Newsletter of the Danbury Chapter, Yankee Division, Northeastern District of the Barbershop Harmony Society
Meeting every Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. at Church of Christ, 90 Clapboard Ridge Road, Danbury, Connecticut
Volume 21 Number 8 www.madhatterchorus.org October 2014
Singers Get’em Standing in
Newtown
By John Bradley
Newtown, CT – September 14 will be a day long remembered
in Mad Hatter history. The Danbury Mad Hatter Barbershop
Chorus received a standing ovation and calls for an encore! It
was a bright, yet chilly late summer morning and a few of the
singers’ hands were getting cold in the Newtown Arts
Festival’s Music Tent, but it all seemed to come together
musically for the group.
“This was one of the best performamces I can remember,” said
a pleased music director, Joe Hudson, shorttly after the chorus
performed its encore, “Breaking up is Hard to Do,” “We’ve
already been invited back for next year’s festival.”
The Danbury barbershoppers performing in the Music Tent.
Picture by John Bradley.
“The way the audience applauded, I thought they might have
vistied the wine and beer garden right next to the stage,” said
bass section leader, Dick Zang. “But it was probably a little
too early in the morning for that.”
The chorus even had instrumental accompaniment, as two
young children in the front row joined in with their kazoos.
Loco Fedora pleasing the crowd at the Newtown Arts Festival.
Picture by John Bradley.
A number of the audience members sang along, and “showed
they knew the words better than some of us,” said the Mad
Hatter raconteur, Lee Smeriglio.
“The only problem with a reception like that is we’ll be
expecting it every time for now on,” said lead Bob Bradley.
“So we’ll have to continue to focus, emote, sing well and,
most importantly, have fun.”
The Danbury barbershoppers also performed at the 25h Taste
of Danbury Festival, on Sunday, September 7, at the
CityCenter Danbury Green off Ives Street.. After the chorus’s
performance it was fun to wander around and sample all the
great food from local restaurants.
Taste of Danbury Festival
The Danbury Mad Hatter Barbershop Chorus
Hatter
Chatter
- 2 -
Quartet Corner
News from our chorus quartets
Traveling Men – By Wynn Gadkar-Wilcox
Yet another fall is upon us, and this fall, the
Traveling Men are on a grueling schedule of preparation for
our first-ever performance on the stage of the Northeastern
District Convention.
We are rehearsing close to three nights each week (much to
the chagrin of some family members) and are being coached
by the illustrious likes of Joseph Hudson, Joseph Hunter, and
Daryl Bornstein. We are planning for a first night of "White
Wings" and "When You and I Were Young, Maggie," with the
goal of singing on Saturday.
The Travelers have also done a number of other gigs recently,
including singing for a former barbershopper's 90th birthday
and singing at a retirement home in Newtown.
Real Chemistry – By John Bradley
Being tenorless, we took most of the summer off. But in
September we recruited a potential new tenor and have slowly
been shaking off the dust and getting the tenor up to speed.
It’s amazing how dusty things can get in two months.
Hopefully, it will all come together for an appearance we have
scheduled in November at the Mahopac Library in Mahopac,
NY.
Emails to the Editors
Please e-mail your questions and
comments to either the Hatter editor, John
Bradley, at [email protected], or
the Chatter editor, Dick Zang, at
[email protected]. If your e-mail
appears, you will receive an autographed
picture of our 2008 Yankee Division
Bulletin Editors Award
In reference to Robert Bradley’s “District Dirt” column in the
August HATTER CHATTER.
Bob, I read your District Dirt column in this month’s
HATTER CHATTER and must point out to you that Joe
Millet was not the only Danbury representative on the
international quartet competition stage. The Persuaders quartet
actually had three members from Danbury. The tenor, Jack
Williams, and the bass, Clark Coughlin, were also Danbury
members. In fact, Clark and Jack were active members,
whereas Joe and the bari (whose name I forget) only appeared
for shows and a few chapter meetings.
My first contact with the Mad Hatters was a drop-in by me
and Ed Ryder. Ed (a future Mad Hatter president) had heard of
this new group so we wanted to check it out.
It so happened that the Persuaders were there that night at the
motel on Main Street where they first rehearsed. Their sound
blew me away and I was hooked.
Jack also sang on the international stage with George King, a
lead from the Mad Hatters, a number of years later at the Cow
Palace in CA.
You’ve awakened some great memories.
I’m helping our new director at the Hernando Harmonizers by
teachin, and teaching and teaching crafts to some old dogs.
I’m also singing in two quartets. At the age of 84 I’m trying to
get as much barbershop in before the voice disappears.
I hope all is well with you and your family. Please give my
best to all my friends at the Mad Hatters.
