Volume 2, Number 5 July, 2014 Page 1

Troubadour

Earl Meseth, editor Member, PROBE (Public Relations Officers and

Bulletin Editors) 15611 Glen Dale Lane

Homer Glen, Illinois 60491 815-838-1953

earlm@elmhurst.edu

Published as the spirit moves, Troubadour is the official publication of the Will-Cook Illinois Chapter of SPEBSQSA. The Will-

Cook Chapter is the home of the Knights of Harmony Chorus

Leadership Team President …………...……………Lou Gonzalez Membership ………………....… Earl Meseth Music & Performance …....Rich Davidson Marketing …………………………...Dave Beck Program …………………………...Al Munneke Secretary …….……………….……..Hank King Treasurer…………………….…..Ken Witowski Member-at-Large …………………..Ed Brusic Member-at-Large ………………....Paul Cook Member-at-Large …………...Paul Marietta Member-at-Large……………...Tony Mehok Musical Director…………..Bill Kerschbaum Asst. Director…………………..Rich Davidson

The Chapter and Chorus meet on Thursday

evenings at 7:30 PM alternating between the First Congregational Church,

700 Ninth Street in Lockport and Glory to God Church,

18401 66th Avenue in Tinley Park

Two Conventions, One Contest In what probably constitutes the greatest change for the Illi-nois District since its inception in 1939*, the Illinois District House of Delegates voted, during its meeting in Davenport, Iowa, to move ALL contests (except one) to the Fall Convention. (What will happen in Spring is open, but more on that later.) The follow-ing contests will be held in Bloomington on Sept., 19th and 20th: International Chorus Prelims Illinois District Chorus Championship Illinois District Plateau Chorus Championships Illinois District Small Chorus Award Illinois District Most Improved Chorus Award (tentative) International Quartet Prelims International Senior Quartet Prelims International Collegiate Quartet Prelims Illinois District Quartet Championship Illinois District Senior Quartet Championship Illinois District Novice Quartet Championship According to Dave Cowin, the Illinois District Contest and Judg-ing VP, all these contests can be held on a single Friday evening quartet session and two sessions on Saturday, as is the current format. The quartet contests and the chorus contests will run concurrently and be parsed out into the respective categories by the Contest Administrators. The upshot of all this, says Dave, is that the audience will see more quartets qualifying for the Saturday evening finals (top 10 International and top 10 District from round 1), the length of an-nouncements will increase, more score sheets, more contestants, and more fun. *This date is problematical since in 1939 there really was no “District”. The first District President, Frank Jackson, was not elected until 1942. The date probably derives from the organization of Chicago #1 and Springfield Chapters in June, 1939. see Conventions, p. 2

Volume 2, Number 5 July, 2014 Page 2

THE BARBERSHOP BASS’S CREED by Earl McGhee

1. I will always remember that Basses are God’s chosen people and will strive to convince others of that truth. 2. Whenever the notes fall within my “Power Range,” I will sing in a manner that conveys the message “I am a Bass! Hear me roar!” 3. Whenever there exists the slightest opportunity for a swipe, I will take it, whether the music is so written or not. 4. I will, on rare occasions, allow the Baritone to take a swipe. 5. I will always remember that the Bass establishes the sound of the quartet or chorus and I will not allow the Ban, Lead and Tenor to forget it. 6. I will remember that the lead carries the melody and message of the song and so, will show him a modest amount of respect. I will not overdo it 7. I will remember that the Tenor, though he sings girlishly, is a rare and hard to find guy and so, will treat him with grudging respect. I will not overdo it. 8. I will not step on the Lead’s pickups and will tune my voice to his, even though he is prone to drop pitch. For I am a Bass and I can reach it. 9. I will frequently remind the Baritone that his proper function is to make the Bass sound good. 10. I will do all of the above in a spirit of humility befitting one of God’s chosen people. From Probmotor, 2014 and reprinted from the September/October

2007 Barbershop Clippin’s, Fullerton, CA Dick Cote, editor

Unless accompanied by a byline, all articles appearing in the

Troubadour have been written by the Bulletin Editor. Opin-

ions are not necessarily those of The Will-Cook Chapter or

the Barbershop Harmony Society.

