Chorus to Perform at Middletown Library on Saturday Afternoon
PHOTO: The Chorus of the Atlantic is one of the a cappella group to perform Saturday at the Middletown Library.
MIDDLETOWN, NJ - As part of its arts programming, Middletown Township Public Library will host an A Cappella Concert on Saturday, August 18 at 2:30 pm. The Chorus of the Atlantic will perform classic arrangements in the barbershop harmony style. Four-part harmony is the hallmark of barbershop music.
The Red Bank Area Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society has been creating music in Monmouth County for more than 60 years. The local chapter has two performing choruses.
The Chorus of the Atlantic, a group of about 20 men who meet weekly on Tuesday evenings at 7:30pm at the Red Bank Middle School. The chorus performs at town events, fairs, and festivals throughout Monmouth County. The group recently performed at the Monmouth County fair and a Blueclaws Baseball game and will be featured next month at the Longstreet Farm Home Harvest Days in Holmdel.
The other performing chorus, The Matinee Idles, is a small group of retired gentlemen (and women) who perform afternoon performances at area senior facilities and community centers throughout the year.
In addition, barbershop quartets will perform traditional barbershop harmony songs on the program. The Middletown Townshop Public Library performing arts program begins at 2:30 pm. in the Community Room on Saturday, August 18th. The library is located at 55 New Monmouth Road, Middletown.
A cappella, or unaccompanied singing, is the art of singing without instruments to back up the singer. All the sound comes from the singers. In barbershop harmony, a melody singer is surrounded by three other singers in different parts that create the harmonic chords of 4 part harmony. In barbershop harmony, the melody, or lead part is carried by the second tenor line. The lead sings just below the tenor, how carries all the top notes. The bass part is the lowest part of the chord and the baritone part fills in the chord, usually below the lead part, but sometimes above. String all those chords together in a melodic way and you get great music in 4-part harmony.
The chapter members are part of an international society of barbershop singers numbering 25,000 men in North America. This year, for the first time in its 80-year history, the Barbershop Harmony Society, still formally known as the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA), has opened its membership to women. Their new motto, Everyone in Harmony, invites people of all walks of life and any gender to join in the joy of singing.
About Us
The Red Bank Area Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society is part of a worldwide organization of men who love to sing barbershop harmony. We provide an enjoyable social and educational environment where members come together to sing, striving for excellence in musical performance. Our Vision is to promote the highest quality of chorus singing and to preserve the barbershop style.
We welcome visitors, especially those who think they might like to join us in song. If you can carry a tune and enjoy singing, chances are you will fit right in. Even if your singing skills are rusty or you can't read music, barbershop harmony is a great way to start (or re-start) your singing passion.
Barbershop singing is a wonderful hobby for men of all ages who like to sing. And besides the joy and fun of singing, "barbershopping" offers warm fellowship and enjoyable social activities. Come and try it out!
During the summer we meet weekly at 7:30 PM on Tuesday evenings at the Colts Neck Reformed Church, 139 County Rd 537, Colts Neck, NJ except as noted on our calendar.
During the school year, we meet weekly at 7:30 PM on Tuesday evenings at the Red Bank Middle School, Harding Road, Red Bank, except as noted on our calendar. (Enter the parking lot in front of the school entrance from Branch Avenue.)
Guests are always welcome!
The chorus of the Atlantic performs regularly at FirstEnergy Park for the Blueclaws Baseball audience.
The Red Bank Area Chapter has two active choruses: the Chorus of the Atlantic, under the direction of Craig Page, which rehearses on Tuesday evenings, and the Matinee Idles, under the direction of John Huetz, a smaller but very active chorus which rehearses on Thursday afternoons at the Latter Day Saints Church on Reynolds Drive, in Eatontown. Both activities provide a lot of good singing and a lot of fun.
The Matinee Idles is a barbershop chorus that meets and performs during the day (their wives won't let them out at night.) For information about the Matinee Idles, call Rich Dunne at 732-223-3858 or email him at r[email protected].
Visit the Matinee Idles facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/matineeidles/
For more information about the Chorus of the Atlantic, telephone Vice President for Public Relations Allan Dean at 732-687-6810, or email him at [email protected]
We'd love to hear from you.
Want to learn more? Check our Barbershopping FAQs page.