Bill Manion
The quartet pictured is The Brotherhood, with Tony Gross (a
former director of the Mad Hatters) singing bass.
Submitted by Jim Hopper.
I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can not only help
improve your singing but can prolong your life as well. Is this
true?
Frank from Fairfield.
Frank, during exercise I find it very hard to sing fluidly and on
key, and after exercise I’m really out of breath, which also
negatively affects my singing. So, for me, exercise and
singing is out.
In terms of prolonging your life, a heart is only good for so
many beats, and then that’s it. So, don't waste them on
exercise. Everything is going to wear out eventually, so
speeding up your heart rate will not make you live longer. Do
you extend the life of car by driving faster?
In the song, “The Old Songs,” the second line states how we
"love to hear those minor chords." Yet, there are not any
minor chords in the song. In fact, most barbershop music
contains mostly the happy sounds of major chords and few of
the sadder sounds of minor chords. If this is the case, why do
we, in that song, sing about loving minor chords?
Terry from Teaneck
Continued on the next page
- 3 -
Emails
Continued from the previous page
Terry, I’ve wondered that myself when singing that song. I
think what the songwriter is writing about is the seventh
chord.
When defining a seventh chord, think of the place on the
musical staff where a chord starts as position 1, or the primary
note or root or the chord. If you count up the lines and spaces
on the staff to position 8, the note there is an octave higher
than the primary note. If you only go up to position 7 on the
staff, that note is called the seventh, and the presence of that
note in a chord is what gives it the name seventh chord.
A simple seventh chord contains the notes in the first, third,
and fifth staff positions (called a major triad ) plus the note in
the seventh position.
There are also major seventh chords and minor seventh
chords. The key signature plays a role in this. C. E. G and B
is a major seventh chord. C, E, G and B Flat is a minor
seventh chord.
A major seventh chord has a dissonant, unpleasing sound and
is seldom used in barbershop music. The minor, or dominant
seventh chord, is used constantly in barbershop music,
so much so that it has acquired the name barbershop seventh
So, the minor chords referred to in ‘The Old Songs” are the
dominant seventh chords containing the minor seventh interval
that we now call barbershop sevenths.
Repertoire Notes
"Blue Velvet" is a popular song written in
1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris.
Originally recorded and performed by Tony Bennett who
charted with it in 1951, it was remade four years later by the
traditional R&B group the Clovers. Many other artists have
recorded the song, most notably Bobby Vinton and Lana Del
Rey. David Lynch wrote and directed a film of the same
name.
ROLLING STONE called the song “a doleful prom anthem.”
The most popular recording of the song is that of Bobby
Vinton, which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on
September 21, 1963, and held the top spot for three weeks and
also spent eight weeks atop the U.S. Middle-Road charts.
Vinton's recording failed to make the British charts when
originally released, but a re-release in 1990 went to #2 in the
United Kingdom. It was #7 in Australia and #9 in Korea.
Filmmaker, David Lynch, was inspired by the song, “Blue
Velvet.” Lynch selected it because, as he said, it conceptually
matched the mood of the film.
The film itself heavily incorporates portions of the song.
In the film, psychotic criminal Frank Booth is infatuated with
the song. His slave-lover, Dorothy Vallens (played by Isabella
Rossellini), performs the song at a seedy nightclub, which
Booth enjoys attending.
A fragment of dialogue in the film revolves around the song.
In it, Booth asks Vallens on the telephone why she performs
the song every night, to which she replies, “Why? But, I love
blue velvet.’"
Frank uses a strip of the fabric as a fetish object, holding it
while watching Dorothy sing, and using it during his
sadomasochistic episodes with her.
Madhatter.org Updated
The chorus website has gone through another of its periodic
revisions.
According to Joe Hudson, chorus music director and
webmaster, there is now a link in the menu for THE HATTER
CHATTER where you can find this month's and previous
HATTER CHATTERS going back to 2010.
The Events Calendar has been updated as well.
If anyone has any photos or videos of the chorus or its
quartets, current, old, or ancient, please send htem to Joe.
You can find the contact information on the website.
- 4 -
Twenty-Five Years Ago…
Here are the Mad Hatters at the 1989 Division Contest in East Hartford under the direction of George Schwerdt. From this group
only Dick Walter and Dick Zang will be back on the stage this year with the Mad Hatters in Providence. Don Sutherland is still a
member and George now sings barbershop in Flemington, NJ.
Three Things
By the Danbury Mad Hatter Barbershop Chorus
As is tradition following a coaching
session, we compile “three things” from
that coaching session submitted by chorus
members that they want to remember, or
pass on to to others.
Here is our collection from the September 23 coaching session
with Joe Hunter.
1. End each phrase with a lift (like throwing a Frisbee) as
opposed to a clamp (like catching a baseball).
