Bulletin is published by the Manhattan Kansas Chapter and Chorus. Volume 35, Number 3 Karen Nanninga, Editor and Publisher Summer 2014

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1 1st place International on line newsletter 2009 and 2004 We are harmonizing members of the Barbershop Harmony Bulletin is published by the Manhattan Kansas Chapter and Chorus Volume 35, Number 3 Karen Nanninga, Editor and Publisher Summer 2014 Inside this issue Presidents message 2 Little Apple Chorus starts Summer Church Performances Convention He did it again Convention photos Don Thomson Sweet Harmony Singing rules Singing with 6 Thank you s 7 Awards BOTM Komments by Karen Harry Harmony Calendar The Little Apple Chorus were treated to a morning break at Helen and Pete Coopers. To thank Helen, they lined up and sang a song especially for her. Summer Success Mike Sexton Singing spiritual songs in our special Barbershop Style, members of The Little Apple Barbershop Chorus visited 15 churches. Beginning with the peppy "I'm Felling Fine" we progressed to other joyous and spiritual songs. Visiting churches in Manhattan, Junction City, Ogden, and Zeandale, we received many compliments. Kudo's to everyone making our Summer Sing Outs a great success! Ken and Don for their special leadership and getting us organized at every church. Each of us also wishes to thank the Coopers, Purvis's and Drakes for their fantastic refreshments, the Methodist church for loaning a van and Preston for chauffeuring us. And we definitely could not have such a great experience without the organizing expertise of Chuck Marr and Preston Chapel. All the the churches were very accommodating and we had a great day!! The chapter and chorus meets every Thursday evening at 7:p.m. at the Harris Activity Center on the corner of Poyntz and 6th Street, Manhattan Kansas.

2 2 InCider Press Summer 2014 InCider Press, a monthly publication, is the official publication of the Manhattan, Kansas chapter of the Central States District (CSD) of the Barbershop Harmony Society. The Manhattan Chapter is the home of the Little Apple Chorus. The chapter and chorus meet every Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. at the First Methodist Church Activity Center on the corner of Poyntz and 6th Street, Manhattan, Kansas. For more information about meetings or joining call or write to the Editor. (see below) Chapter Officers Immediate Past President....John Thomson President....Mike Shepherd Executive VP....Mark Robb VP Marketing Mike Sexton & Public Relations.....Harvey Kiser Asst. VP Music... Andrew Kvasnica & Performance...Steve Fisher, Asst. VP Chapter Development & Membership...Dick Pannbacker Leonard Purvis Asst. Treasurer..Mark Robb...Bob Swenson, Asst. Secretary.Chuck Marr...Richard Morgan, Asst. Board Member....Richard Morgan Board Member / Show Chairman...Steve Cross Board Member/Chorus Mgr....Steve Thompson Board Member/ Uniforms...Tom Neill Appointments Musical Director...Ken Lang Associate Musical Director.Don Thomson Assistant Musical Director..Travis Troyer Music Chairman...Bob Ridley Singing Valentine Chairman...Ken Lyle Youth in Harmony Chairman...Ken Garwick...Asst. Brian Swenson Bulletin Editor...Karen Nanninga Web Master Bart Bartholomew Bulletin Editor Karen Nanninga th Road Axtell, Kansas Phone: taren@bluevalley.net Unless carrying a byline or some form of credit to borrowed sources, all items in this bulletin are by the editor and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the chapter or board. All photos in the bulletin are by the editor, unless otherwise identified. Bits and Bytes by Mike Mike Shepherd President It is hard to believe 2014 is more than half over, but as the old saying goes, time fly s when you re having fun and time sure has flown this year because we have been busy. We had a great spring show and followed that up with another season of Church Performances and enjoyed a GREAT evening singing with the Municipal Band. And that s not all we have an upcoming performance in Clay Center on Sunday September 21 st. This might be a great opportunity to re-establish some of the interest we used to enjoy from that community. It would be wonderful if we could get some new/old members from that area back in the chorus. I would like to take this opportunity to describe my attendance to the International Barbershop Convention that was held in Las Vegas. Traditionally these conventions are scheduled around the 4 th of July. First and foremost it is an opportunity to enjoy the best our Society has to offer, from the Collegiate Competitors, Society Quartets and Choruses, and all the afterglows available. It is also amazing to see how many people share our hobby. While the convention is a full week of competition and great music, there are many other opportunities to enjoy the local sights of each different convention location. Or, you could spend the entire week at the convention and never do anything other than attend all the events of the convention, the choice is yours. We have several members that have attended many of the different conventions and plan to attend many more. This year the members that attended, with their wives, were: Bill & Marilyn Bunyan, Harvey & Janet Kiser, Gary & Joyce Mott, Bob & Telva Swenson and my wife Margaret & myself. I also found out that our latest member Don Kready and some of his family attended the convention as well. Next year s convention will be held in Pittsburgh and reservations are now being accepted for that event. If you have never been to a convention, please consider arranging a vacation during that time frame and give it a try. Now for the rest of the year. We have a Christmas Performance to get ready on December 14, 2014 and our Spring Show on April 11, If you have not heard we will only have one show instead of two for this next spring show. This is a change from our past several years but hope we can have a successful show and reduce our expenses for the show. An exciting bit of information about this show is going to be our featured quartet, Vocal Spectrum. They have had a very unique success by winning the Gold at the Collegiate Quartet Contest, Chorus Contest and Society contest. While they are still pretty young the question in Vegas was, will they still be singing when they are qualified to compete in the Seniors Quartet Contest. This will be a wonderful chance to introduce them to our area, so please start spreading the word and getting all your friends and family to add April 11, 2015 to their calendar. All chapter officers are expected and chapter members are encouraged to contribute their ideas on a regular basis

