet champions, Blindside, and two of the BHS contest judges. The curriculum is not yet finalised, however, your National Education Faculty has been receiving member feedback and work is being done to ensure that content continues to be relevant to the education needs of our members and the event provides a first-class product.

The accommodation both on campus and at Discovery Park offer exceptional facilities.

Previous attendees of Harmony Academy will be accustomed to regular dormitory style shared living arrangements. Discovery Park is a step up from this and offers superior self-contained cabins suitable for 2, 3, 4 and 5 berth accommodation along with their own kitchen, bathroom and lounge.

PLEASE NOTE: Accommodation on campus at Police Academy is already sold out. You can still register for Harmony Academy, however, the registration package now only covers accommodation at Discovery Park.
 
Firm numbers need to be provided to Discovery Park management by 31 July 2019 so we suggest that you register for Harmony Academy by that date. Accommodation beyond that date cannot be guaranteed although we will help you find a suitable alternative in need.

If accommodation at Discovery Park cannot be provided, you will need only pay the non-residential price of $200 by purchasing 2 x Day Passes.

Those who came to our Hall of Harmony in Adelaide last year will remember that we had a lot of new BHA merchandise on offer. Well, we have the same exciting range for Hobart this year with a few new additions becoming available in the coming weeks.

Along with the standard BHA polos, tees, caps, coffee mugs, etc we will also have Festival specific polos and tees. The best way to ensure that you get what you want is to pre-order. You can do this now at https://www.barbershopconvention.com.au/Shop 














     

Those who pre-order will have their purchase bagged and ready to collect when Harmony Marketplace first opens.

The Quartet and Chorus Contests will be livestream webcast as well as broadcast to auditorium screens and TV monitors in the venue foyer.

Public access to the webcast will be free via the Festival website Webcast page. Users will be encouraged to make a donation to help cover the cost.

Contestants will have free access to their webcast performance soon after performing as part of their contest entry package.

The livestream archive will remain on the Festival website and individual performances will be gradually uploaded to the BHA YouTube channel.

Dear Members 

A question: Is singing contemporary music important?

As most of you know, we barbershop singers have a bunch of traditional songs that we like to sing together, called the Barberpole Cat songs.  This tradition was formed many years ago, when these songs, written in the early 1900s, were perhaps a little more contemporary.

Nowadays, these Barberpole Cat songs are still fun to sing, but in a different way than they were in 1950. They are less relevant, and certainly seem to have less appeal amongst both our members, and the people to whom we perform. 

Barbershop Harmony Australia has linked its strategic direction with three simplistic directives – Engage, Educate, and Enjoy.

As an organisation, we strive to engage our communities, aspiring to become leaders in the music scene, educating members and non-members alike, and sharing our enjoyment of our wonderful artform.  And we are always looking for ways to make what we do more contemporary, more relevant and more appealing to our members and all of the members of our wider community.

We’d like to challenge the outdated perception of barbershop as simply being “four old guys in boater hats singing My Wild Irish Rose”.  While this image will forever be an important part of our history, we wish to show an updated, more contemporary side of what we do.

So, your Association is now demonstrating its strong commitment to enabling the creation and performance of high quality contemporary music in the barbershop style. 

As an Association, we have an opportunity to expand and improve upon our existing repertoire.  We have the opportunity to champion Australian music.  We have an opportunity to work with our local arrangers and composers to commission and licence new music that can communicate the best of Australian barbershop and provide us with arrangements into the future.

The grand plan is that eventually we can all have updated and more contemporary repertoire that we can all share, which will become our new Australian Barber Pole Cat series.  As such, Barbershop Harmony Australia is proud to be able to provide all of you with a gift – our first in this new series of contemporary Australian songs. 

The song we have chosen is “Throw Your Arms Around Me” by the Australian band Hunters & Collectors.  Like all good songs, this is a story about love; capturing the intensity of one man’s relationship with a woman he was very much in love with, while at the same time portraying its fleeting nature, with lyrics including “And we may never meet again, so shed your skin and let’s get started…”.

The arranger we selected to begin this series is the very gifted Alex Morris, and we have also provided you with learning tracks for the song to help out.  The copyright licencing is already paid for, and you can perform it wherever you like – as a chorus or as a quartet.  This song will be featured at our upcoming Festival in Hobart in September, where it will be used for many different events, and no doubt will be heard being sung throughout the venue well into the night.

The sheet music and learning tracks for Throw Your Arms Around Me has been uploaded to the members section of our website. It's ready for you to learn and you can access it here. 

We hope you enjoy this new arrangement and we look forward to hearing it performed all over our wide brown land.

Dan Millgate
President
Barbershop Harmony Australia
www.barbershop.org.au
 

Note : To access the sheet music and learning tracks for this great new song go to the BHA website https://www.barbershop.org.au
Log into the members area using your user name and password > Click on the "Songs" tab under the Members Tab >click on the Song title  "Throw your arms around me"

The following link will take you directly to the appropriate page (you will need to be already logged in)  https://www.barbershop.org.au/dbpage.php?pg=view&dbase=rep&id=5 

If you have lost your user name or password you will need to use the "Lost your user name or password" link on the login page.  

The BHA National Council is pleased to call for nominations for the 2019 BHA Medal.

First awarded in 2017, the BHA Medal recognises an individual’s exemplary contribution to the advancement of barbershop in Australia.   It will be awarded to a current BHA member in good standing who has consistently “put in” for barbershop.

The award is made for sustained outstanding contribution which has resulted in an exemplary, transparent and publicly evident advancement of BHA. They will be recognised nationally for their sustained contribution for the association, their club, their community, or behind the scenes.    In limited circumstances, individuals may also be considered for nomination whilst no longer an active member due to retirement on the basis of incapacity.

The award is kindly sponsored by Derek Cosburn, and here is his advice with regards to the nomination:

Very soon we will be giving the 2019 "BHA Medal" to a selection of your choice.

If you have someone in mind who you reckon deserves recognition, and most of us have, then please:

1. Think about what that person continually does for the benefit of their fellow BHA members.  It can be for their chorus, quartet, state, or the nation.  In fact any reason is worth mentioning regarding they do when they "put in" their time and effort for the benefit of others. This is the one main reason for the existence of this medal, to acknowledge someone of your choice.

2. Get in touch with their partner and friends for extra/more information.  You can include their pre-BHA life for a more in depth idea of their commitment to people they are in contact with.

3. Think about re-nominating someone who had previously been nominated.   Let’s face it, if you believe they deserved your nomination in the past, they are probably still doing their thing for the benefit of us all and they will still deserve you nominating them again.

4. I think that all nominees are winners, so let us recognize them for you.

Sing-cerely. Derek.

The passion evident in Derek’s words convey the passion that many members hold for this wonderful barbershop community, so we encourage you to actively support this recognition.