Conventions, from p. 1

So, what to do with the Spring Convention? Since this conclave is usually used as a prelim for choruses shooting for inclusion in the International Prelims in the Fall, it attracts smaller choruses (those that didn’t make the cut). This means that attendance is not as large as in the Fall. Thus, the Spring Convention his-torically brings in less revenue for the District. Most recently, this has become an even bigger revenue problem with smaller choruses opting not to compete or members traveling for a day and then immediately high-tailing it home. Last Spring only four Illinois Dis-trict choruses competed! Then, last year the International Board voted to give Districts the option of hosting a single contest to determine contestants for International competitions and, after some study, the Illinois District Executive Committee and the House of Delegates adopted the single contest format. In one stroke the need to com-pete in two chorus contests in a year was eliminated for all thus relieving a burden imposed on small, struggling choruses; relieved members of the high cost of attending two contests/year and, therefore the guilt of not affording two conventions; made a convenient place for IDAH in the context of a conven-tion where more time can be spent learning the craft. So, hats off, kudos, hardy handshakes, slaps on the back and thanks to International, the District Board and HOD for making this change. I hope its successful and that Spring will see many more members making the trek to the convention. Now it’s up to us to see that it works.

Volume 2, Number 5 July, 2014 Page 3

The Songs We Sing….

Battle Hymn Of the Republic

The words to the song "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as first published, and as it is usually used now, are different, but both of those versions are different from the manuscript version that Julia Ward Howe first wrote in 1861. Here are the words to "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as documented in the memoir of Julia Ward Howe, Reminiscences 1819-1899, published in 1899:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. He is trampling out the wine press, where the grapes of wrath are stored, He hath loosed the fateful lightnings of his terrible swift sword, His truth is marching on. I have seen him in the watchfires of an hundred circling camps They have builded him an altar in the evening dews and damps, I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps, His day is marching on. I have read a burning Gospel writ in fiery rows of steel, As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal, Let the hero born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel, Our God is marching on.

He has sounded out the trumpet that shall never call retreat, He has waked the earth's dull sorrow with a high ecstatic beat, Oh! be swift my soul to answer him, be jubilant my feet! Our God is marching on. In the whiteness of the lilies he was born across the sea, With a glory in his bosom that shines out on you and me, As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, Our God is marching on. He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave, He is wisdom to the mighty, he is succour to the brave, So the world shall be his footstool, and the soul of Time his slave, Our God is marching on.

As a result of their volunteer work with the Sanitary Commission, in November of 1861 Samuel and Julia Howe were invited to Washington by President Lincoln. The Howes visited a Union Army camp in Virginia across the Potomac. There, they heard the men singing the song which had been sung by both North and South, one in admiration of John Brown, one in celebration of his death: "John Brown's body lies a'mouldering in his grave." A clergyman in the party, James Freeman Clarke, who knew of Julia's published poems, urged her to write a new song for the war effort to replace "John Brown's Body." She de-scribed the events later: "I replied that I had often wished to do so.... In spite of the excite-ment of the day I went to bed and slept as usual, but awoke the next morning in the gray of the early dawn, and to my astonishment found that the wished-for lines were arranging

themselves in my brain. The result was a poem, published first in February 1862 in the Atlan-tic Monthly, and called "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The poem was quickly put to the tune that had been used for "John Brown's Body" -- the original tune was written by a Southerner for religious revivals -- and became the best known Civil War song of the North. Julia Ward Howe's religious conviction shows in the way that Old and New Testament Biblical images are used to urge that people implement, in this life and this world, the principles that they adhere to. "As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free." Turning from the idea that the war was revenge for the death of a martyr, Howe hoped that the song would keep the war

focused on the principle of the ending of slavery. Today, that's what Howe is most remembered for: as the author of the song, still loved by many Americans. Her early poems are forgotten -- her other social commitments forgotten. She became a much-loved American institution after that song was published -- but even in her own lifetime, all her other pursuits paled besides her accomplishment of one piece of poetry for which she was paid $5 by the editor of Atlantic Monthly. In 1870, Julia Ward Howe took on a new issue and a new cause. Distressed by her experience of the realities of war,

