This page is maintained by Tom Arneberg ( tom@arneberg.com)
(Last modified: $Date: 2002/12/02 22:19:14 $)
For more info about MHBQA, email Kim Orloff at korloff@ix.netcom.com
So Opal and Kim decided to get their two quartets together for a weekend of camping and sharing at the nearby State Park & Beach. Another nearby mixed quartet, Party of Four, was also included (Susie Wenzel, a member of SAI's Bay Area Showcase Chorus, Sandy Sabbaugh of SAI's Harmony Crossroads Chorus, Dick Wenzel, in the SPEBSQSA San Jose Garden City Chorus, and Rick Falzone of SPEBSQSA's Bay Area Metro Chorus). Out of that October, 1995, weekend of fun, swapping stories, performing for each other, group singing around the campfire (with an unexpected instant audience pouring in from all of the other campsites!), and the sharing of mixed quartet experiences, the M.H.B.Q.A. was born.
It was decided that only quartets and VLQs ("Very Large Quartets") would be included, because trying to deal with the separate questions applicable to choruses was more than anyone wanted to handle. Purposes and goals were agreed on, primarily (1) "sharing information," (2) "helping introduce barbershop harmony in the schools," and (3) "sharing the fun of singing." Advice to help others start up their own mixed quartets has always been a major part of the Association's "reason for being," so within a few months an additional type of membership was added to QUARTET and VLQ membership -- the INDIVIDUAL membership. This is open to couples or individuals interested either in forming their own mixed quartets, or just interested in keeping up with what was happening on the mixed barbershop quartet front.
Since that first get together of three mixed quartets in October of 1995, how things have grown! As of November 30, 2002, there are 57 mixed quartets, 8 VLQs, and 56 individual members (a total of 360 individuals) in 32 states and ten foreign countries. You'll find "mixed barbership harmony" in Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and South Africa. Within the United States, there are quartets, VLQs or individual members in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachussetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Beginning in 2000, there are now cruises and tours (sponsored by MHBQA) which feature both a mixed chorus and a mixed quartet contest. The chorus members receive music and learning tapes 2-3 months in advance, and are directed by an outstanding barbershop director (such as the Alaska Millennium Magic Cruise Chorus, directed by Jim Clancy.) The "mix 'n match" quartets are established by a draw: (1) if there is a very large pool of those wanting to be in a quartet, they will be matched into a quartet and notified up to three months before the trip, with the only rule being that no quartet member may live within driving distance of another (unless married to them) so that the first actual rehearsal for all quartets will be on the first day of the trip or cruise. (2) if there is a small pool, the "draw" will be done on the first night aboard, so that there can be last minute adjustments of who is singing which part. In any case, there are no rehearsals in advance of the cruise, and the contest is on the 5th or 6th day of the cruise. (Registered mixed quartets who are on the cruise may not compete, but are provided with performance venues aboard ship - a nice thing to add to your quartet resume!)
The signup form for a cruise mixed chorus (applicable also to the quartet contest) generally reads: "We will be singing 4-part barbershop harmony, men's arrangements, in the men's range. Women barbershoppers who wish to sing in the chorus are encouraged to sign up for the men's range tenor part (female tenor/lead/bari range) or the men's range lead or baritone part (female bass range.) For a balanced barbershop sound, in the chorus of 100 there will be a maximum of ten tenors accepted (combined male and female, the first ten to pay the deposit and reserve the spot), and a maximum of 30% female voices in the lead section. There will be a maximum of 70% female voices in the baritone section."
The various experiences and adventures of all of the member quartets and VLQs, along with questions and input from some individual members, are chronicled in the "Irregular Newsletter," which is mailed to members four to six times a year. We have several top arrangers among our individual members (Buzz Haeger, Ruby Rhea, Paul Engel & Val Hicks to name a few); they occasionally contribute an arrangement to be included with the newsletters. MHBQA also occasionally purchases copy rights to an arrangement which has been found to be especially successful for mixed quartets, and includes them in the newsletter. Most important - we are all having fun, and Harmony is Happening!