2. Basses -- the rhythm for "where is she" has changed. We
are now holding the "where" a little longer.
3. Strive for unconscious competency (not having to think
about the fundamentals, because it is second nature).
4. When the technicals become second-nature, then the
emotion can deliver the story.
5. Avoid spaces between words--connect the words and
keep it smooth.
6. Keep the resonance forward and bright--not dark.
7. To make the music more than just technically correct we
must sing with emotion, and show it in our facial
expressions and body language.
8. Work hard on our music outside of rehearsal so we don't
keep making the same mistakes. Joe shouldn't have to
work on wrong notes being sung after we have been
working for weeks on a song.
9. Sing lightly. A heavy sound is a bad sound.
10. Joe Hunter is a marvelous coach.
11. Don't be afraid to tell your story.
12. Leads need to know when they have to bring out their
note and when they have to sing softly.
13. Try singing to yourself in the mirror or doubling up or
singing in a quartet to practice expressive singing.
14. Implicit is the concept that learning to perform starts after
we know the notes and words perfectly.
15. Use the “eh” sound in the word “face.”
16. Understand the emotion of the song.
17. Sing to those emotions.
On Emotion
By Daryl Bornstein
In a competitive chorus, arriving at a unified understanding of
emotion is an enormous challenge. In the end, no two people
will experience emotion the same. But as a group, there can be
agreement on the emotion to be expressed and the basic means
of doing so.
Emotion in music is expressed through:
Tempo, and variations in tempo
Dynamics, and variation in dynamics
Vocal color, and variation in color
Pronunciation and articulation (not accuracy, but
variations in technical pronunciation)
Body language and facial expression
Continued on the next page
- 5 -
Three Things
Continued from the previous page
For a barbershop chorus, choreography is an additional story
telling option.
In a chorus, the interpretation of a song must be clear and
unified. The variations in tempo and dynamics need to be
absolutely unambiguous and consistent.
Each song tells a story. The chorus takes the audience on the
journey of the story, describing in subtle detail the events that
lead to the conclusion at the end of the song.
All of the technical talk about singing through phrases,
building through words, contrasting dynamics and tempi, and
achieving unified vowel sounds (not to mention note and word
accuracy) are all in service of telling the story -- maintaining
the unbroken attention of the audience. Engaging the audience
in a heartfelt, meaningful tale, regardless of how silly the story
might be.
It is your task to make the audience believe that it is their
story, and that it is the truth.
I remember auditioning for a group in high school, and being
asked to sing the same phrase with different emotions. I
couldn't do it. I didn't have a clue. I'm not sure I have much
more of a clue today.
But when singing with a chorus, I can contribute to the unified
emotion of a song when it is agreed upon and sung
consistently.
It is the director's and section leaders' responsibility to present
a clear, consistent, and appropriate (meaningful) song
interpretation.
Emotions don't have to be understood. They are felt. You can
try to feel what the director and the chorus are portraying as
feelings in the song.
And if you don't feel it, I suspect you are not alone.
Stop the rehearsal and ask for clarification. You will be asking
the question that others are afraid to ask, or don't even know to
ask.
The single most powerful element of choral performance is an
unambiguous and fully committed emotion. It trumps
beautiful, accurate singing every time.
No one goes home saying, "My, wasn't that chord beautiful".
They remember being moved by a performance - emotionally.
On Showing Emotion
By Joe Hunter
Some of us are “open books” – we show our emotions on our
faces and bodies and it is a natural thing. Most great actors are
like that. But lots of us are not wired that way. It is harder for
us to “act” our way through emotions. That is why we talk
about the STORY of the song – who are you, and how can you
relate it to YOUR life experience?
There are all kinds of ways to do that. In a song like “Where
is Love?” can you hark back to a time when you felt
abandoned or needy? Was there any moment in your life when
you yearned for love? Can you connect yourself to that time?
I’ll bet if we asked the chorus guys to relate their personal
“stories” for this we would come up with some really
emotional and potentially inspirational moments. At the end of
the day, it’s all about shared experiences and touching people.
Music has the amazing power to uplift and heal and change
lives. Ultimately that is the power we can wield.
Did the leads really sing that note?
They did!
- 6 -
The Director’s Den
By Joseph Hudson
Hello members of the Mad Hatter
Barbershop Chorus. As you are
reading this, we are about a week
away from our Northeast District (NED) contest for 2014!
At this time, I think it is best to look back and see where we
were, and how far we have come. I took over as director of the Mad Hatter Chorus in May of
2004, with my first BIG performance being the NED Contest
in October of 2004. We went there and came in 22nd out of
22, and scored a 52.3 in music, a 52.8 in presentation, a 52.8
in singing and an average score of 52.7.