So, if you wish to nominate someone, write it all down and send it to BHA Executive Officer, Jeannie Hattendorf admin@barbershop.org.au, by close of business on Friday 9th August 2019.

Please ensure the nomination includes details of nomination, the rationale for nomination and supporting evidence, certification of the BHA members supporting the nomination and contact details for follow up with regards to the nomination.   Importantly, in relation to the nomination the evidence of the nominee’s contribution to the advancement of BHA needs to be clearly stated. 

Further details will be emailed directly to members and clubs in the coming weeks.   For clarification on any aspect of the BHA medal purpose or nomination process please contact VP Membership via email on membership@barbershop.org.au

Yours in harmony

Paul Adams
Barbershop Harmony Australia
www.barbershop.org.au

The BHA National Council continues to work through the results of the 2018 BHA membership survey. We are referencing the information contained within the responses in consideration of the key strategies and objectives for BHA. This is in line with our strategic vision of Enriching Australia Through Harmony.

This time we are focussing on recognition and it seems from the survey that it is not an issue of particular importance to our members.

Only 46% of respondents agree that “Recognition for Chorus Member of the Year is valuable to me” and we get the same score for our key member nominated recognition award, The BHA Medal.  On average there are another 35% who neither agree nor disagree, so less than 20%  say that such a recognition is a bad thing.

We have been pondering this result. Without the efforts of those people likely to be acknowledged through these recognitions, our clubs, communities and BHA would be the poorer for it.  We suspect that it may be just a characteristic of what is fundamental to our art form ie it is a collaborative pursuit and without others to create the harmony, we are simply soloists.  
So personal accolades are not what drives our members.

Similarly, the Club of The Year Award has a 42% agreement and 41% on the fence.  The vast majority of our members do it for the love of the artform, the pure enjoyment of ringing chords and benefiting their communities.

So do we simply pack away these types of programs?   

Within the council our answer is, not yet.  We would however love our membership to get behind these programs to lift their status.  That means nominations and information flowing in to allow those often quiet contributions to gain the recognition they deserve.

In addition, the opportunity to celebrate our history and the contribution of those who have helped BHA become what it is today remains important. We are investigating the possibility of a virtual Hall Of Fame for our website.   We would love your feedback on whether you think that would be worthwhile and, if you support this idea, what form it might take. Please email your suggestions to membership@barbershop.org.au

We will continue to analyse the survey information and communicate the lessons we have learned as we move forward with our plans to Engage, Educate and Enjoy.

Paul Adams
VP-Membership
Barbershop Harmony Australia
membership@barbershop.org.au

1. WHAT IS HAPPENING ON TUESDAY?
2. WIN A NIGHT'S ACCOMMODATION AT WREST POINT
3. MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SING
4. REGISTER NOW
5. CONTEST ENTRY NOW OPEN
6. HARMONY ACADEMY
7. MERCHANDISE
8. WEBCAST

The Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges is seeking applications from people interested in joining the judging program

What does it take to be a judge?

Scoring Judges

If you are interested in being a judge in the Music, Performance, or Singing categories, you should have a strong desire to help our choruses and quartets become better singers, musicians, and performers.

You should have extensive experience and also be actively coaching and teaching barbershoppers.

You must also be experienced with competing yourself in barbershop competitions, either as a director and/or as a singer.  Your experience may likely include other areas outside of barbershop, such as arranging music, vocal production training, or work in theatre productions.

The Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges (AGBJ) is looking for people who can quickly evaluate a performance, assess strengths and weaknesses, and provide instructive feedback, in an appropriate manner, within a short period of time.

Contest Administrators

If you have good organisational and project management skills, and excellent people and communication skills, you may be interested in serving as a Contest Administrator (CA).

The CA is responsible for the orderly management and operations of competitions, resulting in a successful experience for the competitor and audience.  You will be expected to have above average computer skills, along with the willingness to maintain and provide your own personal laptop for use at assigned contest events. 

CAs do not get the limelight, but they do get the satisfaction of making sure BHA & BHNZ competitions run smoothly.

For all Judges

In addition, you must have a mature attitude and professional demeanor, as well as the ability to make the time commitment needed to serve in this rewarding role.

You should be a person that people say right now, “You would make a great judge.” The best motivation for being a judge is having a strong desire to give back to the barbershop community.

There is nothing more satisfying than giving a performer a tool, a technique, an experience, or a pearl of wisdom that helps them improve and they now “get it.” If this sounds like you, then you’ve come to the right place.

On the other hand, if you want to become a judge for the glamour and notoriety, you will be very disappointed!

Can everyone be a judge?

No. Each category is normally limited to a maximum of 8 individuals.

In addition, every certified judge must continue to meet the expectations and requirements that the AGBJ sets for all judges. We want to recruit and keep the best and the brightest – so that we can serve our competitors well.

However, every 3-year cycle we have judges who retire or need to step down, so we must always be prepared to replenish the ranks of every category to ensure we have the best possible judges to serve our BHA & BHNZ competitors.


What’s the next step?

The next AGBJ Judges School will be held in Auckland directly before the Pan Pacific Convention in 2020. Successful new candidate judges would be required to attend candidate training in the lead up to this school.

To express your interest in becoming a member of the AGBJ, please complete the form HERE.

As explained in the last edition of In Harmony, ensuring compliance with copyright law is not always straightforward.  You must have a sufficient number of legal copies of any sheet music for each member of the chorus or quartet.  (Note, however, that if your group is capable enough, you may be able to learn a song just from (legal) learning tracks and not need sheet music at all).

Some barbershop sheet music can be purchased in Australia.  Online music stores such as http://sheetmusicplus.com may also have what you want.  (Sheet Music Plus sells either printed sheet music or an electronic copy with a print licence).  However, the most extensive source of barbershop music is at the Barbershop Harmony Society Market Place at https://shop.barbershop.org/ .

Copyright law in the USA is somewhat different from that in the rest of the world (where copyright exists).  As a consequence, the BHS sheet music may or may not meet copyright requirements in Australia or New Zealand so they may or may not be able to sell you it directly.  If BHS is unable to sell the music directly, you will need to obtain a print licence for the number of copies you want.  BHS can obtain a licence for you but charge $US150 just for the licence and this is likely to be a more expensive route.

What is usually best is that BHS can provide a single reference copy of any song in its library to any BHA or BHNZ affiliated group.  This will allow you to seek a print licence for the number of copies you need. 

The first step is to determine who represents the copyright owner.  You can contact the Australian Performing Rights Association, print@apra.com.au, with the names of the authors and arranger.  Alternatively, Hal Leonard, Devirra or Alfred Music can usually tell you if it is or is not them. 