3 Summer 2014 InCider Press 3 Great singing and performances at the International Convention by Harvey Kiser The competitive singing and performances at the BHS International Convention were great. Janet and I heard a majority of the 27 collegiate quartets, and all of the 53 quartets and 31 choruses. Also, we enjoyed the Association of Int'l Champions Show. The 2014 Champion Collegiate Quartet, The Academy (SUN District), scored 80.9%, which would have been in the top 20 of the regular quartet contest. Typically, the scores of the top 1 or 2 collegiate quartets are in the scoring range of the top 20 quartets in the regular contest. The 2014 Champion Quartet is Musical Island Boys (New Zealand) with a score of 89.5%. The quartet had been 2 nd for the last 3 years, 4 th in 2010 and 10 th in 2009, their first year of competing. This year s score was 0.4% above the second placed quartet. The other quartets in the top 5 include Forefront, Main Street, A Mighty Wind, and Lemon Squeezy (Sweden). The 5 th place quartet was within 1.1 percentage points of the first place quartet. This is the closet contest between the top 5 since A Mighty Wind was our chapter s guest quartet at this past Spring Show. The 2014 Champion Chorus is Vocal Majority (SWD) in a competitive contest. Vocal Majority (VM) score was 96.8%. The top five choruses were within 4.4 percentage points of VM. The other 4 choruses were Masters of Harmony (FWD), Great Northern Union (LOL), Sound of the Rockies (RMD) and Zero8 (SNOBS Sweden). He did it again! By Don Thomson Well, folks, he did it again! For the sixth time, our expert quartet recruiter has chosen the eventual International Quartet Champion to perform on our annual Spring Show. Starting back in 1983, Bob Swenson contracted the Rural Route Four to sing on our seventh annual show. In 1986, just three years later, the Rural Route Four were crowned International Champions! In 1987, The Ritz were the headliners on our show, and, four years later, in 1991, The Ritz were crowned the champions. Then in 1991, The Gas House Gang was our guest quartet, and, yes, they won the International competition in 1993 (after being runners-up in 1992). And, Bob kept picking the winners as Revival sang on our show in 1998 before winning the Gold Medal that same year! In 2003, Bob invited Gotcha to be our headliners, and they won the silver medal before winning the gold the next year, in 2004, at International competition in Louisville. And, Bob did it again this year (2013) by inviting Masterpiece to be our headliner just before winning the title of International Quartet Champions while competing in Toronto on July 6, 2013! Great job, Bob, in having a great ear, and a great sense of who is peaking at the right time! We also have learned that he has his sights on A Mighty Wind (3 rd this year) and Mainstreet (4 th this year) for future performances on our stage. Thank you, Bob, and keep up the great work! The Central States District s (CSD) quartet, Premium Blend, placed 17 th with a score of 82.0%. Our two CSD choruses, Central Standard (Metro Kansas City) and Pathfinder (Fremont, NE), placed 9 th and 11 th with scores of 87.2% and 85.1% respectively. Make plans to attend next year s International Convention, just east of us in Pittsburgh, PA, June 28 - July 5, Early registration is available. Housing at Hotel - Westin Pittsburgh will be available January 15th. The venue for the contests is Consol Energy Center. Come and enjoy next year what the 7 chapter members and family members enjoyed this year. You will meet the best people of the world, and experience great singing, quarteting in the hallways, and sing a couple of songs with 7,000 barbershoppers and families. The LAC singing in Junction City this summer.