Fast forward to the Yankee Division contest 10 years later.
There we scored a 64.5 in music, a 64.0 in presentation, a 69.0
in singing and an average score of 65.8, and from there we are
going into the district contest ranked 6th with a possibility of
getting a medal! I do not expect to get anything because if you set up an
expectation, you have a different mindset, and it will not come
true. Instead, I have set goals for myself. My goal is to see
the chorus score, at minimum, one point higher in each
category. How can this be accomplished? Very simply, but
with difficulty. Follow my three S’s of singing in a performance and you will
succeed! My S’s for a performance are: Stay Focused,
Sing Relaxed,
Sell Your Story. Stay Focused: There have been too many times where we go
into auto-pilot and make mistakes. If you remain focused at all
times during the performance, you will not make those
mistakes. Sing Relaxed: If you tense up ANY part of your body it comes
across in the singing. So, sing with a relaxed tone. Sell Your Story: No one can sell anyone else’s story, but
everyone can sell their own story. So, establish your story for
each part of a song, and sing so that your story comes across
to the audience. I am very happy to be able to go that deep into performance
strategy with you. It is a far cry from where I started, and I
thank you for going through this journey with me!
District Dirt
By Robert Bradley
Not much to report from the District right now as
there is a quiet time between the August
meetings and the October meetings. We have
had a few phone conferences that we got correct after
realizing that our district president is in a different time zone.
October contest is set, and we will be in Providence, Rhode
Island. Make sure that you stop by Newport on Sunday even
if only for lunch. Vikki and I and the Horhotas found a good
restaurant in Newport a few years ago, and when I think of the
name of it I will let all know.
There will be a special meeting of the House of Delegates on
Friday to approve the contest site for 2015.
The approval of the HOD is a throwback to the good old days
when choruses used to compete to host the location. There
were years when we would have three or four chapters who
wanted to host, and the HOD would make the decision after
chapter presentations.
I remember those days when I first became president of the
Danbury chapter. We hosted a competition in Bethel and we
had to present to the HOD. Now, even with bribery we can’t
get hosts. I feel that the locations for contests can be decided
just as well by the Northeast District Board of Directors.
The location proposed for 2015 is in Burlington, VT, and will
feature not only a contest but a boat tour of Lake Champlain
on Sunday. In October it ought to be lovely.
Leadership Academy is coming up in January and we have an
all-star cast lined up.
Paul Ellinger will be supercharging NED, and it would be
good for all membership, music, and performance VPs to
attend his class.
For the presidents, we have Dick Powell, the former MAD
president and a member of the Society Board of Directors,
teaching and discussing common problems and solutions.
There will, of course, be a director’s track and classes for all
officers and some extras that will be announced soon.
Continued on the next page
Baritone Deep Thought of the Month
Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from
betting on people.
- 7 -
The President’s Podium
By Danny Anderson
The District contest will soon be here. We have
made great strides as a chorus in preparing for
the contest. We proved to ourselves that we can perform the
contest songs at a high level, but we need to do this
consistently. Along with consistent good singing, we need to
communicate the feeling of the songs with our faces and
bodies. Remember, presentation is important.
Thank you to Walt Barlow for bringing the mirror to rehearsal.
It allows us to see our facial expressions while singing. It
might be good for each of us to practice in front of a mirror at
home, with emphasis on improving our expressions. As Joe
has explained to us there are different emotions we should be
presenting throughout the songs.
We need to be confident of our ability to sing and perform the
songs. As Joe said this week, we should be confident that
each member will sing and perform at his highest level, so
don’t be the one to let the other members down.
As you know, Traveling Men and Surefire will be competing
on Friday night, October 17. We welcome your support by
being in attendance and leading the audience in applause. We
may not be able to see you because of the lights but knowing
we have friends and family rooting for us helps encourage us
to do our best. So if you can be present Friday night, please
applaud and yell loudly for these two quartets. The judges are
influenced by the audience’s reactions to the quartets even if
they won’t admit it.
I was saddened to learn that Al and his wife are moving to
Florida. Al has worked hard at improving as a singer and
performer. He has been a great chorus advocate in his
capacity as VP of Marketing. He has gotten the chorus to
perform in venues we had never performed in before, and he
got the chorus’ name in front of the public by obtaining
advertisements on radio, TV and print. Al has had many ideas
to help expand the public awareness of barbershop singing. I
wish that we could have taken advantage of more of his ideas.
Al will be missed, but I am sure he will find a home with a
chapter in Florida.
Thank you to the board members who have agreed to continue
in their current capacities. I want to again thank Art for
stepping up to fill the VP of Marketing position. His past
business experiences will enable him to do a wonderful job.
