Think barbershop music and, sure enough, the first image that pops to mind is four guys in straw hats and striped shirts harmonizing up a storm. “Lida Rose, oh, won’t you be mine?”
Sure, they sound great, but didn’t that stuff go out of fashion, oh, a hundred years ago?
Forget that. Forget the straw hats, the striped shirts, even the four guys. Instead, consider how barbershop music might sound if sung by 125 women.
When the Melodeers Chorus, based in Northbrook and drawing 11 members from DuPage County, belts out Aretha Franklin’s “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” in four-part harmony, outdated images simply evaporate. Call it barbershop with an attitude.
That attitude is one reason the Melodeers won the 1995 International Championship of the Sweet Adelines, an organization of 617 barbershop choruses in North America, Europe and the Pacific. Sweet Adelines choruses are all-female and sing without instrumental accompaniment.
The Melodeers Chorus recently electrified an audience at Wheaton College’s Edman Chapel with a reprise of its championship performance and several new songs.
“I think we represent the woman of the ’90’s well by adding a contemporary flair to barbershop,” said Melodeers director Jim Arns, 35, of Woodridge, who is responsible for much of the woman-empowering, upbeat humor characteristic of the Melodeers’ style.
Songs range from jazz-tinged torch songs to rock ‘n’ roll, all arranged, mostly by Arns, to accommodate female sensibilities. To begin the Aretha Franklin medley, the chorus asserts its independence from the diminutive Arns, ignoring him and then shoving him around in time to the beat. Finally, he is dragged into the chorus and disappears, looking back beseechingly for help that never comes.
Audiences love it when a dummy of Arns comes flying out from the back of the chorus as members exult to Franklin’s “Freedom!”
Ordinarily Arns is in complete control, using every inch of his body to help the Melodeers convey the emotional or comic meaning of each song.
Intricate hand gestures and dance steps help the chorus develop a distinct characterization for each song, said choreographer Renee Porzel of Arlington Heights. “Our song `Oh You Beautiful Doll’ could be done cutesy and Betty-Boopish,” Porzel explained, “but we direct our moves at Jim , playing off the fact that he’s one of the few male directors of Sweet Adelines.”
This kind of focused movement, Porzel said, helps “sell the song because it is visually interesting to the audience.”
A certified Sweet Adelines judge, Mavis Burtness of Denver, noted that “what set the Melodeers apart , head and shoulders above the other competitors, was their performance passion.”
For that passion, the Melodeers were rewarded in the middle of the competition with an unprecedented standing ovation from their toughest critics: the 11,000 members of rival choruses (and their friends) who attended the championships in Reno last October.
More than 3,000 women competed for the title; the Melodeers bested 29 other choruses, many of whom had won the international title in previous years, some more than once.
Choruses are judged on music, expression, sound and showmanship. Extra points are awarded for the entertainment value of the choruses’ required show package.
For the Melodeers, the package included the Franklin tunes and an Elvis medley. When Arns stepped on stage as Elvis, “the whole place went up for grabs,” Burtness said. After that, the winner was never in doubt, at least in the minds of the audience.
“I couldn’t believe we won,” said Jan Berland of Warrenville, who sings lead and is past president of the group. “Each of us, by ourselves, are not soloists. We’re mainly average women with average voices who blend them together extremely well.”
Striving for perfection despite their accomplishment, few members of the Melodeers are professional singers or music teachers. Only about half have any previous musical training at all. Some cannot even read music. But all are expected to be note perfect, gesture perfect before a competition or performance.
Members generally spend at least four hours per week outside of rehearsal practicing the intricate choreography and complex harmonies of each song. Those who don’t read music practice from pre-recorded tapes. Rehearsals (in a Northbrook church without air conditioning) routinely run three to four hours each Wednesday.
Small group sessions often consume another evening. Yet women from all walks of life eagerly come from as far away as Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and the far reaches of DuPage County to belong to the Melodeers. Why do they do it?
“We sing such beautiful music,” said Suzi Nicklas, explaining why she has driven from Roselle to sing bass with the group for 20 years. “I get the shivers even in rehearsal, but I just love the `applaudience’ we get when we perform for other people.”
