Jan. 22 – 27
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Photo by: Miller Photography Louisville KY.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EUREKA! QUARTET WINS SENIOR SINGING CONTEST
San Antonio, Texas (Jan. 25)…. Eureka! took the gold this afternoon in the hotly contested International Senior Quartet competition at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Midwinter Convention. A total of 24 senior quartets from the U.S. and Canada squared off today in the annual contest to become the 2008 Senior Quartet Champion. The top five quartets each received a medal.
Members of gold medalist quartet Eureka! are tenor Frank Friedemann, 64, from Tulsa; lead Art Swanson, 64, from New Orleans; baritone Rick Haines, 63, from Plano, Texas; and bass Brian Beck, 68, from Flower Mound, Texas. Though these four men have only been singing together as Eureka! since April of 2007, they have a rich history of barbershop quartet singing. Brian Beck is one of the most decorated quartet singers in the history of barbershop singing. He has placed in the top ten internationally in four different voice parts and has won two gold medals in two different voice parts. Art Swanson set a record having competed internationally twenty-two times consecutively.
Second place silver medalist is the Michigan-based Resisting-A-Rest. Resisting-A-Rest members are tenor Bruce LaMarte; lead Thomas Conner; baritone Steven Warnaar; and bass Phil Haines.
Rounding out the five medalist positions are:
• Third place: Vintage Gold from the West Coast – tenor Ron Bass; lead Gary Bolles; baritone Chuck Landback; and bass Jim Sherman.
• Fourth place: Great Western Timbre Co. – tenor Roger Smeds, Florida; lead Dwight Holmquist, California; baritone Jack Liddell, Florida; and bass Ron Black, Texas.
• Fifth place: Silver Chords – tenor David Brasher, Washington; lead Les Walter, Arizona; baritone Robert Schmitt, Washington; and bass Dick Swanson, Washington.
Like all members of the Barbershop Harmony Society, competing quartets sing as a hobby. In the Senior competition, no member of any competing quartet may be younger than 55, and the cumulative age of the quartet must be 240 years or more. They are judged by a panel of two judges in each of three categories: music, presentation and singing. The outgoing 2007 International Senior Quartet Champ, Friendly Advice, also performed and presented trophies to the 2008 Senior Quartet Champion.
Ticket Sales
For ticket purchasing information, call 210-860-5834 or visit www.barbershop.org .
Students with valid ID’s may purchase tickets for half price. Single event ticket prices are available for Texas residents only: $25 for the Friday night show; $25 for the Saturday night Show; $15 for the Youth Festival Contest. Pre-show activities begin at 7:45 pm with performances continuing until 10:00 pm. All shows and contests will be held at the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium.
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About the Barbershop Harmony Society: Founded in 1938 in Tulsa, Okla., the Barbershop Harmony Society is the largest all-male singing organization in the world with 30,000 members including 1500 quartets in 800 chapters. There are also eight official foreign affiliates of the Society.
About barbershop-style a cappella music: Barbershop harmony is a uniquely American musical art form. It is known for its four-part harmony and the “expanded sound” created by its unique chord structure.
For more information about the Barbershop Harmony Society, visit www.barbershop.org or call 615.823.3993 ext. 4119.