Thank you to Walt for accepting the position as Member at
Large, replacing Art. Walt has a great business background
and I feel will represent the membership well in this capacity.
Thank you to the membership for supporting the board
throughout the year. I have expressed at meetings with other
barbershop chapters how blessed we are to have the members
of our board and the membership not fighting and
complaining. I hear their war stories and give thanks to God
for each of you.
The Board has renewed the chapter’s subscription to
Groupanizer. This is a great tool for the chapter and we need
to use the tool to the utmost. Check it weekly for updates,
performances, meetings, music and announcements. If we do
this regularly then we can cut the business meetings shorter
and use the time for quarteting, etc.
We have a guest night scheduled for October 21. We will
have announcements going out on Facebook, The Patch and
the other media avenues, but the best way to get a guest to
come is to personally invite him. Let’s make this a great
evening and have several guests present. Remember we need
to make them feel comfortable and help them enjoy the
evening. Please personally invite someone and make sure
that we each greet our guest and encourage him to return.
It is great to be a Danbury Mad Hatter barbershopper.
.
Dirt
Continued from the previous page
School is on January 17, 2015, in Worchester, MA, same great
food and great classroom space as Harmony College. We
invite all members of the chapter to attend, especially the Paul
Ellinger presentation. That alone will be worth the trip to
Worchester.
The school will be the same low price as in the past, $200.00
a chapter and $25.00 an attendee to cover the cost of your
meals.
I’ll continue to keep you all informed through the “District
Dirt.”
September Board
of Directors
Meeting
Respectfully submitted by Robert Golenbock, Secretary
Meeting called to order by Danny “Hakuna Matata” Anderson
at 6:07 pm on August 5, 2014, at the Church of Christ.
SECRETARY’S REPORT was finally sent out in time. The
minutes were received on a motion by Al Paparesta, seconded
by Dickson DeMarche.
TREASURER’S REPORT: The good news is that we’re still
solvent. We cashed out our CD. At this time the money is
sitting in our checking account, but some of our financial
wizards are considering how to invest the money more
productively. One percent interest here we come! The report
was received on a motion by Andy Bayer, seconded by Robert
Golenbock.
Continued on the next page
- 8 -
Board Minutes
Continued from the previous page
MEMBERSHIP REPORT: We have some memberships
pending. We are also planning a guest night for October 21,
the Tuesday evening after contest.
VP PUBLIC RELATIONS: We sold 104 Macy’s coupons.
Thanks to all who sold them. The women’s chorus Harmony
on the Sound has invited us to their (free) get-together to be
held on September 10 in Trumbull at 7pm. Al has the details.
Al also announced that he is in the process of moving to
Florida by the beginning of 2015. Members of the Board
expressed their gratitude for the work he has done on behalf of
the chapter in the short time he has been a member.
Meanwhile, Al recommends aggressively recruiting guests
leading up to our guest night.
MUSIC COMMITTEE: The Minutes of the last meeting were
printed in the Hatter Chatter. Based on the recommendations
of the Committee, the chapter has bought the music we will be
doing in 2015. Our next song is “Blue Velvet.” All the music
and all the tracks that we have are on Groupanizer.
OLD BUSINESS: The promotional DVD is being assembled.
The Guest Night preparations are under way. A poll about
contest and the need for extra rehearsal is being uploaded to
Survey Monkey. The concert at Richter House is being
uploaded, and we hope to put it on YouTube.
NEW BUSINESS: Pending final approval by the Board, the
guest talent for our 2015 show is Up All Night. The date of the
show is May 16.
By acclamation the Board approved subscribing to
Groupanizer for one more year at a cost of $238.08.
Next Tuesday at 6:15pm we will meet to discuss the position
of chorus manager. As this position needs to be a Board
position as well as a person who involves himself in all the
planning of the chapter, we think this position should be
merged with the position of Executive Vice President, which
is not presently filled.
Joe will be taking nominations for the 2015 Board of
Directors.
Joe also mentioned that he is looking to get another chorus to
sing with us at our Christmas show.
There is an Inter-chapter at Poughkeepsie on Wednesday,
November 12. Let Danny know if you’re planning to attend.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Carl Zlamany, Józef Piłsudski
Gabriel Narutowicz, Maciej Rataj, Stanisław Wojciechowski,
Maciej Rataj, Ignacy Mościcki.
OFFICERS PRESENT: W. Wilcox, A. Paparesta, J. Hopper,
A. Bayer, D. Anderson, J. Hudson ex officio, R. Golenbock
Meeting adjourned at 7:10pm. Next meeting 10/7/2014.