But more than that, said Joan Boutilier of Libertyville, Sweet Adelines choruses provide “an instant circle of support and friendship.” One of the Melodeers who recently moved to the East Coast has already found and joined a Sweet Adelines chorus. There also are eight additional Sweet Adelines choruses in the Chicago area.
The barbershop sound is one of a handful of native musical forms to emerge from the United States. Musically, barbershop differs from other types of singing because of its close harmonies. Tenor, baritone, bass and lead (melody) combine to create chords and sound frequencies not heard in other types of music. Sung correctly, barbershop chords produce a ringing sound not unlike an organ. The ringing notes are not actually sung by anyone but are overtones produced by the interaction of the voices. Synthesizer music, by contrast, sounds thin because the notes are pure, without overtones.
At the Wheaton College concert, an audience member commented, “When they hold those notes it brings tears to my eyes.” Another said, “That’s probably how the heavenly choir would sound if it sang barbershop.”
Singing with the Melodeers actually requires listening skills perhaps more than vocal talent. Unlike church and student choirs, barbershop vocalists singing the same part do not necessarily stand together. Members must learn their own parts cold and blend their voices with those singing the other three parts around them.
Tin ears need not apply.
Nevertheless, anyone who derives pleasure from hearing barbershop harmonies has the potential to become a Sweet Adeline, said Melodeers president Dorothy Jurs of Mt. Prospect. Hopefuls are given a voice screening after attending three of the chorus’ rehearsals. As prospective members, they then spend as much time as necessary learning with a practice quartet. When they’re ready, they audition.
“For the most part, anyone who gets to the audition stage gets in,” Jurs noted. By that time, the extent of the commitment required of members is fully apparent. Four or five hours of practice per week outside rehearsal is generally considered the minimum, whether or not a member works outside the home. (More than half do.)
Once Arns begins a rehearsal, he expects to be able to focus on nuances, not on teaching the songs.
“It takes me about 40 minutes to get to rehearsal, so I practice to rehearsal tapes in the car,” explained Su Ketchmark of Darien, who sings lead. “You should see the funny looks I get when I’m stopped at a light.”
Porzel, the choreographer, also makes practice videotapes of the moves for each song after spending about an hour teaching them during rehearsals. “Usually we know the song well enough to sing it without music before we start moving, so we’re not trying to learn it all at once,” she said.
A commitment to the Melodeers is also financial, although not a major one compared to hobbies such as golf, boating or collecting. Dues are $165 per year, payable quarterly, and members must supply their own transportation to competitions and other events. In addition, members are responsible for having their own costumes made, though the material is provided and paid for by the organization to ensure consistency.
The Melodeers are trying to raise $120,000 necessary to take their show to the World Music Conference this fall in Cardiff, Wales, where they are to represent Sweet Adelines International. Corporations and individuals have been targeted for donations.
But despite their need for funds, groups of Melodeers often perform for free in an effort to interest the public in barbershop singing. At a recent performance for Fine Arts Day at Oak Grove School in Green Oaks, the Melodeers were standout favorites among the elementary-school set.
“The kids were so impressed that they could make that sound with no instruments,” said teacher Cathy Saia.
Members of the Melodeers range in age from 14 to 85. The group was founded in 1960 and has won 12 regional titles but never the International until now. Because of Sweet Adelines rules, the chorus will not be defending its title this fall. Instead, members will give a performance and technical workshop at the International Convention in New Orleans. But that does not mean that the Melodeers are giving up on competition.
Chicago area music lovers can watch them tune up for next season at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights on Oct. 7.
Want to join in the singing?
For information on the Melodeers, call Phyllis Sandel at 708-246-0222; recorded information on concert dates, etc., is available at 800-222-7552.
There are seven other Sweet Adelines groups in the Chicago area, including Choral-Aires in Westmont and Windy City West in Glen Ellyn.
For information on these groups, call the Sweet Adelines at 918-622-1444 or 800-992-7464.
And, men, don’t feel left out. The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America is keeping the barber shop tradition going strong. There are a number of groups in the Chicago area, including the DuPage Valley in Downers Grove. Call 414-653-8440.