Julia Ward Howe

See Battle Hymn, page 6

determined that peace was one of the two most important causes of the world (the other being equality in its many forms) and seeing war arise again in the world in the Franco-Prussian War, she called in 1870 for women to rise up and oppose war in all its forms. She wanted women to come together across national lines, to recognize what we hold in common above what divides us, and commit to finding peaceful resolutions to conflicts. She issued a Declaration, hop-ing to gather together women in a congress of action. She failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace. Her idea was influenced by Anna Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who had attempted starting in 1858 to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers' Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors. Anna Jarvis' daughter, also named Anna Jarvis, would of course have known of her mother's work, and the work of Julia Ward Howe. Much later, when her mother died, this second Anna Jarvis started her own crusade to found a me-morial day for women. The first such Mother's Day was celebrated in West Virginia in 1907 in the church where the elder Anna Jarvis had taught Sunday School. And from there the custom caught on -- spreading eventually to 45 states. Finally the holiday was declared officially by states beginning in 1912, and in 1914 the President, Woodrow Wilson, de-clared the first national Mother's Day.

Volume 2, Number 5 July, 2014 Page 4

Vocal Majority Wins 12th Gold; Musical Island Boys Q’tet Champs

The Dallas Vocal Majority captured its 12th International Chorus Championship under the direction of Greg Clancy, son of previous director Jim Clancy who was their chorus leader for over forty years. Their main competition cane from perennial front-runner Masters of Harmony (Los Angeles) and Great Northern Union (Hilltop, MN. Looks like another great chorus, Zero8, from Sweden (SNOBS) is about to make its mark on the International stage coming in fifth with only 50 singers. Illinois District choruses, Sound of Illinois (Bloomington) and New Tradition (Northbrook) came in 14th and 18th respectively. Here’s how the scores broke down in the Finals:

Chapter / Nickname Song MUS SSP GbvTotal Avg Cnt 1Dallas Metro, TX You'll Never Know Just How Much I Miss 479 485 479 2903 96.8 158 The Vocal Majority [SWD] When Johnny Comes Marching Home 484 494 482

2 Santa Fe Springs, CA My Romance 471 472 476 2854 95.1 117 Masters of Harmony [FWD] There'll Be No New Tunes On This Old Piano 478 482 475

3 Hilltop, MN This Heart Of Mine 467 476 468 2836 94.5 96 Great Northern Union [LOL] Winter Wonderland 476 482 468

4 Denver Mile High, CO Pirate Medley 458 469 456 2784 92.8 113 Sound of The Rockies [RMD] My Jolly Sailor Bold/Til I Hear You Sing 465 473 463

5 Stockholm, Sweden She’s Got A Way 467 459 458 2772 92.4 50

Zero8 [SNOBS] It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me/Viva Las Ve 469 476 452