2015 Board of Directors
The Danbury Mad Hatters, during their September 30
meeting, completed the process for electing their 2015 Board
of Directors. The board members will be:
Presisent Danny Anderson
Membership VP: Andy Bayer
Music VP Jimmy Hopper
Public Relations VP Art Cilley
Treasuer: Dickson DeMarche
Secretary Dr. Robert Golenbock
Member At Large Peter Dauber
Member At Large Wynn Gadkar Wilcox
Member At Large Walt Barlow
Immediate Past President Robert Bradley
Congratulations and best of luck to the 2015 Board.
Contest Information
Dates
Friday October 17, 2014 – Quartet Semifinals
Saturday October 18, 2014 – Chorus Finals and Quartet Finals
Location of Events
RICC - Rhode Island Convention Center
1 Sabin Street, Providence, RI.
Cost
$25 – Give to Dickson
$11 – Parking (3 – 10 hours)
$18 – Parking (10 – 24 hours)
Times
Friday October 17 Quartet Semi-Finals
4pm – Registration Opens at the RICC
5:30pm – Auditorium opens for seating
6:00 PM - Intl' Preliminary & District Quartet Semi-Finals
Contest (SUREFIRE! singing 7th
, Traveling Men singing
18th
)
10:00 PM - Announcements & Quartet Contest Results (time
approx.)
10:45 PM - Quartet Evaluations - (except finalists) HQH
11:00 PM - Afterglow - HQH- TBA
Saturday, October 18 - Chorus Contest
8:00am – Registration Opens at RICC
10:30am – Auditorium Opens for Seating
11:00am – Int'l Preliminary & District Chorus Contest
(Danbury singing 11th
out of 15)
11:15am – Warm-ups
*Please make sure you are dressed and ready to warm-up at
this time
11:50am – Run the Set as Much as Possible
12:30pm – Final Bathroom Break
12:43pm – Leave Dressing Room
12:45pm – Arrive at the Warm-up Room
Continued on the next page
- 9 -
Contest
Conttinued from the previous page
12:55pm – Leave Warm-up Room
1:00pm – On Stage Time
1:10pm – Picture Time
After Pictures – Stay In Uniform and Go Watch The Rest Of
The Contest
2:00pm – Announcements & Chorus Contest Results
2:30pm – Chorus Evaluations
Saturday, October 19 - Quartet Finals
5:30pm - Registration at RICC (until 7:30 pm)
6:30pm - RICC - Auditorium Opens for Seating
7:00pm - Int'l Preliminary District Quartet Final
9:00pm - NEDAC Show
Interesting Musical Fact
American composer John Cage (1912–1992) composed a
work in 1952 titled 4′ 33″, which consists of four minutes and
thirty-three seconds of silence.
Chorus Order of Appearance
1 Fall River, MA- G20 Chorus
2 South Shore, QC-
South Shore Saints
3 Manchester, CT- Silk
City Chorus
4 Saratoga Springs, NY-
Racing City Chorus
5 Nashua, NH- Granite
Statesmen
6 Concord, NH- Concord Coachmen Chorus
7 Central, CT- Connecticut Yankee
Chorus
8 Portland, ME- Downeasters
9 Hanover, NH- North Country Chordsmen
10 Concord, MA- Vocal
Revolution
11 Burlington, VT- Green
Mountain Chorus
12 Danbury, CT- Mad
Hatters
13 Lowell, MA- Gentlemen
Songsters
14 Natick, MA- New Sound Assembly
15 Providence, RI- Narragansett Bay
Chorus
Society and District Notes
Help Wanted
The Northeastern District of the Barbershop Harmony Society
comprises an area of the US and Canada that has some of most
brilliant and accomplished men and women of anywhere else
in our vast business world. You may be JUST the person we
are looking for – and I encourage your consideration and
cooperation to enhance the lives (and efficiencies) of our
hobby among us all. Plus, volunteering your time can be some
of the most productive, appreciated effort and success you’ll
ever achieve!
NEDshed “Shop” Manager
As many of you know, the Northeastern District offers the
opportunity for members to wear, display, practice, listen,
learn, tune, live - a more fulfilling barbershop experience with
the availability of wares and goods of barbershop harmony
distinction - through products available at events - through the
NEDshed. The NEDshed is the local, community, NED
version of Harmony Marketplace. We bring the good stuff to
you at NED events.
Our district has been "an example" of a well-managed local
shop through the many years of dedicated and committed
service of Scott Salladin - who escaped the New England
colors and cold last Fall (2013) and settled in Florida,
permanently. We wish him great success! Thank you Scott for
your many years chairing this effort.
Since then, I have been blessed to have some GREAT
volunteers to assist running the NEDshed at events over the
last year, and would like to specially recognize Dave Cole and
his wife Debbie and their daughter Michelle, who have
tirelessly managed the displays and transactions, running the
NEDshed with great success – and as a perk, also raising
funds for the Portland chapter.
