Your Input is Requested in a Poll

Regarding Proposed 2-Year

Chorus Rotation Plan

At the Society's request, members of the Society Contest & Judging Committee (SCJC) have been investigating an idea that would nearly double the number of choruses able to compete on the international stage. The most talented Society choruses would be divided into two equal pools that would compete on alternating years, with additional slots being filled by many choruses that are currently "on the cusp" of qualifying for international competition. This idea has been proposed by multiple sources, and after in-depth research, it is now ready to present to the membership. Please click DETAILS for a complete explanation of the proposal.

To read what others are saying and join the discussion click BLOG.

Your input is valuable, and you are invited and encouraged to participate in a 10-minute  SURVEY (open to members and affiliates only).  Please complete the survey by October 15.

Thank you!

Friday, September 10 was a sad day for the barbershop world, as Hall-of-Famer Walter O. Latzko, of Blooming Grove, NY, passed away after a short illness.  Walter was a lifetime member of the Alexandria Harmonizers Chapter, and is internationally known for his barbershop arrangements. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame (2006), the Mid-Atlantic District Hall of Honor, and named Man of Merit by the Association of International Senior Quartet Champions. He arranged eight albums for the Buffalo Bills of "Music Man" fame.  Even after he had a stroke in 1991, he continued to arrange music on a computer which was purchased for him by more than twenty barbershop groups. Altogether he left a legacy of 1,226 arrangements, including 94 medleys.

Walter was also a joke-writer and musician for Arthur Godfrey's radio and TV shows, Jack Sterling's CBS morning radio show, Garry Moore, and Durward Kirby.  He was the arranger and coach for the Chordettes ("Mr. Sandman") who were regular performers on the Godfrey shows, and married Chordettes member Marjorie in 1953.  Walter also served as an organist and choir director for 42 years.

The Society sends our thoughts and prayers out to Walter's family.  His memory will live on in the music.

Read more on the Society website.

If you missed the re-broadcast last Friday of the interview with Ed Watson, Bill Colosimo and Snapshot recorded during the 2010 convention, you can still listen ANYTIME to the interview-only portion via streaming MP3 audio. The original program contained music which could not be included due to licensing restraints.

To listen, click WRTI. 

Many thanks to Eric Herr for setting up this great PR event and to Jill Pasternak and WRTI Philadelphia for the terrific interview.

2011 Chorus Contest to Showcase

27 Competing Society Choruses

Plus Affiliates

Competitors in the Society's 2011 International Chorus Competition in Kansas City will be selected using the following formula:

• 17 district representatives (top scoring chorus from each district from the fall chorus contest)

• 10 Society Wild Card choruses (10 highest scoring non-district reps Society-wide)

• Affiliate choruses invited by the Society CEO on behalf of the Society Board of Directors