14 Bloomington, IL Ol' Man River 419 427 422 2529 84.3 80

Sound of Illinois [ILL] All Aboard For Dixie Land 418 424 419

18 Northbrook, IL Little Bit 'O Heaven (Sure They Called It Ir 418 417 410 2495 83.2 53

New Tradition [ILL] Irish Montage 417 423 410 See International, p. 5

Adapted from Wikipedia

Volume 2, Number 5 July, 2014 Page 5

International, continued

In the Quartet Contest, the Musical Island Boys from New Zea-land (NZABS) came out on top in spite of scoring lower than the next two quartets, relying on their previous sets to push them over the top. Musical Island Boys finally lived up to their potential after fin-ishing in second place in 2012 and 2013. Lemon Squeezy (love that name!) finished a respectable 5th after winning the Collegiate Con-test in 2012. Interestingly, after searching the score sheets all week for the Illinois District representative, After Hours, only one Illinois quartet, The Committee, appeared and they came in 53rd. Seems that After Hours withdrew from the contest for personal reasons, leaving Illi-nois without a representative. Several Illinois quartets were offered the chance to perform in Las Vegas, including Velvet Hammer and Qed Up but opted not to take the offer. The Committee however, singing with Sound of Illinois anyway, grabbed the chance to appear on the International quartet stage and filled After Hours spot. Here are the scores: Q’tet Song MUS PRS SNG Subt Prev Total Avg 1 Musical Island Boys Now Is The Hour 447 461 444 2693 5365 8058 89.5 [NZABS] Hakuna Matata 447 456 438 2 Forefront It Only Takes A Moment 444 466 442 2708 5313 8021 89.1 [CAR] I Got Rhythm 446 466 444 3 Main Street Pretty Baby 452 468 442 2709 5306 8015 89.1 [SUN] I'll Take You Dreaming 443 461 443 4 A Mighty Wind In My Daughter's Eyes 444 452 443 2687 5289 7976 88.6 [DIX] Hallelujah I Love Her So 447 453 448 5 Lemon Squeezy Pass Me The Jazz 414- 455 433 2626 5292 7918 88.0 [SNOBS] Georgia On My Mind 443 449 432 53 The Committee Elmer Fudd Medley 370 364 361 2181 72.7 [ILL] A Town In Old New Hamp. 365 367 354

2014 Champs, Musical Island Boys

And, here’s a bit of interesting stuff ... since 2006, four quartets from outside North America have won the Collegiate Quartet Contest: 2006, Musical Island Boys (NZABS), 2008, Ringmasters (SNOBS), 2010, Swedish Match (SNOBS), and 2012, Lemon Squeezy (SNOBS). Ringmasters and Musical Island Boys went on to win the International quartet gold in 2012 and 2014 while Lemon Squeezy came in 5th this year. Note the prevalence of SNOBS quartets. This year, in the International Quar-tet Contest there were three representatives from SNOBS, one from BABS and one from NZABS. Couple that with the Rönninge Show Chorus from Sweden winning the Sweet Adeline Chorus gold in 2013, SALT winning quartet gold in 2007, Swinglish Mix (OK, only the lead is Swedish) in 2003 and Growing Girls in 1989 and you can see a pattern. Obviously, Sweden is a hotbed of barbershop singing. Hats off to them.

Flag of Sweden

Try This Classic Tag

Volume 2, Number 5 July, 2014 Page 6

Mark Your Calendars

July 16 (W) Board Meeting 7:00 August 3 (S) Church Singouts August 10 (S) Church Singouts August 13 (W) Windy City Thunderbolts September 6 (Sat) Chapter Picnic, Kerschbaum’s September 16 (W) Marian Village, Homer Glen October 5 (S) The Center, Palos Park

A nice, calm and respectable lady went into the pharma-

cy, walked up to the pharmacist, looked straight into his

eyes, and said, "I would like to buy some cyanide."

The pharmacist asked, "Why in the world do you need

cyanide?"

The lady replied, "I need it to poison my husband."

The pharmacist's eyes got big and he explained, "Lord

have mercy! I can't give you cyanide to kill your hus-

band, that's against the law? I'll lose my license! They'll

throw both of us in jail! All kinds of bad things will hap-

pen. Absolutely not! You CANNOT have any cya-

nide!"

The lady reached into her purse and pulled out a pic-

ture of her husband in bed with the pharmacist's wife.

The pharmacist looked at the picture and replied, "You

didn't tell me you had a prescription."

For all Chapter members……..

New business cards are available for you to hand out to all your friends, acquaintances, colleagues, people you bump into on the street (no street peo-ple please (there is a difference), etc. Grab a few at rehearsal. Also, pick up a new membership directory while you’re there. Gives you easy access to phone num-bers, email addresses, spouses names and so forth.