4 4 InCider Press Summer 2014 Convention attendees at Las Vegas 2014 Photos from Gary Mott Don and Joan Thomson Gary Allison and Joyce Mott Harvey and Janet Kiser Telva and Bob Swenson Bill and Marilyn Bunyan Margaret and Mike Shepherd Recent happening for Don Thomson Don and Joan Thomson were in KC a past weekend celebrating their 50th anniversary. All of their kids, grandkids and foster grandkids are flying in to celebrate with them. The kids arranged it and all Don and Joan need to do is to show up. Nice. Look at all the attention that our "Tenor Volunteer, Don" gets at our Afterglow at the Hibachi Hut. This could be YOU!!! Don reported this A big surprise...jim Bagby and his senior district champion quartet (Armchair Chorderbacks) came to serenade us! They sang five or six songs, and I got to sing one with them. They also sang Lida Rose with Joan singing the Dream of Now with them. Quite a blast...a lot of fun! Another item on Don Thomson s bucket list was crossed off when he got to direct the Municipal band

5 Summer 2014 InCider Press 5 Sweet harmony Charlie Wilko This was sent in by Marilyn Bunyan. Charlie is their son-in-law and this was the first convention he had been to. Editor As I write this, we're waiting for our flight in Las Vegas, to start our trip back to Guinea. While I won't cover the rest of our awesome summer trip, I will write about what brought us to Vegas. We're here to spend time with Stevanie's brother and my in-laws, doing something they enjoy quite a lot, attending the Barbershop International Convention and competition. We shared a room at the MGM Grand, but didn't get outside much (it was 110 degrees out), and there wasn't that much free time. The hotel is so big it takes a 20 minute walk to get to a door out. Seventeen of the 20 largest hotels in the USA are in this city, so the 5000 rooms it had wasn't that exceptional in Vegas. Each is a little city all by itself. The hotel across the street had a full sized roller coaster that went in and out! We listened to over 80 quartets, 2 songs each, from all over the world (USA, Sweden, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain). Twenty of those quartets competed a second time, and 10 again for the finals on the last day. It might sound like way too much Sweet Adeline... type songs, but they were so amazingly good, the harmony so precise, and presented with such style, animation, and some with humor, that even when the quartets sang the same songs from time to time (there's a limited number of approved songs) it was still very interesting to watch. One day we listened all day and into the night to 31 mens' choruses, each with their 2 songs. Glad I wasn't a judge. There were 1900 singers in the choruses. All the choirs sang very, very well (and for more than a few groups add another very or 2). All were animated, some with dancing choir members, many with props and humor, some with costumes that would do a Broadway production proud. If you like to hear choirs from time to time, I recommend attending the Harmony Society convention (next in Pittsburgh). The other exceptional thing was the audience. Most of the 10k crowd were Harmony Society members and their wives. Between groups, while the judges were collecting scores, the crowd was like any stadium crowd, stomping in time, chanting, or doing a wave, but when the singing started, everyone was in their seats, no one was talking, not even the coughs one hears in a crowd that large. Golden Rules for Singers: From Mike Shepherd, as found on Facebook 1. Everyone should sing the same piece. 2. Take your time turning pages. 3. Do not worry if you do not have perfect pitch you may find singing less stressful without it. 4. The right note at the wrong time is the wrong note. 5. The wrong note at the right time is still a wrong note. 6. A wrong note sung timidly is still a wrong note. 7. A wrong note sung with authority is an interpretation. 8. A true interpretation is realized when not one note of the original remains. 9. If you happen to sing a wrong note, give a nasty look to one of your neighbors. 11. If everyone gets lost except you, follow those who get lost. 12. If you are completely lost, stop everyone and start an argument about repeat marks. 13. Strive to achieve the maximum notes per second that way you at least gain the admiration of the totally incompetent. 14. If a passage is difficult, slow it down. If it is easy, speed it up. Everything will work itself out in the end. 15. Markings for slurs, dynamics, ornaments and breathing should be ignored. They are only there to embellish the score. 16. When everyone else has finished singing, you should not sing any notes you may still have left. After the first Summer Church Performance Kathy and Steve Thompson treated the chorus to a cook out. Mighty good. Thanks Friends.

