Barbershop – this weekend!

Local singers make good...music

Jan from the Community Theatre sends this report (click here for a huge picture of our local folks, the Island Chordsmen Plus):

Popular Barbershop Bonanza Returns June 7

Friday Harbor’s annual finger-snapping and toe-tapping extravaganza makes for one high-spirited and fun afternoon on Sunday, June 7 starting at 2:00 p.m.

San Juan’s own Island Chordsmen Plus again host the Barbershop Bonanza, featuring sweet sounds from groups throughout our region.  It was 1995 when islander Dick Saylor, a longtime barbershop singer and member of an international championship chorus in the 1950s, convinced his buddies to create Island Chordsmen.  The Barbershop Bonanza followed a few years later, women then joined the group and smaller quartets also formed.  Saylor says the camaraderie and bonding of the island’s barbershop singers makes for an exciting Bonanza.  “When we sound good it’s fun and the fun turns into joy [for singers and the audience],” said Saylor.

The island’s female barbershop singers, Sound Vibrations, as well as Island Chordsmen Plus and Lane Four will showcase tunes from the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s during this year’s event.  A member of Island Chordsmen Plus, Holly Harbers, was the impetus behind the startup of Sound Vibrations in 2005. “We number about eighteen women now, and our rehearsals rock–with laughter and music,” Harbers said. “We just love to sing, and it comes across to the audience, I think.”

Joining the Bonanza for the first time this year is a new Northwest quartet, Sincerely Yours, which has already won regional and division awards for their a cappella sounds.  Formed in February 2008, the quartet from the Seattle area has a collective experience of more than 100 years singing barbershop harmony music.

The featured chorus—First Capital Barbershop Chorus—under the direction of Danny Tryon, hails from Langley, BC.  The chorus’s repertoire ranges from the 1890s to the 1990s and their motto, “Keep the Whole World Singing,” has kept the chorus thriving for more than 30 years.

Director Angel Michaels says there will be opportunities for the community to join in on the singing as well as a complimentary afterglow reception inside the Gubelman Theatre.

The Business Partner for Barbershop Bonanza is Friday Harbor Drug.  Tickets are $16 for all seats, with festival seating.  Tickets are available via the SJCT box office, at www.sjctheatre.org, from any Island Chordsmen Plus member or via email at [email protected].

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