They come from various professional backgrounds including
engineer, corporate trainer, funeral director, teacher,
custodian, school teacher, and Boy Scout professional.
All of the Songsters share the love of music, fellowship and
performance as a common bond.
A growing chapter of The Barbershop Harmony Society, some of
us are new to the style while others have been part of the
tradition for 20 years and more. Our musical backgrounds are
also varied in both type and depth including many accomplished
musicians, and many singers that are novices. We meet weekly
spending much of our time learning and practicing good vocal
and performance techniques. During our meetings we practice as
a chorus, maintaining a changing repertoire of 15 to 20 songs.
There are also opportunities to break up into quartets, and
participate in other casual singing activities. The chapter
currently includes a performing chorus of 25-30 men who
entertain a variety of audiences such as at folk festivals,
nursing homes, hospitals, sports
stadiums and civic
events. Annually we perform at our own concert which we
organize and sponsor.
Another aspect of our involvement in The Barbershop Harmony
Society is performing annually in competition against other
barbershop harmony choruses. In October of 2007 and 2008 we
were proud to host the Northeastern District competition at
the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Twenty two choruses and many
quartets comprised of over 650 men from New England, eastern
New York and eastern Canada sang and entertained enthusiastic
audiences. As a competing chorus, we have been awarded Most
Improved Chorus and Small Chorus Champions several times in
the recent past. While retaining the Small Chorus Championship
in April of 2009, we won the entire Patriot Division
(Massachusetts/RI) contest and will advance, in October, to
the Northeastern District competition in Connecticut with the
highest qualifying score of all choruses in the District. It
is an accomplishment of which we are extremely proud.
We continue to improve our sound, performance, and enjoyment
by using learning media, attending barbershop educational
programs, and following our outstanding director, Karen
Rourke.
Above all, we always enjoy our mission to "keep the whole
world singing," through fellowship and harmony always
believing that music will help develop our human spirit. We
are what we sing because we love to sing!