6 6 InCider Press Summer 2014 The Little Apple Chorus sings with the Municipal Band at the city park Singing with the Band By Mark Robb What a great night for singing with the Band! On July 18, the Chorus performed with the Municipal Band. This is fast becoming a summertime tradition. The Municipal Band just finished their 94th season. Thanks to Dr. Tracz for the invitation and to Ken Lang for working hard to make us look good. This year was a little different than previous years. It was a beautiful evening for Mid July. The temperature was in the 80's, the humidity was low and we had a nice breeze as well. The great weather combined with this being the Band's final performance of the year attracted a very nice crowd. The Chorus performed two pieces on their own and then sang the Battle Hymn with the Band. Singing with the Band is always a challenge as both groups and their directors are accustomed to performing on their own at whatever pace their directors feel is right. There were a couple of hiccups during warm up but at show time things went pretty well. Thank the talented directors for this - particularly Ken Lang, who managed to direct the Chorus with one eye on Dr. Tracz at all times. The audience was very appreciative and gave us a standing ovation following the performance of the Battle Hymn. If you missed this performance, you missed a chance to hear a great show by the Band. The band's show featured several very good solo performances as well. I noticed that almost all the Chorus members stayed around after the Chorus finished and listened to the Band. It was one of the most enjoyable performances with the Band ever. Special thanks need to go out to those who helped transport the risers and sound equipment to and from the Park and to those who came early to set it up. Thanks to Mike Sexton for working with the sound equipment to make us sound good. Thanks to Ken Lang for working

7 Summer 2014 InCider Press 7 The Man in the Fedora by Andrew Kvasnica Where Did All That Come From? by Andrew Kvasnica A music team is bound to be a conglomeration of mixed passions. Tastes, styles, methods, likes, and dislikes are all very close to a music team member s heart and life. So, when the members of a music team congregate, the experience is usually colorful and bold. With the variety, final leadership is needed. The consistent member of the LAC music team, and the one who has set the tone and direction for the LAC is Ken Lang. This was a challenging show for Ken for at least two reasons: he had a new Music and Performance VP, and he had a new team proposing ideas for the Spring Show. I have to hand it to Ken. Never having worked with him this closely before, he was guiding, considerate, open to uncomfortable possibilities, decisive, and successful. Early in the show prep stage, Ken showed that he was very willing to let the various facets of the show be presented to him so that he could execute it. I remember the weighty feeling as the details were given to him stage by stage. He would look them over, systematically absorbing them all, and committing the plan to memory. He would then give comments on revisions or acceptability, and subsequently execute it with finality. Ken s willingness to work with me always demonstrated his commitment to the LAC and an understanding of the personality of the chorus. During some of the more difficult times of the show prep, Ken and I would have discussions about stretching the chorus in a particular direction: musically, choreographically, the entirety of Sweet Georgia Brown, etc. These discussions would bring out one of the most admirable qualities of Ken. On several occasions, he would struggle with what the chorus hadn t yet adequately learned. He would wonder about the potential success of what we were doing. Again, I would visit with him, both of us seeking the best solution, and many times, he would then rest assured that the chorus would pull it off. This was very trusting of him, and very commendable. The product of his persistence, diligence, and hope was worth the wait. Thank you, Ken, for your leadership. Know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid. He says he can stop any time. There are houses. Then, there are houses that catch your eye. Both are functional, but one has a special appeal to it. For our Spring Show, Sentimental Journey, I feel that I built a house. The house that caught people s eyes, though, was built by Travis Troyer. In an interesting blend, Travis and I co-worked on this show to put all the pieces together. Each of us worked with our strengths and made up for the weaknesses of the other. I want to tell you some background from Travis s part of the Sentimental Journey. There was music. When it came to starting with a blank slate, various songs percolated through Travis s mind (songs in our library, songs he had heard somewhere, or songs that he wished existed). He would start with a general idea of the show, and then musically, the picture would form in his mind. Songs would bounce in and out of consideration with rapidity and evaluation until a full slate of songs were there, on paper, to choose from. What would take some a remarkable amount of time, occurred quite efficiently and well with Travis. There was the Transition Board. Travis and I wondered what would visually hold this show together. Various ideas were brainstormed. Travis, however, kept thinking about the Transition Board. He talked it over with Pat Caffey and kept pursuing it. When Travis and I sat down to go through the details of the show, his liking of the Transition Board led to us using it wherever we could. This led to some of the fun effects of our show: the initial transition of the LAC into the young St. George Choir, the transition of Dave Parker (wildcat fan) into Willie the Wildcat, the dejected Mike McCaffrey becoming the spunky and confident man shakin his blues away, and the heartfelt memories during The Little Boy from later life to boyhood and back. Lastly, the presence of the amazing St. George Elementary Honor Choir was brought to our stage by Travis s vision for our show. Interestingly, this fulfillment occurred at a time when our Society was looking at a broader vision for vocal music and barbershop s place in the whole scene. Our use of another non-barbershop vocal group strengthened the overall show. It takes a large amount of natural ability and persistence to think creatively about designing an audience-pleasing show. I appreciate the way Travis used his skill to bring great audience appeal to our Sentimental Journey. HELP YOUR CHORUS GROW FIND A NEW MEMBER