There are really only two copyright houses in Australia and New Zealand (both located in Australia): Hal Leonard Ltd (contact Robert Griffin, +61 3 9585 3300 ext 138 or rgriffin@halleonard.com.au) and Devirra Corp (contact +61 2 8707 3650 or licensing@devirra.com ).  In addition, however, Alfred Music in the US licences their music directly to Australia and New Zealand (contact Michael Degen on +1 (818) 891-5999 ext.1113, mdegen@alfred.com or go to https://licensing.alfred.com/) 

APRA can also tell you if the song is in the public domain – but make sure you specify Australia or New Zealand when asking as there are some differences.  You may also need to be careful as the song may be in the public domain, but the only sheet music you can find is still in copyright.  While you might not be able to copy the sheet music in this case, you can legally jot down the notes and the words for any public domain song from listening to it.

Occasionally, multiple copyright houses have part claims over the copyright and you will have to deal with.  When multiple houses are involved, the process can take longer than usual and you might even want to consider a different song.  The process is really long winded if the total claim between the two exceeds 100% which also happens very occasionally.

Once you have identified the correct copyright house, email them (addresses above) and ask for a print licence (or an arrangment licence in the case of Alfred Music).  You will need to give the name of the song, the names of the authors (for both words and music), the name of the arranger and the number of copies you want.  You will need to send a pdf of the one legal copy of the music you and may need to give proof of purchase – or indicate it is a reference copy from BHS.  After a variable delay of a day or two to a month or three, you will get a print licence and an invoice.  Very occasionally, however, a licence may not be granted and you need to be prepared for this. 

After a couple of times of going through the process, most people find the process fairly easy.  And in times of trouble, you can always phone a friend as plenty of others in BHA and BHNZ will have been down the same path.  Good luck!!

John Faris   

Important Information for Clubs and chorus administrators.

Recently we have decided to run a survey of clubs and choruses to find out exactly what clubs are doing in terms of youth engagement and recruitment strategies. The ultimate aim of this survey is to help share successful youth engagement models between clubs, so clubs can become more adept at recruiting younger members.

This survey will be emailed to club presidents and secretaries so that an executive member of your club/chorus can respond as accurately as possible.

This survey was designed in conjunction with Geordie Cullen, who has been a big help, and will be involved in the analysis of the outcomes of this survey, Thanks Geordie!

Yours in harmony,

Kieran O'Dea

Vice President, Youth Development

BHA 2018 Membership Survey Snippets

The BHA National Council has been working through the results of the 2018 BHA membership survey and referencing the information contained within the responses in consideration of the key strategies and objectives for BHA in line with our strategic vision of Enriching Australia Through Harmony.

When it comes to personal member satisfaction, “The pursuit of musical and artistic excellence” tops our survey with a massive 98.1% agreement followed by “The pure enjoyment of ringing chords” with 97.6% agreement.   Clearly there is something about our Barbershop style that once hooked, it never lets us go, and drives us to keep improving our craft!

But our camaraderie and outreach are essential elements for personal satisfaction and impact as the next highest scores are “Fellowship with other members in the Association” at 96.2% agreement, and then “The impact we make on people and communities when we sing for them” at 96.1% agreement.    This impact is supported by our ability to bring joy to audiences as “Singing on Club Shows and Events” scores a 93.4% agreement.

On a club level we seem to be doing well, with 89.9% agreeing that their club “has good musical leaders” and 86.4% believing that they “have a healthy, positive atmosphere and culture”, leading to confidence held by 81% of respondents that the club “is headed in the right direction”.

Unfortunately, those results are not translating to confidence when it comes to the club “is likely to grow and improve in the future” with only 64.6% agreeing.    We clearly have some work to do to get our message out there and maintain our sustainability.

The results show that our regions and the National Council can have a greater impact with results of agreement for issues such as  leadership, vision, consultation and collaboration scoring between 35% and 60% agreement.

We know there is work to do but the results of the survey and discussion in forums with members, Regional Chairs and Club Presidents gives us confidence that as a Barbershop community we still have much to give.

We will continue to analyse the survey information and communicate the lessons we have learned as we move forward with our plans to Engage, Educate and Enjoy.

Paul Adams - Vice President Membership

Voices In Paradise is back!
Registrations are now open and we have a brand new website.

Featuring new guest educators The Velvetones (2018 AUS/ACA Champions) and Blindside (2018 BHA Champions)

The workshop registration process is now easier for individuals and groups. Click below to purchase your registration. You'll be notified when the songs available.

Click the following links
to register for the workshop or purchase Concert tickets
 

The second edition of the Festival News has now been circulated to all members. This included important information to everyone as summarised herein.

1. WHAT IS HAPPENING ON TUESDAY?
2. WIN A NIGHT'S ACCOMMODATION AT WREST POINT
3. MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SING
4. REGISTER NOW
5. CONTEST ENTRY NOW OPEN
6. HARMONY ACADEMY
7. MERCHANDISE
8. WEBCAST

This year we are offering a diverse program that celebrates barbershop culture and will connect more intimately with the broader Hobart community.  Because of this we have chosen to call this year’s event a “Festival” - a celebration, rather than use the term “Convention” which has insular connotations.

As well as reaching out to the locals while we’re in town, the additional activities provide many more opportunities for quartets and choruses to sing.

Here is a snapshot of all the new activities:

Tuesday 17 September
10am to 4pm     City Pop-Ups (choruses and quartets singing in city venues) Register here

• Pop-Up performances give choruses and quartets the opportunity to perform indoors at many leading hotels, MONA, Hobart International Airport, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG), and shopping centres. Outdoor venues include Salamanca Market, Salamanca Square, Elizabeth Street Mall, Farm Gate Market and the Red Decker Bus. Pop-Up performances will be from 15-20 minutes in any location.

• Most locations are within walking distance of the Hobart GPO.

• We will allocate venues that are considered suitable as far as possible to the times you choose. You may choose to nominate a number of different performance slots.

2pm to 4.30pm Cascade Brewery  - Beer School and singing opportunity. Register your interest here

7pm to 9.30pm Community Pub Chorus at a city hotel (led by Alex Morris with the Electric Barbercats). All delegates welcome to join locals for an enthusiastic barbershop sing along. Register here

Wednesday 18 September
10am to 4pm     City Pop-Ups (choruses and quartets singing in city venues) Register here

2pm to 4.30pm Workshop - Everyone Singing in Harmony Chorus. Delegates are invited to share the joy of barbershop with local singers. Register here

Sunday 22 September
10am to 11.30am             Farm Gate Market Pop-Ups. Register here

Of course, as a contest delegate, you can also participate in all the traditional activities you enjoy:
Harmony Academy, John Little Show, Chorus Corral, Massed Sing, Sing with the Champs, Youth Workshop and, of course, the Contests!

REGISTER NOW!
Registrations are now open so why not head to the Festival website or register here
As part of the registration process you can also register for Harmony Academy and pre-order Festival merchandise.

