In harmony: Local men keep barbershop quartet singing alive

View larger image From left, Jules Blazej (tenor), Dan Evans (lead), Kenny Burcham (bass) and Jim Wahler (baritone) are the Mill Run Troubadours, a local barbershop quartet. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image John Westervelt directs the Apple Capital Chorus. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Bruce Ryker hits a note during rehearsal. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Tenors Rob MacGregor and Pat O'Neil sing. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Wayne Carbaugh sings. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image John Westervelt leads the group. Dennis Grundman/Daily

By Josette Keelor - jkeelor@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- It's nice to know that some old traditions never die.

"Every meeting we start with 'The Old Songs,'" Apple Capital Chorus musical director John Westervelt said at a recent Monday evening rehearsal. "They're all old songs," he explained ... but the first song actually is called "The Old Songs."

Next, they sang "Sweet, Sweet Roses of Morn" in four parts -- tenor, lead, baritone and bass.

"This is not four-part harmony, by the way, it is three-part harmony against the melody," Westervelt said. The lead sings the melody, he explained, and the others sing harmony.
In honor of St. Patrick's Day this month, the group followed with "My Wild Irish Rose," their enjoyment showing in their facial expressions and through their voices.

Barbershop quartet singing, a true blue American form of music, has been around since the 1940s, but continues strong today. Formerly called The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, the Barbershop Harmony Society has more than 30,000 members, says Jules Blazej, a tenor with the chorus since 1957. The Apple Capital chapter of the national society boasts 26 members, according to the Web site, www.barbershop.org, which lists chapters around the country.

The Web site is "a move into the 20th century ... in terms of being able to be found," Westervelt said.

"We're international," Blazej stressed, indicating other countries involved in the society, including China, Japan, Germany, England, Holland, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.

Men all around the world continue the tradition of barbershop singing for many reasons, including camaraderie, a love of singing and because it's just plain fun.

"I sing by ear, not by training," said Dr. Herb Earnshaw, who has been with the group for 12 years. "It's the camaraderie," he explained. "With our talents we can harmonize; it's beautiful."

The group, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, meets each Monday night in the basement of the First United Methodist Church in Winchester. Some of them professional musicians and others novices, the group welcomes anyone interested.
Still, a knowledge of music is implied.

"This is a singing group," said Westervelt, who next led the group through "When Irish Eyes are Smiling."

They strive for perfection, he explained, but they take what they get. With the songs they know well, their excitement shines through.

"That was a lot better than you thought it was going to be," Westervelt told the men after finishing the song, prompting a chorus of laughter.

Their next selection was "Let Me Call You Sweetheart."

The mention of barbershop quartets generally brings to mind old-fashioned music, but Westervelt disagrees.

For one thing, though the group will use music as far back as the early 1900s, it also uses much more recent selections, such as music from the '70s and '80s.

"Under the Boardwalk" rang throughout the room, the melody bouncing from one side of the choir to the other, as a smile formed on every face. "Hello Mary Lou," with its more jaunty pace, offered a different musical experience than the slower Drifters' classic.

Later the men divided into quartets to rehearse. As a combined chorus, their tones blended as the sound magnified. In the quartets, however, the singers can fine-tune their voices.

One group called the Mill Run Troubadours rehearsed "Down by the Old Mill Stream," which they changed to "Down by the Old Mill Run," for Peters Mill Run in Edinburg.
Another group, Four Score and Then Some, combines the voices of four men over the age of 80 -- Blazej, chapter webmaster and vice president of music and performance Paul Barrett, Jack Drumheller and Bob Erchak. Blazej is also in the Mill Run Troubadours with associate director Dan Evans, Jim Wahler and chapter president Kenny Burcham.

The Apple Capital Chorus performs several times a year as a group, with their next program planned for the fall, but the majority of their performances take place in quartets at events around the area.

They also offer private performances, particularly their "Singing Valentines" at Valentine's Day.

"That's some of the main ones we do," said Westervelt.

One of Earnshaw's favorite musical memories is of a trip he made to Atlanta to visit a friend recently widowed. Her husband had been a member of the Atlanta chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, and as a gift to her for her birthday, Earnshaw asked the local chapter to help.

"Just like that, I had three volunteers," he said. They had never met, and had certainly never sung together, but it did not matter. That's the beauty of barbershop singing. They know the same songs and can easily substitute for each other.

"Immediately we could join together and make harmony and bring pleasure to someone else."

The Apple Capital Chorus meets on Mondays at 7 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church at 308 N. Braddock St. in Winchester. For more information about the Barbershop Harmony Society, visit www.barbershop.org. For information about the local chapter, visit www.shentel.net/barbershop.