Masters of Harmony

The Masters Head for a July 4th Showdown in Nashville

July 4, 2008

Ron Larson, Mar 31, 2008

The 2008 International Chorus Contest in Nashville this July promises to be one of the most competitive in years. The Masters of Harmony will be seeking to win a seventh consecutive chorus gold medal, something done previously only by the Louisville Thoroughbreds and exceeded only by Dallas’ Vocal Majority, which has won 11 championships. Among those standing in their way is a very talented Ambassadors of Harmony chorus from St. Charles, Missouri. In 2004, the Ambassadors won their first gold medal. Seeking a second championship in 2007, it tied Southern California’s Westminster Chorus on overall points but lost the tie-breaker based on singing scores. Moving up in the standings and hoping for a breakout year is Denver’s Sound of the Rockies, last year’s third-place chorus. All of the top three choruses are capable of challenging the discerning ears of the judging panel and earning standing ovations.

The Masters know they face their toughest competition ever. However, they are led by Mark Hale, one of the best directors in the Barbershop Harmony Society. Helping Mark prepare the Masters for Nashville are some outstanding vocal and choreography coaches. Canada’s brilliant choreographer, Erin Howden, will help the Masters polish the choreography she designed. Greg Clancy, assistant director of The Vocal Majority and member of current International Quartet Champion Max Q, has already provided invaluable coaching assistance. Additional help will come from former Masters Director Dr. Greg Lyne, who led the MOH to three of their six championships. The men of the Masters know the price of winning that coveted seventh gold medal is to be at their individual and collective best in Nashville. They are confident that their talent, hard work, leadership, and coaching assistance can get them to that level.

The Masters are hoping for a repeat of the 1996 Salt Lake City International Chorus Contest where they won their third gold medal with one of the highest chorus scores ever recorded, and their top chorus quartet, Nightlife, won the quartet gold. This year, one of the favorites for the quartet championship is the Masters own OC Times, last year’s silver medalist in Denver and a group that consistently earns standing ovations from its audiences. Following the path OC Times laid down several years ago is another young chapter quartet, The Crush, a group that could one day bring home its own medals.

The men of the Masters know that the greater the challenge, the greater the rewards when success is achieved. They have accepted that challenge enthusiastically and, hopefully, the glow of Nashville’s fireworks displays will be reflected off gold medals pinned to their tux lapels. Let the vocal fireworks begin!