Each contestant will be entitled to a “Contestant’s Package” which provides the following benefits:

• Downloadable digital photographs of your ensemble
• A link to a video of your performance soon after you contest
• Free access to the webcast

To cover these costs and subsidise the general costs of running the Contest, the Contest entry fees are increasing this year and have been set as follows:

Quartet                            $160

Small Chorus                    $280 (< or = 16 members excluding MD)

Medium Chorus                 $330 (17 to 30 members excluding MD)

Large Chorus                    $380 (> or = 31 members excluding MD)               

Festival Contest entry will open in late May 2019 soon after all regional contests are completed.

There are still some rooms available at Festival headquarters – Wrest Point Hotel - however, availability is reducing fast. An easy process for booking your accommodation has been set up here, however, if you want to make a bulk booking for your Ensemble, it is best to phone the Wrest Point Hotel directly on 03 6221 1888 or free call 1800 030 611. Make sure you tell them you’re a BHA member!

There are other accommodation options available which are conveniently located on the Festival website

Compliance with copyright law is a vexed issue in BHA and BHNZ.  While the majority of choruses and quartets comply with the law, there are a number of misunderstandings of what is needed and some inadvertent breaches do occur.  Achieving copyright compliance is not cheap, but it is important that BHA and BHNZ are equally fair to all and everybody does pay their dues for copyright.  Copyright breaches are potentially expensive for those involved. 

A summary of the main points is:
 

• The original authors of a song own the intellectual property rights to that song but usually assign the rights to a copyright house.

• No names of those who wrote the song at the top and no copyright notice on the bottom of page one means an illegal copy (unless you are the author(s) and not just the arranger).

• It is illegal to copy sheet music obtained from BHS, from an arranger or which came with learning tracks without a print licence.

• You need permission to write a new arrangement of a song and to copy your arrangement.

• Paying an arranger fee is not paying royalties for a song and does not (in itself) meet the requirements of copyright law.

• ???????Paying for learning tracks is not paying royalties for the song and does not (in itself) meet the requirements of copyright law.

The majority of songs are somebody’s intellectual property and subject to copyright protection.  Copyright holders are entitled to royalties for any use or copying of a song.  There are separate requirements and separate royalties for sheet music, to live performances, to live or delayed streaming on social media and other platforms and to recordings in other forms.  This article will only consider the copyright laws and royalties as they apply to sheet music.  Contest rules only apply to sheet music. 

The online contest entry seeks information for copyright compliance from entrants.  This information is required by Australian Performing Rights Association (APRA) from the BHA National Competition and the potential exists for it to be requested from other contests or public performances.

BHA and BHNZ put the primary onus being on ensembles for copyright compliance.  The online entry system asks for a minimum of copyright information (and less than BHS requests at its competitions).  The system now also requires that the registrant for that ensemble to sign the entry forms electronically putting their name and the date into the system.  The registrant will also have to tick that they have complied with various aspects of contest rules.  By making these declarations and electronically signing the forms well before contest day, we hope to avoid any issues on the day.  It would be devastating for a group to be refused their spot on the contest stage or to be disqualified two weeks before contest (when they might have a chance of rectifying the matter) or even worse on contest day when there is little chance of doing anything about the breach of the rules.

The original authors of a piece of music, the person or people who wrote the words and music, have intellectual properties to that work of art.  In most cases, the authors will assign their rights to a copyright house, such as EMI Music or Sony Music.  These copyright houses have agents in both Australia and New Zealand.  The vast majority of copyright owners are represented in Australia and New Zealand by either Hal Leonard or Devirra Corporation (previously Alfred Music).
The original authors, but not an arranger, of a song own the intellectual property rights to that song but usually assign the rights to a copyright house.

Intellectual property rights expire with the passage of time and the laws differ from country to country (or region to region), but most frequently expire a set number of years after the death of the composer(s).  USA public domain laws are quite different, and songs in public domain in the USA may still be in copyright in the rest of the world, and vice versa.  For more information on Australia’s public domain laws, see page 8 of the Duration of Copyright fact sheet from the Australian Copyright Council. For more information about New Zealand’s public domain laws, see the Public Domain Guide published by DigitalNZ.  More on copyright law itself and how to determine if a song and its associated sheet music are in the public domain will be the subject of a future article. 
 
Sheet music may be purchased here or overseas.  But to be sold in Australia and New Zealand, the seller must have rights in this region to do so.  Any legitimate sheet music has the names of the authors and the arranger, if any, at the top and a copyright notice at the bottom of the first page.  No names of those who wrote the song at the top and no copyright notice on the bottom of page one means an illegal copy (unless you are the author(s) and not just the arranger).

Music can be purchased from BHS in the US.  However, BHS only has the right to sell much of its music in the US and Canada and not directly to Australia or New Zealand (which together form a single copyright region).  Some BHS music is able to be sold directly here and BHS will indicate one way or the other.  BHS can also obtain International rights on request and then sell the music, but they charge $US150 just to get the rights and it is almost certainly somewhat cheaper to get a print licence locally. 
 
Where BHS does not have International rights (and you do not want to pay BHS for them), BHS can provide a single free reference copy of a song to BHA and BHNZ registered ensembles.  As with sheet music from an arranger or from an artist who has produced learning tracks, such single free copies may not be copied for use by an ensemble without obtaining a print licence.  It is illegal to copy sheet music obtained from BHS from an arranger or which came with learning tracks without a print licence.

Songs in the Barbershop style have usually been arranged especially for the genre for obvious reasons.  Arranging an existing song gives the arranger no rights over either the words or the music.  The arranger actually needs permission from the copyright holder to arrange the song.   Permission to arrange a song is not always given.  Disney often refuses permission to use a new arrangement as does the copyright owner for Les Miserables. 
You need permission to write a new arrangement of a song and to copy your arrangement.

An arranger may charge a fee but this fee does not meet compliance with copyright law.  Arrangers may provide a copy of their arrangement.  Paying an arranger fee is not paying royalties for a song and does not (in itself) meet the requirements of copyright law.
 
A number of artists produce learning tracks.  Sometimes they use slightly different arrangements from that of “the arranger” and may provide a copy of the exact arrangement.  The artist concerned has a right to charge a fee for their rendition of the song.  Paying for learning tracks is not paying royalties for the song itself and does not (in itself) meet the requirements of copyright law.
  
Obtaining music legally is relatively easy – well, maybe not totally easy the first time.  And unfortunately is not always cheap.  But this is the subject of a future article.

More information is available on the BHA website at:
https://www.barbershop.org.au/commonfiles/bha/db_uploads/COPYRIGHT_GUIDELINES_May_2016_update_1.pdf

Affiliate Discount Code Update

As you may know, BHA members are entitled to a 25% discount on the BHS Marketplace site shop.barbershop.org – the same discount BHS members get. This discount applies to all clothing, merchandise, learning tracks, and printed sheet music.
Due to the increased cost of fees BHS must pay copyright holders and arrangers, discounts do not apply to digital sheet music. While this makes the price for digital sheet music slightly higher than printed music, the digital downloads are available immediately and there are no shipping charges. 
The BHA affiliate discount code for 2019 is:  2019aff
Enter this code in the Member # / Promo $ / Gift Certificate box at checkout.