And so, a unique and fabulous opportunity to serve your
fellow singers and fans is upon us! The NED is currently
looking for a person to chair and manage the NEDshed.
Briefly, duties include the complete oversight of the effort,
reporting to the District VP-Marketing. The ideal candidate
will have some retail and merchandising experience, please,
but may also rely on co-volunteers to assist in managing the
ordering, receiving, merchandising and sales of products -
including our own NED inventory as well as a stock of goods
ordered for each event from the Society's Harmony
Marketplace manager in Nashville.
Product selection and placement, managed with time to spare,
at events is a critical function, in order to maximize exposure,
opportunity to buy and overall sales and reporting. We need a
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- 10 -
Notes
Continued from the previous page
pro-active person to bring his or her enthusiast and join the
great teams of volunteers who make our events work so well. I
believe this person needs to have a keen eye for “retailing”
and bring new ideas and solutions for running the NEDshed
with great success.
I am happy to relate, that the Society is currently re-
establishing its own priorities with regard to Harmony
Marketplace. They have just completed a huge closeout sale,
with a goal of reducing and narrowing their current inventory
– and are now adjusting their product offering to mainstream
BHS-labeled items, music, apparel, etc. and are eliminating
miscellaneous, obscure and slow selling items. My
understanding this very week, that new items are arriving
daily in Nashville – and we will see some of those at our
District Contests in October, in Providence.
I will keep this message short (lol) - only to add that I am
ready and happy to discuss this in more detail with you.
Steve Salamin
Excel or Access database expert
Our need and the challenge right now: database merging and
data manipulation, to occur on a regular basis, which initially
requires the formulation, writing and implementation of a
script, macro or program to perform the processing and
produce an accumulated output/result in a specific, desired
format – to be used/uploaded for communication and
marketing purposes for the District. Make it easy and quick to
use.
The data source is the Barbershop Harmony Society
Ebiz/Aptify roster output – either in Microsoft Excel or
Access format.
History: (briefly) The BHS has a data system that is generally
NOT suited for District use. We have some output available to
us, as members and as officials of the Society, but that data is
incomplete and split between two or more database
results/outputs. The resulting resources, individually, are not
suitable for District use. I have personally requested of the
BHS and its IT and leadership for their cooperation to assist
the NED and the other 16 Districts with data output … that we
can use. It has been three years and there has been no progress
on this front. I hope it is appropriate for me to mention that I
have grown impatient – and we need to discover our own
solution(s). This is where you – or someone you know – can
help. Please.
May I request that you reply to me directly if you have the
qualifications and the time to assist your Northeastern District
with a solution, please.
I believe the right person will have a quick solution, be able to
write the script/macro and provide instruction for its
processing. I am ready to provide samples of the data and
delineate the required output needed/desired. I would be
thrilled to speak with you today!
Please reply with your interest and qualifications. I believe
this to be a rather easy task, actually – but one I cannot
achieve on my own! I need your help, please!
Steve Salamin District VP - Marketing & Public Relations 2012/2013/2014 Northeastern District of the Barbershop Harmony Society 2013 Northeastern District - Barbershopper of the Year - Thank you!
Auction
It Can Be Your “Best Seat In The House”!
It’s a Unique Harmony Foundation Auction and Fund Raiser!
Very COOL!
Harmony Foundation and the NED Contest & Judging
program have teamed up to auction off a single seat at each &
every contest session, including our 2014 Fall District events
in Providence, as well as to any/all other Prelims, Mid-Winter
and International contests - nationwide. Check out the "Best
Seat In The House Video" starring LunchBreak's funny-
man baritone and Harmony Foundation's National
Development Officer, KJ McAleesejergins!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v
=NkVNR6hj3n8
- 11 -
Ye Olde Joke Boarde
Submitted by the Unknown Barbershopper
A barbershop lead, tenor and baritone all work for a boss who always goes home early every day. "Hey guys," says the lead, "Let's go
home early tomorrow. He'll never know."
So the next day, they all leave right after their boss. The lead gets some extra gardening done, the tenor plays golf, and the baritone
goes home to find his wife having sex with this boss. He quietly sneaks out of the house and returns at his normal time. The next day
at work, the lead says, "That was fun. We should do it again sometime."
"No way," says the baritone. "I almost got caught."
. . .
One day a barbershop quartet was walking down a road when someone shouted, “'Look at that dead bird!'
The baritone looked up at the sky and asked, “Where?”'
. . .
After an elderly couple starts getting forgetful, they visit their doctor. Ther doctor tells them that many people find it useful to write
themselves little notes to help them remember things. So when they get home, the wife says, "Dear, will you please go to the kitchen
and get me a dish of ice cream? And maybe write that down so you won't forget?"
