BACKGROUND
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT US …
A sampling of highlights from news articles, on-air programming and interviews
with some of our more famous “alumni”
Notes from the press…
The Orange County Register Monday, August 21, 2006
THE WESTMINSTER CHORUS HAS SILVER MEDAL, AND GROUPIES
Like rock stars of harmony, chorus is big hit at the internationals.
By Lori Basheda
Costa Mesa - They're like a cross between pop heartthrob Justin Timberlake and Disneyland's Main Street-strolling Dapper Dans. And in this topsy-turvy world we live in, it should come as no surprise that a lot of girls are going for that combo.
Yes, the Westminster (barbershop) Chorus has groupies. Hundreds of groupies. Groupies who are under the age of 50…
Washington Post Feb. 7, 2007
WARBLERS REVEAL WORDSMITH’S SOFT SIDES
John Kelly, columnist
Barbershop singing, a quintessentially American form of close harmony, is like aural honey…The sound sets the air vibrating and tickles the ear like a cat tongue licking your cheek.
…and from some of our celebrity honorary members and current members
Opera star Sherrill Milnes, currently on faculty at Northwestern University
“Barbershop is very sharp, clean and exciting. There is a lot of muscle in that kind of harmony.”
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Jimmy Merchant, currently a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Salisbury, Maryland, chapter
“You guys have taken American street corner harmony a step further and it is amazing to me what you can do with your sound.”
Legendary singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot
“I started writing songs at 18, and the barbershopping (experience) was behind me, but what I learned from it was a very important part of my life during those formative years. It’s the most remarkable sound I think that I’ve ever experienced.”
Broadway actor, touring company “Phantom” and barbershop harmony gold medalist Gary Mauer
“Hearing barbershop harmony somehow makes me feel whole…Even now, no matter what role I’m playing, I think deep down inside me I’m subconsciously still trying to sing like (quartet gold medalist) Ted Bradshaw.”
Grammy-award-winning vocalist Bill Gaither
“I have been a fan for years. The Buffalo Bills recording of ‘Lida Rose’ was my first encounter with barbershop back in the mid-1950s, and I said, ‘Hey, there’s something different about this four-part harmony, let me figure this out.’ I don’t think I ever got it figured out, but it’s good!”
Award-winning actor and song and dance man Dick Van Dyke
“I’m a shower singer, and I drive around listening to my barbershop learning tapes. People see me in the car and look at me like I’m nuts.”