More Music Available Internationally
BHS is continuously asking for worldwide rights when seeking copyright clearances. Although BHS does not always get approval, it may receive the rights to sell in some countries outside the US.

With the rollout of the new BHS website in 2018, the music pages have been updated to clearly indicate where the music can be sold. BHS now has more than 2,000 song titles that have some level of international availability. Click here to see all music with International Availability.

While any customer is able to view the entire music catalogue, if music is not licensed for Australia, BHA customers are unable to add that product to their cart.

Trevor Rootes - Secretary 

Now is the time for quartets to get organised for regional contests. 

Please remember that quartet registration/re-registration is completed annually, and is the responsibility of the quartet.

All quartets planning to compete in regional contests in 2019 need to register/re-register their quartet by Friday 15 March.
First, you must be a financial member of BHA for 2019. 

• Club members should have had their BHA membership renewed by their Club

• Members-at-Large need to complete a Member at Large Membership Renewal

• New Members-at-Large need to complete a New Member at Large Application Form 

• Next, your Quartet needs to complete the Quartet Registration and Re-Registration Form.

All forms are available in the Downloads/ FORMS section of the BHA website.
https://www.barbershop.org.au/dbpage.php?pg=forms
IMPORTANT: - you need to download the foms and save them to your own computer before completing the details. 

Trevor Rootes - Secretary

Just in case you missed the email I sent to all members in January, here is a recap…..

Feeling adventurous? Have you ever thought about having a crack at being an MC?

Well, there’s an opportunity for you right now to reveal your flair for public speaking and hone your compering skills. This year we are conducting an MC Program and all members are welcome to apply.

Application requirements are simple. All you need to do is make a video* of yourself ensuring you:
•             introduce yourself, including your name, BHA Region, Club/Chorus and Quartet (if applicable)
•             state whether you will be attending your local regional contest and the Convention in Hobart
•             perform your best competition introduction of a quartet and chorus
•             provide an account of why you joined Barbershop
•             email your entry to Jen Howson at jenhowson@me.com

All entries must be received by 7th March (deadline extended by a week) to be considered for the program.  You will receive confirmation of the entry and feedback after the 8th of March.

Selected participants in this years’ program will be chosen as MCs for your local regional contest and events.  Feedback from your Judging panel and organisers will determine if you have the required skills to acquit yourself creditably on the national stage.

We are striving for the highest level of excellence in all aspects of our events and what better than to source the talents of our own membership to fill these requirements.
Looking forward to your contributions!

*make sure you have plenty of light and there’s minimal ambient noise

Richard Wadick - BHA VP Events

One of the benefits of our affiliation with BHS in the USA is access to their magazine The Harmonizer.

The January/February2019 edition has just been published and is available here.

It’s presented in a new format with some editorial changes.

Go on over and have a look.

Trevor Rootes BHA Secretary

GAINING COPIES OF MUSIC FROM BHS THAT DO NOT HAVE INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT CLEARANCE

BHS already offers hundreds of arrangements that are available for ordering by international customers. BHA members can order these via BHS’s website at https://shop.barbershop.org.

If there is other music in the BHS catalogue without international copyright that you wish to use, there are two ways to go about gaining a Copyright Print Licence for your group.

1. Seek an inspection copy from BHS and then follow the procedures for gaining a copyright print licence in Australia. Details at  https://goo.gl/Qr5da7
 

 Some members indicate this is a time-consuming task. Print copies purchased in this way are usually around AU$3.30 a copy.

2. it is also possible to seek copyright clearance for Australia through BHS.

First, you need to complete a BHS Arrangement & Reproduction Request Form (click here for the BHS Arrangement and Reproduction Request Form and submit to BHS via email to library@barbershop.org.  BHS then processes the request. Turnaround time is usually 30-45 days, but may take longer, depending on the copyright holder(s) of a song, the number of songs in the arrangement (medley), etc.  Submitting the completed form to BHS authorizes them to seek the music clearance on your behalf.

The cost for clearance through BHS is typically US$150 for 4-20 authorized copies (you print on your own) and the permission is exclusive to the performing group only.  This fee covers the permission to arrange, the authorized copies needed, and time/materials fee. (Please note arrangers fees are no longer charged.) You will have an option to cancel your order with BHS at any time before the permission order is paid. The BHS cancellation fee is US$50.

BHS employs reasonable best efforts to secure the requested permissions on your behalf for the arrangement. However, US copyright owners have the right and authority by law to charge any fee, determine turnaround time, and even reject the request outright. For this reason, BHS cannot guarantee clearance, in whole or in part, for any arrangement; BHS also cannot guarantee turnaround time, fee quotes, or clearance success.


Trevor Rootes - BHA Secretary
secretary@barbershop.org.au

 

The 2018 BHA membership survey received over 200 responses leading up to the National Convention and the early results are demonstrating some clear trends in member experience and aspirations for our Barbershop community.

The draw for the prizes of a $35 BHA shop voucher was held at the farewell luncheon and won by David Merrells and Noel Craig.

If you were one of those people that didn’t quite get around to it, you are in luck as we will leave the Survey open until Sunday 4^th November so that everyone has had their chance to contribute.

After that we will commence the formal analysis process and make a report available to all members in December.

A big thank you to all those who contributed and congratulations to the draw winners.

Yours in Harmony,

Paul Adams
BHA VP – Membership
 

On a magnificent Adelaide evening over-looking the city lights from Adelaide Oval, BHA President Dan Milgate had the honour of awarding the 2018 BHA Medal to Mr Mel McMichael.

Mel’s contribution was beautifully summarised by one of the panel members:

“The recipient is truly a standout candidate for the BHA Medal award for 2018 and his credentials speak for itself. His participation and guidance over the years in building BHA into what it is today is unquestionable and exemplary. His participation and contribution to quartets and choruses over the years has been vast, deep and varied and his leadership in all aspects of BHA has proven vital to the growth of BHA and the Barbershop art form. His vision and ability to execute growth plans for BHA have paid off in increasing the appeal and development of Barbershop within Australia.”

First awarded in 2017, the BHA Medal is kindly sponsored by Mr Derek Cosburn who was on hand to present the medal which recognises an individual’s exemplary contribution to the advancement of barbershop in Australia.

Yours in Harmony,

Paul Adams
BHA VP – Membership
 

For the second year running, The Blenders have been awarded the 2018 Club of The Year title, presented by BHA Secretary Mr Trevor Rootes.

The Blenders combination of musical development, community engagement, youth development and education shone through in the submission, and deservedly saw them win the title.