8 Summer 2014 InCider Press 8 Awards Don Thompson was given his pin for his 19th man of note for Paul Allen Ken Garwick received his second Man of note for the addition of his Father to the Chorus. Dr. Jim Gardner received his pin and certificate from Don Thomson, Loren Alexander and Paul Allen for completing the Polecat program. New members John Garwick and Steve McKenzie receive their membership certificates at the June 26 Chapter meeting. John is a bass and Steve is a lead. Both have already made real contributions to our singing

9 Summer 2014 InCider Press 9 Barbershopper of the Month awards John Thomason was awarded BSOM for July for all his assistance with the Chapter Trailer and arranging the Venues for several of our events. For a change of pace Karen Nanninga, our editor, was given the BSOM award for her work on our newsletter The InCider. Bob Ridley was given Barbershopper of the Month for June for his work in our library. During the Junction City Sing Out, the chorus was treated royally at Gary and Yvonne Drakes home. Thank you.

10 Summer 2014 InCider Press 10 Komments From Karen What and busy and wonderful Summer. First the weather for the most part has been great, no long heat spells. I was privileged to go with the chorus to two of the Summer Church Performances. You guys are awesome. The congregations were very attentive and appreciated your singing. When you sang with the band, we brought our Amish neighbors along with us to enjoy the singing. And did they ever. They enjoyed your part the most. The band was okay but they said they are not use to that kind of music. In their church meetings they sing without music. August is an exciting month for us. We picked up our 25th exchange student on the 10th. Lukas Schwan is from Germany and 16 years old. I am anxious to introduce him to barbershop harmony. He is a sweet boy. Then all our children are coming home for help us celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. That ( the kids coming home together) never happens. I know some of you have already made that milestone. Where did those 50 years go? And it sounds like there are a lot of exciting things happening the chorus this fall and winter. Keep on singing. An adventure with Harry Harmony On a beautiful summer's day, Harry and his eight-yearold son were lying on the grass by the riverbank, looking up at the sky and watching the wisps of cloud float gently overhead. After a few minutes of silence, the boy turned to his father and asked, "Dad, why are we here?" "That's a good question, Son. I think we're here to enjoy days such as this, to experience nature in all its glory, the vastness of the sky, the beauty of the trees, the song of the birds, the rippling flow of the water. We're here to help make the world a better place, to pass on our wisdom to future generations who will hopefully profit from our achievements and learn from our mistakes. We're here to savor the small triumphs of life - passing your school exams, the birth of a new member of the family, promotion at work, a win for the home team! And we're here to comfort those dearest to us in times of distress, to provide kindness and compassion, support and strength, to let them know that, no matter how bad a situation may seem, they are not alone. Does that answer your question, Son?" "Not really, Dad." "No?" "No, what I meant was, why are we here when Mom said to pick her up forty minutes ago?" Two more photos of Summer Church Performances. Left one in Manhattan and the right one was in Junction City.

11 Karen Nanninga th Road Axtell, Kansas District events Little Apple Chorus upcoming dates Due to the varie- ty of dates and months there is not a regular calendar Regular meeting on the 18th of September was moved to the 17, (Wednesday) because of Home KSU Football Game Scheduled to start at 6:30 PM September 21, (Sunday) Clay Center Performance 2:30 PM - Regular meeting on the 20th of November (Thursday) was moved to the 19th, (Wednesday) because of the KSU Football Game (TV) Scheduled to start at 6:00 PM 2014 Fall Convention October 10-11, 2014 Chorus/Seniors prelims & district contests for Int l Cedar Rapids, Iowa 2015 Spring Convention May 01-02, 2015 Quartets will be qualifying for Int l Overland Park, KS 2015 Fall Convention October 09-10, 2015 Overland Park, KS Thanks to the following for articles Mike Shepherd, Harvey Kiser, Don Thomson, Andrew Kvasnica. Mark Robb, Mike Sexton and Charlie Wilko, via Marilyn Bunyan And to Gary Mott, Mike Shepherd and Bart Bartholomew for photos. Thanksgiving (Falls on Thursday) November 27th - No Decision at this point? Christmas Show - December 14th (Sunday) Installation Banquet - December 18th (Thursday 6:00 PM) Christmas - December 25th (Thursday) No Decision at this point?