Bright voices keeping women’s barbershop tradition alive

By Greg Murphy

BELLEVILLE – On a lower level of the Amica at Quinte Gardens Retirement Residence, the bright ring of overtones tickled the ear as it chimed down a hallway from the auditorium. Each new chord sung brought a new shiver down the spine.

On a Monday evening, the retirement home was alive with the sound of a cappella music. The Bay of Quinte Chorus, a women’s barbershop ensemble, was in residence for a practice.

Coming in from the cold, the music was warming.

“You get to the point of realizing it’s a very pure sound, just the human voice. So I’ve come to really love a cappella singing,” said Cheryl Street in a corner of a quiet conference room.

Street is the musical director and a nineteen year member of the Bay of Quinte Chorus.

As a style of a cappella, barbershop harmony comprises of four vocal sections in either a quartet – a group of four singers – or a chorus. The tenor section sings in the highest range, while the lead section sings the main melody beneath it. The baritone and the bass sections sing the lower ranges. In the first half of the 20th century, men’s barbershops were popular social hangouts. Some began singing in quartets while their pals were getting haircuts. The style of music gained considerable popularity in the early to mid 20th century.

“A lot of the barbershop songs are wrapped around what I call, ‘old chestnuts.’ They were usually written in 1930, 40, maybe 50 tops,” said Street.

Comprised of eighteen women’s voices, the Bay of Quinte Chorus is a chapter of the globally recognized Sweet Adelines International. This is a special year for the chorus; November marks the group’s 50th year of officialdom with the international organization. Founded on July 13, 1945, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Sweet Adelines International is an organization reaching across 15 countries around the world. It caters to the advancement of women’s barbershop harmony.

As a member of Sweet Adelines, the chorus participates in regional events. The Bay of Quinte Chorus is a part of the organization’s region sixteen which encompasses women’s choruses around Lake Ontario and part of New York State. The chorus will be attending the region sixteen competition in the latter half of April in Syracuse, New York.

Street sings in the bass section. She originally sung in the lead section. Street said singing in the chorus has allowed her to grow as a vocalist.

“I first started singing barbershop 24 years ago. It was very odd to me because there was no piano or guitar to sing to,” Street said. “I enjoy the four part harmony. It’s fun to create that sound. Plus it allows us to lean on each other for support and musical development.”

To become a member of the chorus, there’s an auditioning process to go through. A prospective member has to attend at least three practices and be able to sing a song accompanied by three other members.

There are also fees. An initial $100 fee goes to Sweet Adelines International. There is also a monthly fee of $30. Some of the money goes into a treasury which is used to buy new music, costumes, and travel costs. Street said she also receives a monthly honorarium for being the music director.

The quietness of the conference room, where Street spoke to QNetNews, was not enough to stifle the four-part harmonization of impassioned voice rising high in crescendo, and then dipping low in diminuendo.

Singing songs like James F. Hanley’s 1934 song Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart, made famous by singer Judy Garland, and Matty Malneck’s 1936 song Goody Goody, the evening in the auditorium was lively.

Street introduced QNetNews to lead section singer Nancy Hawkshaw, who’s sung with the chorus for 18 years.

Hawkshaw said there’s no greater benefit to a singer than to sing in a barbershop chorus.

“You learn a lot about singing, breathing, energy, characterization of song, you know. You learn how to tell a story of a song with the movements of your face,” said Hawkshaw.

The Bay of Quinte Chorus also sings alongside their male counterparts in A Capella Quinte from time to time. Street and Hawkshaw both said singing barbershop music alongside men creates a sense of unity in the music.

“It is wonderful because it’s like singing in eight parts. It gets really exciting; you can really feel the energy around you and the men have even more range than we have because they can go really low and then use their falsetto. So they get really, really high. It really gives you shivers when it’s right,” said Hawkshaw.

This past Christmas, the Bay of Quinte Chorus sung a day-long event with the men in A Cappella Quinte. Both choruses spent the day performing at retirement homes across Belleville. It was called the Christmas Caravan Tour. Street said she recalls a sense camaraderie between them.

“One of the things I noticed when we sang the caravan tour in one of the places, we had just finished singing and then they came in and applauded us, and then we did the same thing when they were done,” Street said with a smile. “We get along very well because we all sing the same kind of music. We do get together maybe once a year. We usually do a potluck dinner.”

The chorus currently has mostly senior members but Street says, with the popularity of shows like NBC’s The Sing-Off, she remains hopeful younger singers will sign up.

“A Cappella is catching on. Even though it’s old, it’s new again as they say,” said Street.