At the Saturday night showcase, the Blenders Youth Chorus demonstrated that barbershop community welcome when they invited the Launceston based School chorus, The Fellas to share the stage with them in what was a wonderful gesture and a demonstration of the wonderful spirit that is barbershop in Australia.

We also acknowledge the innovation and initiatives of other clubs nominated including Vox Canvas and Sydney Harmony.

Yours in Harmony,

Paul Adams
BHA VP – Membership

All Clubs appreciate having committed members who are willing to go the extra mile, and this award is a timely opportunity for Clubs to show the tremendous gratitude that we have for these members who tirelessly contribute to the success of every Club and ultimately BHA.

We know that many clubs consider their awards at the end of year celebrations and for those who do so we would love to publish their names in a later edition.   In the meantime the following members were recognised with the traditional single clap at the Adelaide Convention Gala Dinner

Festival Statesmen                Mitre Kammash

Adelaide Vocal Union                Harvey Lewis

Vox Canvas                             Paul Mai

Sydney Harmony                   Owen (Ned) Stygal

The Blenders                         Joe Lam

The Melbournaires               Roger Archman

Deep South                            Paul Adams

Hills Harmony Chorus          Richard (Dick) Bushell

Vocal Evolution                     Matt Nichols

Canberra Chordsmen           Peter Thomas

Novotones                             Grant McKeand

Yours in Harmony,

Paul Adams
VP – Membership BHA

Still reeling from the euphoria of participating in one of the most exciting events in Adelaide’s history? Makes the Beatles appearance at the Adelaide Town Hall all those years ago pale in insignificance doesn’t it?
 
There were certainly many moments in history created over that momentous week that was the 16^th Barbershop Harmony Australia National Convention and Contest. How many of you will reminisce in the weeks, months, years to come and say…..
 
“I was there when……the first time a BHA Convention was held in Adelaide!”
 
“I was there when……Festival Statesmen achieved the highest score of any Australian Chorus at that time!”
 
“I was there when……a new drink was invented at Harmony Academy!”
 
“I was there when…...David Zimmerman, the tenor from Instant Classic announced on stage his engagement to his partner, Laura, while they were visiting the Adelaide Hills!”
 
“I was there when………………………………………………………………….”
                                     (insert your own special moment here)
 
People will ask you “Did you hear about that time when…..the ABC recorded the Massed Sing in Rundle Mall and televised it nationally on the news that evening?” and you’ll say: “Yes! I was there!”
 
None of these distinctive life experiences would have happened, of course, without the work of the small army of volunteers that made the event possible. A huge thank you to Cam DuRieu and his magnificent team on the ground in Adelaide who unrelentingly worked over the year and during the Convention to ensure all participants had an awesome experience. Cam drew on his personal expertise in events management and his relationships with local external stakeholders to help accomplish this great outcome.
 
Big thanks also to all of the BHA National Councillors for their leadership and harmony of mission which provided the template for the volunteers to work with.
 
We have received some really nice feedback, mainly from members, but one of the best testimonials comes from a non-member couple visiting from Victoria who wrote:
 
What an absolute privilege it was to have attended last Friday and Saturday evenings in Adelaide for the finals.  Oh, how sublime it all was and the trip from Camperdown was well worth every k. travelled.
 
Congratulations to everyone who was involved, there must have been mountains of work for so long to put the event together. We had no idea how wide the categories were beforehand so everything was a wonderful surprise. Our thanks to you all for a superb experience.
 
Wishing you all well and it probably won’t be long before you begin preparing for Hobart in 2019.  Maybe we will too......
 
And for those that weren’t there to experience all of those wonderful moments of history in Adelaide this year, you won’t want to miss what’s in store for Hobart!
 
Warm regards,

Richard Wadick
Vice President - Events
Barbershop Harmony Australia

Quartets are responsible for their own BHA registration.

• Once your Club has completed your personal membership registration, due by 31 December, you can register/re-register your quartet.

• Quartets planning to enter the regional conventions should register early in the year. 

• Non-contesting quartets may register at any time during the coming year.
  
  Trevor Rootes - BHA Secretary
  secretary@barbershop.org.au

The new membership year begins from 1 January 2019.

You don’t need to do anything.

Clubs are responsible for Membership Registrations and Club Registrations by 31 December.

Each Club appoints a representative to complete these registrations on behalf of its members.

These registrations provide the following insurances for the club and members from the beginning of the new year: 
 
o    Group Accident Cover
o    Volunteer Workers Accident Cover
o    Management Liability Insurance
o    Public Liability 

Registration also provides coverage under the Community Band, Choir or Community Group Licence

covering the performance of music from the APRA repertoire at rehearsal and non-ticketed performances events.

It is important that Clubs complete these registrations before the end of the year.

Trevor Rootes - BHA Secretary
secretary@barbershop.org.au

Hobart 2019 Convention is from Wednesday 18 September to Sunday 22 September 2019.

The Convention is at Wrest Point Convention Centre

Harmony Academy follows, Sunday 22 September to Wednesday 25 September 2019.

It will be conducted at the Tasmanian Police Academy.

Start planning now. What a great opportunity to visit Tasmania

Come for the Convention, stay for the experience. 

Trevor Rootes - BHA Secretary
secretary@barbershop.org.au

We are still on a high from all the wonderful performances at this year's convention in Adelaide. Did you want to share your performance with your family and friends? Well you can! This year all photographs are available for you to download and share free of charge. We're also in the process of uploading all performance videos to our YouTube channel for you to share as well. Note that we are still in the process of uploading all of these videos, so yours may not be visible yet. Why not subscribe? That way you'll be notified as soon as a new video is released.

So what are you waiting for? Go and grab your photos and share those videos.

Photos: https://jackparkerphotography.pixieset.com/
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/BarbershopHarmonyAustralia

Daniel Beckitt - BHA VP Marketing & Develpoment 
marketing@barbershop.org.au

Bob Fritz died last Friday after a long bout with cancer.

Bob was an exceptionally knowledgeable barbershopper having been singing Barbershop for over 70 years. He joined Sydney Harmony in 1999, while still a member of the Sydneysiders Express. Bob made countless contributions to Sydney Harmony over the past 19 years. He was always the first to volunteer for fundraisers and assisted with the promotion of Barbershop through numerous radio and TV interviews, and had been a marvellous MC at many regional and national conventions and virtually all of Sydney Harmony’s own concerts.

For many years, Bob was a member of the National Executive Team of Barbershop Harmony Australia, responsible for organising national and Pan Pacific conventions. He worked with Sydney Harmony’s convention committee when we hosted the 2007 National Convention in Sydney, playing a pivotal role in making that convention the most financially successful to date.