"Nonsense," says the husband, who is a barbershop baritone, "I can remember a dish of ice cream."
"Well, I'd also like some strawberries and whipped cream on it," the wife replies.
"My memory's not all that bad," says the baritone. "No problem -- a dish of ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream. I don't
need to write it down."
He goes into the kitchen, and his wife hears pots and pans banging. The husband finally emerges from the kitchen and presents his
wife with a plate of bacon and eggs.
She looks at the plate and asks, "Hey, where's the toast I asked for?"
Current Mad Hatter Repertoire
Regular Repertoire
Almost Like Being In Love
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)
It's Only A Paper Moon
Keep The Whole World Singing
Kentucky Babe
On The Sunny Side Of The Street
Over The Rainbow
Shenandoah
I'd Rather Have A Bottle In Front Of
Me Than A Frontal Lobotomy
Ten Feet Off The Ground
There Is Nothing Like A Dame
Patriotic/Inspirational
Amazing Grace
Armed Forces Salute
God Bless America
I Believe
Impossible Dream
Lord's Prayer
Star-Spangled Banner
This Land Is Your Land/America The
Beautiful
Coming Soon
They Say It’s Wonderful
Beach Boys Medley
Blue Skies
Come Go With Me
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Happy Together
How Deep Is The Ocean
Moonlight Brings Memories
I Keep Forgettin' I Forgot About You
- 12 -
The Danbury, CT Chapter
SPEBSQSA 104 Lexington Blvd.
Bethel, CT 06801
203-744-9480
President: Danny Anderson
Musical Director: Joseph Hudson
Assistant Director: Wynn Gadkar-Wilcox
Director Emeritus: Don Sutherland
Membership VP: Andy Bayer
Public Relations VP: Al Paparesta
Music VP: Jim Hopper
Secretary: Robert Golenbock
Treasurer: Dickson DeMarche
Program VP Vacant
Member at Large: Peter Daubner
Member at Large: Art Cilley
Member at Large: Wynn Wilcox
Immediate Past President Robert Bradley
Uniform Chairman: Andy Bayer
Harmony Foundation
Chairman: Danny Anderson
Music Librarian: Peter Daubner
Sunshine Chairman: Don Smith Package
Show Chairman: Dick Walter Chorus
Manager: Robert Golenbock
The Hatter Chatter Serving the Mad Hatter community since last Tuesday
John Bradley, hatter editor Dick Zang, chatter
editor 39 Beekman Drive 2 Camelot Crest
Lake Carmel, NY 10512 Sandy Hook, CT 06482
[email protected] [email protected]
Proofreader: Miss Taralily
The editors of the Hatter Chatter welcome
submissions from all chapter members and friends
of the Mad Hatters. E-mail, mail, paper airplane
us your thoughts, observations, opinions, singing
tips and whatevers, and we’ll turn them into
Pulitzer Prize copy
Keep the whole world singing. Picture by John Bradley
Mark Your Calendars Performance
Sunday, October 12, Maplewood of Danbury, 22 Hospital
Ave, Danbury, CT, Warmup 2:30 pm, sing 3:00 pm.
Northeast District Convention
Friday October 17, Providence, RI. Quartet Semifinals
(Traveling Men & SUREFIRE!) Saturday October 18,
Chorus Finals & Quartet Finals. Details TBA.
Guest Night
Tuesday, October 21, Church of Christ, 90 Clapboard
Ridge Rd., / Danbury, CT. 7:15 pm.
Performance
Saturday, November 8, Meadow Ridge, 100 Reading
Ridge, Redding, CT Warmup 3:30 pm, sing 4:00 pm.
Inter-chapter
Hosted by the Poughkeepsie Newyorkers. Wednesday,
November 12, 6:30 pm. Details to be announced.
Holiday Performance: The Secret of Christmas
Saturday December 6, Church Of Christ, 90 Clapboard
Ridge Rd., / Danbury, CT. Warm-Up Time 12:00 pm.
September and October Milestones
Birthdays: Wedding Anniversaries: 9/4 - Jane Golenbock
9/6 - Judith Kreiger
9/7 - Bill Gleissner
9/12 - Susan Roberts
9/14 - Shirley Walter
9/26 - Charlotte Cilley
9/30 - Art Roberts
10/33 - Danny Anderson
10/6 - Joanne Bartley
10/6 - Marti Hopper
10/15 - Eileen Paparesta
10/17 - Augie D'Aureli
10/31 - Bill Manion
9/6 - Al and Eileen Paparesta
9/12 - Dick and Shirley
Walter
9/22 - Dave and Sharon
McKee
10/21 - John and Vivien
Cheeseman
Working and watching at the inter-chapter night. Picture by
Peter Daubner.
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