YOUNG TEXAS SINGERS WIN INTERNATIONAL BARBERSHOP YOUTH CHORUS FESTIVAL

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS--The Marcsmen of San Marcos, Texas took home the trophy for top honors in the Barbershop Harmony Society’s first annual International Youth Chorus Festival. With six choruses and 200 students participating from six states, Canada and even one chorus from New Zealand, this event is the exciting culmination of the Barbershop Harmony Society’s year-round effort to promote barbershop harmony to youth around the world.

The Youth Chorus competition is judged by a panel of certified Society judges in three categories: Music, Singing and Presentation. The young singers competed in three age brackets with trophies awarded to winners in each of the brackets. Every individual performer received a rating pin for their participation in the singing contest.

Under the direction of Brent Dunavant, the winning chorus is comprised of 35 college students from Texas State University. The talented young director, himself a third-year music education student at Texas State, also directs the San Antonio Chordsmen leading the chorus to a first-place Division Championship last spring. He is the assistant director of the Heart of Texas Chorus and led them to place tenth in the International Chorus Competition in Denver last summer.

Rounding out the winners in the three age brackets are:

• The Young Miamians of Miami, Florida under the direction of Gene Cokeroft – (Plateau A under age 19)

• The Marcsmen of San Marcos,Texas under the direction of Brent Dunavant – (Plateau AA under age 22)

• Northwest Vocal Project of Bellevue, Washington under the direction of Donny Rose – (Plateau AAA under age 25)

In addition to the competition, the Youth Chorus Festival consists of master classes by some of the best barbershop singers in the world and the opportunity to hear performances by the top five international quartet medalists. The Youth Chorus Champs also performed at the Show of Champions. The Festival is a once in a lifetime experience for many of these young men, whose average age is 19, and is an exciting introduction to the barbershop style and culture of the largest all-male singing organization in the world.