Bob was always dedicated to improving the standard of everyone’s Barbershop performance. He was always one of the first members to master a new song including choreography, and was always willing to help others to do the same. Bob was a stickler for riser discipline always being the first onto the risers at each rehearsal. As Sydney Harmony’s first 80-yr-old member, Bob never let anything interfere with rehearsal attendance except for trips to the USA to visit his many children and grandchildren.

In 2015, Bob became a Life Member of Sydney Harmony and retired to Toronto, NSW.

Our hearts go out to his wife Sue and family.

David Ojerholm
Sydney Harmony


Farewell Rob Fritz

Rob fell into a deep sleep on Friday the 12^th of October and did not wake up. This was a blessing in many ways as he had a very serious form of cancer that stopped production of red blood cells: he had transfusions every two weeks. This has been happening all of this year. To quote him,  “I had good weeks and not so good weeks”. It was a good week when, in May, he caught the train from Toronto NSW to Hornsby to MC the Eastern Region quartet competition. He then had to take the train home.

I first met Rob around 1995 when he joined Sydneysiders Harmony Chorus and soon put his hand up for the position of Secretary. I next came across him when we were both members of Sydney Harmony where he threw himself into the onerous task of getting men to move and look convincing at the same time. Not one to shrink from any task.

We both served on the AAMBS (BHA) Executive, he as VP Events and I as VP Music. Our joint highlight of this period was the organisation of the Hobart Convention and Harmony College in 2009, the first in this city.

He and his wife, Sue, moved to Toronto, a few years ago, to be closer to family and he fronted up at rehearsals for SOUTHLAKES HARMONY CHORUS which rehearses nearby. His comment was, “How many barbershop singers finish up singing with the same MD when they retire as they did when they first started 20 years before but in a different chorus”.

Most will remember Rob as the Austra-American MC at many Convention quartet and chorus competitions over nearly two decades. Some cannot seem to forget his infamous “parrot” story.

We have lost one of Barbershop’s gentlemen.

Ian Miller

 

The BHA Club of the Year is an annual award, coordinated by the Vice President - Membership and adjudicated by a special Committee of representatives appointed by the BHA Council.

The Award Committee will review each Club’s nomination and make recommendations to the BHA Council, with the winner to be announced at the 2018 Adelaide Convention.

The following criteria will be assessed for the 2018 BHA Club of the Year Award:

? Presence and promotion of Barbershop Singing to the community
? Community Service and charitable perspectives.
? Membership and marketing initiatives, including Youth outreach initiatives
? Website, Social Media and Media presence, and engagement
? Engagement with BHA and support for BHA initiatives
? Participation in BHA Contests & Conventions
? Quartet promotion and development initiatives

To apply, simply address each of the above criteria (in whatever form you like) and submit on behalf of the Club, including the details of a contact person for follow up as required.

The application needs to reach the BHA VP Membership Paul Adams (membership@barbershop.org.au), by close of business on Friday 8th September, 2018.

Paul Adams - BHA VP Membership
 

This is separate to the Club of the year award. It is, however, an equally important acknowledgement designed to allow Clubs throughout BHA to more publicly recognise one of their members. This would be for outstanding service and accomplishments as a member of your Club and as a member of Barbershop Harmony Australia. The criteria for the selection of your Chorus Member of the Year is up to each Club to determine.

All Clubs appreciate having committed members who are willing to go the extra mile, and this award is a timely opportunity for Clubs to show the tremendous gratitude that we have for these members who tirelessly contribute to the success of every Club.

This person’s name and a brief description of their efforts should be forwarded to the BHA Executive Officer, Jeannie Hattendorff (admin@barbersahop.org.au), also by Friday 7th September, 2017.

The Chorus Member of the Year will be acknowledged at the Welcome Dinner and a list of all nominees will be included in the following edition of In Harmony.

Paul Adams - BHA VP Membership
 

A key strategy for the BHA National Council is to engage more with our members and the Presidents Advisory Council on Membership (PACM) is one opportunity to do exactly that.

This initiative is designed to draw a diverse group of members to serve on PACM to consider topics of national significance to BHA and provide insights on new ideas and ways of doing things that support the objectives of BHA.

Members have been invited to join PACM to ensure we gain the geographical, demographic and societal diversity represented amongst our members, with meetings to be facilitated by the VP – Membership and reports on ideas and solutions proposed by the group to be provided back to the BHA National Council.

The first question posed to the group is “How will BHA better engage with its members?”

Paul Adams - BHA VP Membership
 

As part of your membership of Barbershop Harmony Australia, we have negotiated an arrangement with the Barbershop Harmony Society in the US to offer you discount purchases from the Barbershop Harmony Store.

BHA members are eligible for a 25% discount on many products from the Barbershop Harmony Society Marketplace.

Products include some sheet music, learning tracks, and clothing items. For the music items, many items are downloadable.

To gain your 25% discount you need to apply the affiliate code aff2019. Once this has been entered in the Gift certificate or promo code box, it is important to press the arrow to the right. The discount will then be applied automatically.  A tip for young players: do not re-enter the code at the box requesting your BHS membership number.

Trevor Rootes - BHA Secretary

First awarded in 2017 to Mike Donnelly, the BHA Medal recognises an individual’s exemplary contribution to the advancement of barbershop in Australia.   It will be awarded to a current BHA member in good standing who has consistently “put in” for barbershop.

The award is made for sustained outstanding leadership, innovation, influence or initiative development, which has resulted in an exemplary, transparent and publicly evident advancement of BHA. They will be recognised nationally for their sustained contribution for the association, their club, their community, or behind the scenes.    In limited circumstances, individuals may also be considered for nomination whilst no longer an active member due to retirement on the basis of incapacity.

Each nomination will be assessed by a subcommittee of independent (i.e. not involved in nominating or being a nominee) BHA members appointed by the BHA Council. If awarded (at the absolute discretion of the BHA Council), the BHA Medal will be presented at the next available national convention.

The award is kindly sponsored by Derek Cosburn, who said “Since my first introduction to barbershop singing at Dreamworld in about 1981-2, I have been the recipient of a quite a few medals during the time I’ve been involved, and I have for a number of years had the thought that I’d like to give back in some small way. I would like to help in the promotion of a medal that I’d hope would have some meaning to the recipient, and to all members within our society who may not attain one through singing, but deserve one because of other efforts.”

• Leadership
• Innovation
• Influence
• Initiative Development
• Membership and participation generation
• Coaching and education contribution
• Event organising
• Selflessness in consistently supporting and helping others
• New club/chorus generation
• Promotion of barbershop
• Length of service to BHA and/or club/chorus
• Achievement beyond national boarders
• Musical influence - Arranging skills and willingness to share those arrangements

The nomination must include the rationale for nomination, details of nomination criteria and supporting evidence, certification of the BHA members supporting the nomination and contact details for follow up with regards to the nomination.

Most importantly, in relation to the criteria above (or any other criteria thought relevant) the evidence of the nominee’s contribution to the advancement of BHA needs to be clearly stated.

