Masters of Harmony

Conventioneers Thrilled by Midwinter and the Masters

Rich Owen, Feb 4, 2009

“Midwinter” in Pasadena is, of course, unlike midwinter anywhere else. But it was as if the audience had been frozen to move as one. With the last ringing of the last chord of “Yona From Arizona,” the entire assembly jumped to their feet in a grand expression of love and affection. It was one of the most dramatic standing ovations I have ever experienced in my 10 years with the Masters of Harmony.

Preparation for our midwinter convention performance commenced after the Christmas show was out of the way. Mark Hale began the process of retrieving memories of the Plan, and Justin Miller added choreo refreshers. Even though new music was introduced in December, a portion of each rehearsal included some work on the midwinter performance package. This process became more focused after we returned from our Christmas New Year’s hiatus.

The final rehearsal last Wednesday had an air of excitement about it. Because of the convention, we had a high number of visitors from all parts of the country including Ringmasters, the college quartet champs from Sweden. After Kenny Potter did his usual warm-ups, Mark continued with “Memories,” a song that generally brings out the emotional elements in our singing. It worked, as I noticed that Bryan Soland’s girlfriend Cindy was moved to tears during the song (and again during “My Wonderful One”). The rehearsal was capped by Ringmasters singing in English and Swedish, and we were released until chorus call on Saturday 9 p.m., on the risers, dressed and ready to perform.

Dr. Chris Peterson put us through warm-ups, and Mark gave us final rundowns on our songs – stressing that our softs had not been soft enough and we needed that increased dynamic range to give greater emotional impact to the music. Then Mark was off to perform with the other members of VoCA (Brett Littlefield, Doug Maddox, Rob Menaker). Justin stepped up to lead choreo drills and then to take us though “Blues In The Night” and “My Wonderful One.” Mark returned with just enough time for run-throughs of selected sections. Then we got the call: OC Times has only two more songs and we need to be on stage.

The walk to the stage was like many before. For me, that walk is a time to reflect on what needs to be done and to get my emotional energies set. Then it’s up on the risers and wait for OC Times to finish. All is ready. The curtain rises and it’s Showtime!

The Pasadena Civic Auditorium is a classic theater with seating for about 3,000. The crowd seemed small compared to International; it felt more like singing at a Far Western District convention. But what they lacked in numbers, they made up in energy. The “oohs” and “ahs” after “Blues” told me we were on track. And with “Yona,” we yanked them out of their seats! What a spectacular way to end the convention and remind everyone why we are champions.