China 2002
Gold Medal Barbershop Mini-College, March 2002
(Last modified: $Date: 2002/05/08 15:24:33 $)
When Ken Hatton was asked to present classes in "how to sing barbershop" by the head of the Music Department of Tsinghua University in Beijing, the answer of course was YES! This occurred at the end of our "Barbershop Chorus of America" tour in November, 2001. Then began the scramble as to who, how, what and when. Singers in Hebei Province also wanted classes, as requested by the Vice-Governor, and everyone wanted them as soon as possible, preferrably the coming Spring - just a bare 3-4 months away. We'd need expert instructors, and enough money to finance the production of teaching manuals (to be translated) and arrangements, plus money for the airfare to take a faculty to China for twelve days. HOW???
Well, Kenny Hatton (director of the 2001 chorus that toured China, and member of the AIC) presented it to the AIC, and they came to the rescue. They provided a seed grant of $4,000, with a promise to match additional funds as they are donated in a fundraiser (see separate article on the World Harmony Exchange/Dragon Fundraiser.) Then Ed Pio and Global Music Exchange volunteered to advance the remaining $$$$, until the non-profit fundraiser organization becomes a reality and the funds get collected. And it kept getting better: four AIC members volunteered their time to be part of the teaching team (and a quartet), as did two SAI queens of Harmony - along with three other talented barbershoppers. These are truly generous people, taking time away from their jobs and families to put in long hours sharing barbershop harmony, with no recompense except for the thrill of "being the first." What a thrill for the rest of us in the barbershop world to be able to send our very best! They are:
SAI Quartet: CHINA RENDEZVOUS
SPEBS Quartet: BIG-NOSE FOUR
MIXED ENSEMBLE: THE NINE VOICES
They taught two Harmony College sessions. The first was a series of four days of classes, 6 hours a day, in Shiazhuazhang, capital city of Hebei Province. The "students" were the choral directors, high school and college music teachers, and other interested choral musicians from all over the Province, housed and fed at the expense of the Provincial Government for four days. The second series of classes was more flexible, based on individual quartet coaching sessions plus work with the choral groups at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Songs selected for work in the classes, with music and learning tapes sent to China in advance, were:
At the end of each series of classes there was a performance scheduled, to showcase both the barbershop teachers and the students. The teaching faculty perfomed on the second half of the show, with a repertoire put together from combined experience and some polishing rehearsals sandwiched into the bits of time between classes in China. One of the unexpected successful results was the college men's quartet at Tsinghua University learning and performing Traveling Man; another was the combined performance of the Tsinghua women's quartet (Tsinghua Angels) and China Rendezvous on I Don't Want to Walk Without You, complete with spectacular choreography! The finale to the show at Tsinghu University combined the barbershop faculty with the Tsinghua University Singers in Brian Beck's arrangement of Auld Lang Syne, done in both Chinese and English. The performances were captured on both video and audio, resulting in a CD and a video tape which will be available soon (see details on the World Harmony Exchange/Dragon Fundraiser portion of this website section. Or come to Portland to the SPEBSQSA International Convention in July of 2002, and hear live performances of both Tsinghua University quartets!
Songs that the barbershop faculty sang (besides those listed above):
Kenny Hatton (Faculty Leader for the China Harmony College) put a lot of advance planning into the effort. Not only did he produce a BARBERSHOP HARMONY CRAFT MANUAL which was translated into Mandarin, he also wrote the following as guides for the faculty members:
"Our Mission: We hope to inspire the Chinese Music Educators to value the Barbershop Style. As a result, they might see fit to include barbershop harmony as part of their curricula at their various schools. It is also possible that some of these Music Educators will become interested in starting quartets and choruses in their respective communities, which could lead to "Chapter" status in SAI and even to "Affiliate" status with the Society.
"Short-Term Objective: We must "Teach the Teachers" how to teach our music to others. Since they are degreed professionals, they already have applicable skills and experience. But we must quickly identify and develop skills and concepts that are new to them. The Beijing classes also will include some professional educators, in addition to the college students.
"Tools: We have a mixed ensemble, a male quartet and a female quartet who will all be used for demonstration purposes. We also have several experienced chorus directors and choreographers. Nick Papageorge is a degreed music educator, and is qualified to teach theory and balance. We are sending sheet music ahead of time with western notation, and both English and Chinese lyrics. We are sending part tapes as well, to help speed up the learning process for our students. Our Craft Manual [specially adapted for this use by Ken Hatton from the Thoroughbred Craft Manual, written by Ed Gentry, Improving Vocal Techniques Through the Warm Up, by SPEBSQSA Inc, and Basic Barbershop Craft Manual, by SPEBSQSA, Inc.] will be translated into Chinese and distributed to students. We will have two interpreters at our disposal, and separate rooms will be provided for division of classes by quartet and/or by gender. We have videotapes of performances by choruses and quartets.
"Method: We will employ the use of lecture, demonstration, audio-visual presentation and class participation. We will use the formal performance at the end of each school to motivate the students to accelerate their learning process. They will be expected to perform two barbershop songs as a chorus on the show. We will treat the classes like chorus rehearsals, but with this exception: we will take the time to explain the reasons for every action."
Barbershop harmony is well started in China. At the SPEBSQSA International Convention in Portland in 2002, there will be 40 singers from the Hebei Province Seniors Chorus (a mixed chorus) attending the convention and invited to sing on the World Harmony Jubilee Show. Tsinghua University is sending a college men's quartet, the Tsinghua Travelling Men, to compete in the College Quartet contest in Portland. Also in Portland, and planning to compete two weeks later in the "Rising Star" Contest at the Sweet Adelines International Education Symposium in South Carolina, will be a ladies quartet from Tsinghua University, the Tsinghua Angels. They are all still just "beginners" - but they love the harmonies, and will be enthusiastically sharing it with others in China. Better still, there are many more requests for teaching at other universities in Beijing, as well as in other areas of China. So far, so good... now we'll just have to get the fundraiser rolling so we can afford to send more teaching teams to China, and sponsor more college quartets to attend contests and educational seminars in the U.S.A.!