At this time it is envisaged that nominations will be treated in confidence as only one BHA medal will be awarded each year, however, at the discretion of the BHA Council, Nominees and a summary of the reason for their nomination may be read out at the presentation ceremony and be accorded with due applause and acknowledgement.    The winner will then be presented with the medal.

A Life Member may be nominated for the BHA Medal, as the criteria used to award the Life Membership are not the same used to award the BHA Medal.

Nominations must be received by the BHA Executive Officer, Jeannie Hattendorf admin@barbershop.org.au, by close of business on Tuesday 28th August 2018.

Eight Australians have just returned from an amazing week at BHS’ Harmony University in Nashville, Tennessee.  The eight of us (Lyndal Thorburn, Geordie Cullen, Jennifer and Glenda Lloyd from Canberra; Tim Green and Jono Albertini from Brisbane; Alex Morris from Melbourne (also on the faculty this year); and Lea Baker from Sydney) were amongst almost 800 students and voluntary faculty that delivered classes for a full week at the historic, green and very gracious Belmont University campus in Nashville. This year, participants came from 16 countries.

As a first timer at Harmony U, I was struck by the range of course offerings and the well-oiled BHS machines that runs this event every year. Their promo says that “this event should be on everyone’s bucket list” and they are not wrong, but I think, in effect, that if you have been once, you will want to go again!!  In addition to formal classes we had tag singing and woodshedding (improvised tag singing in the evenings), and lots of opportunities to meet new people and forge networks internationally.
 

Tim, Glenda and Jono

Lyndal, Lea, Glenda and Jennifer

We started every morning with physical and vocal warmups and then learned a tag and practised one of our songs for the concert on the Saturday night – all this was achieved in 45 minutes in what was a masterpiece of timing and coordination. It was especially impressive watching Kirk Young really focus on the tricky rhythmic bits of “Can’t Stop the Feeling” in a short rehearsal that achieved so much over 2 morning sessions!!

Geordie Cullen with Chas. Byram from Pennsylvania

My own program this year was based around arranging and conducting.  My Arranging 3 class worked with David Wright to arrange a song and argue over the finer points of moving arrangements from men’s into women’s ranges and vice versa. I learned a whole lot more about ways to achieve a key change! My (absolute) beginner conducting class every morning taught me the basic beat patterns and the afternoon “Outstanding Out Front” class the beginnings of melding (that tricky task of maintaining the beat with one hand and indicating key interpretive changes with the other).  In shorter elective classes I learned about listening for overtones, using social media effectively, getting paid for quartet gigs, care of the ageing voice, sight reading using Solvege, judging categories, coaching singers and analysing arrangements for both harmonic content and interpretation. 

We had two concerts – on Friday and Saturday nights – and were entertained by the quartets and choruses which had been coached during the week, and by Main Street Quartet which won International in 2017 (below).

A key theme this year was also inclusion – this covered recognising the origins of the art form amongst black singers, making provision for those with disabilities, and bringing the learning from barbershop singing into school curricula.  A major step towards inclusion in 2018 has been offering full membership of BHA to women, a step which was not without controversy, but support for which was demonstrated in the 20% (est.) attendance by women at this year’s Harmony U.

Harmony University is run every July, soon after the international convention. The program is divided into 6 “streams” for directors, music educators, performers, musical leaders, chorus/quartet members and youth.  In reality, the program is very flexible and it is quite acceptable to take lessons in all these streams during the week (except, I guess, the youth if you are not in the right age group!).  Attendees register for two streams that run morning and afternoon Monday to Friday plus ‘pick and mix’ from a range of early morning, lunch time, afternoon and evening electives.  You can be busy from 8am in the morning until late at night, if you want, or just do the core sessions.

In addition, there is a separate program for half a dozen choruses and 20 quartets to get a week of coaching, from 3-4 international coaches. And finally, there is a Brigade program, where 60 people sing in “mix and match” quartets, and then participate in an evening quartet competition over two nights, using music that is handed out beforehand.  Registration for next year’s Harmony University in Nashville will open in December 2018.


Lyndal Thorburn
(pics from Glenda Lloyd and Lyndal Thorburn)

During August we sent out our most comprehensive member survey since 2005 as we seek to explore the views of our members, clubs and regions and inform the priorities and strategies for Barbershop within Australia.

The survey will be facilitated through the Survey Monkey platform and will be open for 4 weeks and we anticipate having the first pass of analysis ready for presentation at the Adelaide Convention membership forum.

Drawing on the latest research by Barbershop Harmony Society, this major survey has been designed to explore the member experience and aspirations for our Barbershop community; informing our clubs, regions and association in plans to ensure our ongoing sustainability.

If you have not already received it, watch out for it and ensure you take the opportunity to have your say.

Paul Adams
VP – Membership BHA

Following on from our convention in Adelaide, we will be holding our annual Harmony Academy at the Adare Camp and Caravan Park. This is an educational event you won’t want to miss, with a top class faculty of educators including our headline quartet Instant Classic.

What makes Harmony Academy different from previous Harmony Colleges?
Well, for a start we are dividing up our classes into a number of streams. You can then select a track based on your area of interest. Here is what you have to pick from:

• Directors College

• Performing Arts College

• Harmony College

• Masterclasses

• Honours Chorus

Of course, you will still be able to pick and choose whatever individual classes you are the most interested in.

Directors College
Want to be the best director you can be? Learn how to inspire your singers. Directors College has some core classes we encourage you to take but you get to choose which classes you attend. We are offering conducting techniques, private lessons in conducting, and other core classes including vocal production and theory.

Performing Arts College
This is a stream of classes designed to teach the participants how to approach performance in several areas of our craft. Classes this year include: Visual Impact, How to Put On A Great Show and The Emotional Journey.  Opportunities to be coached privately and “under glass” also available for individuals, quartets and choruses as time allows.

Harmony College
This is all about general Barbershop Harmony education for anyone who is new or seasoned and wants to learn more about our style of music, vocal production, theory and history.

Masterclasses
This is a collection of classes we offer that don’t fit into one of our other streams. Some of our classes are Arranging, Advanced Arranging, How to use social media better, Personal Voice Instructions

Honours Chorus
This is a stream for all singers who are interested in having a great time singing while learning about rehearsal techniques, ensemble singing and performance. The Honours Chorus will be under the direction of Alex Morris and the section leaders are our 2017 Australian Champion Quartet Lockout. If you are interested in being a part of this chorus you can sign up by clicking here.

Please note there are limited spots for this chorus, so it’s first come first served. We will provide you with learning resources so all you need to do is turn up knowing your music.

Harmony Academy Faculty
We have sourced some of the best educators for this year’s event, including our guest quartet Instant Classic. With such quality educators on offer this will truly be an International-level event. Our faculty this year includes: