Masters of Harmony

Rise of The Crush Has Handicappers Hopping

Jonathan Friedman, Feb 18, 2008

The Crush was formed in October of 2006 when four friends from the Westminster Chorus got together to sing through some songs they all knew. The foursome hoped to form a quartet that would represent Westminster (now the Masters of Harmony) in Far Western District competitions and, hopefully, at the international level.

In March of 2007 the foursome traveled to Reno, Nevada, for the Far Western District’s International Preliminary and their first-ever contest. The weekend was filled with great singing as they saw five FWD quartets and thee out-of-district competitors qualify for the international convention to be held in Denver that July. Unfortunately their score of 75.2% fell just short of the 76% qualifying score needed.

After the disappointment of coming so close to their goal, the four decided to give everything they had to preparations for their divisional contest in early May. This would be their chance to qualify for the district contest in the fall and, due to a new rule change, it would also be their chance to qualify for the International Collegiate Quartet Contest in Denver.

This time they were prepared and gave a performance above anything they could have imagined. They were rewarded with the SoCal East Division Championship and a collegiate qualifying score of 80.7%. That night also brought another bit of good news. Right before the quartet took the stage, they were told they would be receiving a wild-card spot to represent the FWD at the international convention in Denver that July.

In Denver The Crush placed 21st out of 49 quartets in the regular contest with a score of 80.0% and were honored to mike test the top 20 round. They also finished second in the college competition with an 80.2% score. All four are also members of the Westminster Chorus which finished first in the chorus competition with a score of 95.0%.

I recently had a chance to interview The Crush and ask them about their meteoric rise in the quartet ranks of the Far Western District.

It's quite a singing workload that you carry. What things does the quartet learn from being in both the MOH and Westminster? What experiences tips can you guys share?
Mark [Hale] and Royce [Ferguson] are two of the best to learn from in terms of singing and performance. Habits that you pick up from them are internalized during chorus rehearsals and definitely help in a quartet. When they are saying things about vocal production or presentation, people need to listen. The Crush has heard several comments on how we sing “in the Westminster sound” as a quartet. This is obviously because we have been in Westminster for a while and the sound that we produce in the chorus becomes our default sound in the quartet.

The other thing that helps is being in a group where people around you are learning the same things you are. It makes you want to buy into the philosophy so that you are the best you can be during performances.

How did you feel being the headliner quartet on the Palomar-Pacific show?
It was a great experience! We had just formed and had hardly any performance experience as a quartet, so it was great to get some of our music out in front of an appreciative audience.

Tell us all about your recent competition experience in Phoenix?
What a great experience that was! The first night was tremendous and we felt really good when we walked off stage. Although we did not feel the second night was as good, we were still happy to come away with a third-place finish our first time out on a district stage.

Are you getting the quartet roller skates for all your performances in Nashville? (Masters of Harmony competition, Westminster's swan song, quartet contest?)
Um, no.

What interesting backstage/offstage pre- or post-performance quirky things have happened?
Not too many. There was a show in Santa Maria when we were kicking around a red ball that we found before the show, but for the most part nothing really crazy has happened . . . yet.

What are the personalities like in your quartet? For example, who is the quiet one? The funny one, etc.?
John is the funny one; he has a very dry sense of humor, but it is hilarious. Matt is the chill one; nothing really bugs him. Patrick is the punk; the lady from the bar in San Jose will tell you that! Paul is the loud one -- kinda boisterous, but likes to laugh and have a good time. We all are guilty of distractions during a rehearsal, but that makes it fun, and we like to laugh while we work. That’s how it's supposed to be.

What upcoming shows and/or events has your quartet done recently or have planned? Where are they?
We did some private gigs during the Christmas holidays and sang on the Verdugo Hills Sweet Adelines show in December. We appeared recently with the MOH in Calimesa and will join Masterpiece on the Masters’ spring show in May. Hopefully more bookings will come our way in the upcoming months.

Anything you’d like to tell the MOH brotherhood?
We are thrilled to be an up-and-coming quartet in this chapter. The support thus far has been tremendous and we can’t wait to see how things go in the coming months and years as we continue to grow as a quartet and represent the finest chorus around. Thank you, MOH brothers, for all of the positive vibes. We’ll be looking to do you proud in the future!