Masters of Harmony

College Quartet Delights Conference Crowd

July 8, 2005

J.D. Ahmanson, Jul 27, 2005

Masters of Harmony college quartet Afternoon Delight lived up to its name as it captured the fourth place bronze medal at the MBNA America Collegiate Barbershop Quartet Contest at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 8, 2005. With a total double-panel score of 908, the foursome was only nine points behind third place Musical Island Boys. The young MOHers won over audiences with a medley of “Old Fashioned Girl/Sweet And Lovely” arranged by former MOH bari section leader Rich Hasty, followed by “On A Slow Boat To China.”

The medal-winning performance marks the culmination of an year for young MOH quarteters. This spring, for the first time ever, the Masters had members competing in the Far Western District’s High School Quartet Contest. Bari Max Rockwell and bass Kevin Meyer were competitors in two different quartets, and finished second and fifth, respectively. Earlier this year, Kevin also won the Southern California Novice Quartet contest with three of his friends from the Westminster Chorus. And just weeks before the International Convention and Contest in Salt Lake, Afternoon Delight appeared with OC Times before a thrilled non-barbershop audience at Studio City’s “Baked Potato,” a small jazz club. Apparently this venue was a good omen for Delight and Times since they both medaled in Salt Lake City.

Afternoon Delight is only the second quartet to represent the Masters of Harmony in the college contest. Xtreme, with Mark Fullmer, Russ Squires, Terry Ghiselli, and Jason Halliday, had the honor of being the first to do so, back in 1999. Other MOHers who have participated in the college division include Zach Materne, who placed third with the Nile Manski Trio in 2002 and 2004, and Sean Devine, who earned a fourth place bronze medal with Trademark in 2000, prior to joining the Masters.

Afternoon Delight formed early this year after Justin Miller, Matt Whiffen, David Rakita, and Sam Papageorge started singing together following Westminster Chorus rehearsals.

Justin Miller, MOH Presentation Coordinator, started singing baritone with the Masters in 2002 but sings tenor in the quartet. He is a sophomore at Chapman University, majoring in music. The son of double quartet gold medalist John Miller (Grandma’s Boys, The New Tradition), Justin and his dad won gold with the chorus in Portland in 2002. In Salt Lake City 2005 they welcomed Justin’s brother, the youngest of the clan, Jon-Michael who became the third MOH Miller medalist. Jon-Michael recently began studies at Ithaca College in New York.

After being introduced to barbershop by a neighbor, Matt Whiffen joined the Phoenicians when he was just 13 years old. There he met Sam Papageorge and the two were in the front row of the Phoenicians when they competed at the 1999 International Contest in Anaheim. Matt left barbershop to attend college, but when he heard that his old friend was singing with the Westminster Chorus, Matt showed up at their next rehearsal. Matt graduated last year with a degree in finance and real estate from the University of San Diego, and currently works for the San Diego Symphony.

Double MOH gold medalist (2002, 2005) baritone Sam Papageorge sings bass in Afternoon Delight. Sam has perhaps the most distinguished barbershop pedigree of all. His mother is Gerry Papageorge, of Sweet Adeline champs Panache and Fanatix, and his dad is a Barbershop Society judge, coach, and arranger Nick Papageorge. Sam’s previous quartet experience includes singing with dad in the 2002 Far Western District Quartet Champion Sam’s Club, along with MOHers Ken Potter and Kelly Shepard. Actually, Sam’s first time on the contest stage was before he was born—his mother was pregnant with him during a competition. Sam is a music education major at Whittier College, where he is a resident advisor.

David Rakita sings lead with the Masters but sings baritone in the quartet. Like Justin and Sam, David also has a distinguished barbershop lineage—his aunt, Debbie Connelly, sings lead with the current Sweet Adelines champion quartet, The BUZZ, and won another tiara back in 1994 with Showtime. David attends the University of Southern California where he’s majoring in music.

When deciding on a quartet name, these young talents had probably never heard of The Starland Vocal Band, whose single “Afternoon Delight” topped the Billboard charts in July 1976—none of them having yet been born. Their exposure to the song came in the 2004 Will Ferrell movie, “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” And it’s almost a certainty that neither the quartet nor the audience in the Conference Center knew that their 2005 collegiate fourth place medalist is named for the late-afternoon appetizer menu at Clyde’s of Georgetown in Washington, D.C.

Don’t be surprised when the future brings more good news about these four young men known as Afternoon Delight!