I was in a quartet for almost 20 years that won Harmony Sweepstakes and then went on to reach the upper levels of Barbershop International competition, but never won. After reaching our highest point in competition (third place, bronze medal), I recall our Tenor commenting that he was glad that I had convinced the quartet not to quit 3 years earlier. We were on our way to sing for a hospitality room full of people when some friends who were past champions met us at the door of the hotel and exclaimed that we really should have won because we were the most original, most entertaining and best sounding quartet of the week. These comments were very flattering and I know that they meant it. However, two members of my quartet never quite got over that idea - that they should have won, but didn't. To be honest, this version of our judging system never quite understood our value or that there was merit to both entertainment and audience impact. A couple of years later, my personal feelings about the group were validated by the director and producer of a documentary about our hobby who questioned a judging system that would not have already awarded the championship to what they termed "the most enjoyable, best singing and most exciting quartet" they'd seen in their travels. I explained to them that not only were the judges interested mostly in craft and focused their judging parameters on that, but that they also most highly prized us in the Singing and Music categories and that it was the Presentation category that was always our obstacle. Presentation always provided higher scores to groups who stood and sang, rather than engaging in movement and merriment - primarily because the level of difficulty was much higher with our approach and there was no benefit - score-wise - to doing so. My statement to my quartet mates was always the same - that we had experiences that no other quartet could claim, that we had been blessed to be beloved by audiences all over the world and that our brand of performing would be welcome on any stage (barbershop or not) not only anywhere in Hollywood (where we all lived), but anywhere in the world. I would also wager that we had a higher percentage of standing ovations than any other quartet who'd done as many shows as we had. Having been an actor and auditioned for major network studios and having done stand-up in Los Angeles, I recognized that rejection by one medium did not spell rejection by an entire audience - it was an assessment of a particular set of people for a specific project at that time. Metropolis received 5 bronze medals in a row. But I regularly speak to barbershoppers (barbershop quartet champions included) who frequently forget that we never won that championship. I'm very proud of the quality of singing and entertainment that we brought to the stage with our humor and openness to new ideas, as well as an interest in bonding with our audiences. In the end, every member of the quartet agreed that our goals had been met. Even if we never did win a gold medal, we'd never lost an audience and we'd won the hearts and minds of those who'd watched us on stage. And isn't that the real goal of any entertainer?
gearing up for my first icca's after being an acapella obsessed kid for the better part of a decade and returned to your channel; this exactly what i needed to hear
THIS right here is the stuff! Thanks Deke! You put it into words that capture the Soul of what it means to sing A Cappella! Mad Love to you from Cape Town, South Africa 🇿🇦🙌🏾❤️
I created a group at a junior college because of my obsession of collegiate a cappella/ a cappella in general. We entered ICCA for 3 years straight. I was determined my original mindset was to make a mark stating that community colleges can take on a UC or state schools. Each year my mindset changed. From our second and third year when we competed we worked hard and wanted just to improve ourselves and had wonderful performances. But our most recent year that was our highest high and created beatiful memories and surprisingly got awarded. Even though we lost we were so proud that we got peope to look our way and got acknowledged that the junor college can compete with the rest of them. And these memories will be forever locked in my heart and cherished forever.
Thanks, Deke. You always make me think. Singing in a chorus that's won SAI International a number of times, we certainly have a competitive focus. But we also focus on fun, which I think is what you were saying, yes!!?
Biggest win for my chorus in my time with them was dead last place in the 2013 mid atlantic district western division contest. We scored in the low 50s which was a higher score that most of the choruses in the division because they did not compete. It was our first appearance on stage in about 10 years. Just getting in stage was a tremendous feat in and of itself and the score was respectable all things considered.
I was in a quartet for almost 20 years that won Harmony Sweepstakes and then went on to reach the upper levels of Barbershop International competition, but never won. After reaching our highest point in competition (third place, bronze medal), I recall our Tenor commenting that he was glad that I had convinced the quartet not to quit 3 years earlier. We were on our way to sing for a hospitality room full of people when some friends who were past champions met us at the door of the hotel and exclaimed that we really should have won because we were the most original, most entertaining and best sounding quartet of the week. These comments were very flattering and I know that they meant it. However, two members of my quartet never quite got over that idea - that they should have won, but didn't. To be honest, this version of our judging system never quite understood our value or that there was merit to both entertainment and audience impact. A couple of years later, my personal feelings about the group were validated by the director and producer of a documentary about our hobby who questioned a judging system that would not have already awarded the championship to what they termed "the most enjoyable, best singing and most exciting quartet" they'd seen in their travels. I explained to them that not only were the judges interested mostly in craft and focused their judging parameters on that, but that they also most highly prized us in the Singing and Music categories and that it was the Presentation category that was always our obstacle. Presentation always provided higher scores to groups who stood and sang, rather than engaging in movement and merriment - primarily because the level of difficulty was much higher with our approach and there was no benefit - score-wise - to doing so. My statement to my quartet mates was always the same - that we had experiences that no other quartet could claim, that we had been blessed to be beloved by audiences all over the world and that our brand of performing would be welcome on any stage (barbershop or not) not only anywhere in Hollywood (where we all lived), but anywhere in the world. I would also wager that we had a higher percentage of standing ovations than any other quartet who'd done as many shows as we had. Having been an actor and auditioned for major network studios and having done stand-up in Los Angeles, I recognized that rejection by one medium did not spell rejection by an entire audience - it was an assessment of a particular set of people for a specific project at that time. Metropolis received 5 bronze medals in a row. But I regularly speak to barbershoppers (barbershop quartet champions included) who frequently forget that we never won that championship. I'm very proud of the quality of singing and entertainment that we brought to the stage with our humor and openness to new ideas, as well as an interest in bonding with our audiences. In the end, every member of the quartet agreed that our goals had been met. Even if we never did win a gold medal, we'd never lost an audience and we'd won the hearts and minds of those who'd watched us on stage. And isn't that the real goal of any entertainer?
Glad to hear that someone else is saying the same thing. Thank you.
gearing up for my first icca's after being an acapella obsessed kid for the better part of a decade and returned to your channel; this exactly what i needed to hear
WE GOT FIRST!!
Discovered this UA-cam channel back in 2018 in college. Randomly saw Pitch Perfect and remember this channel. Why is this channel so underrated??!!
THIS right here is the stuff!
Thanks Deke! You put it into words that capture the Soul of what it means to sing A Cappella!
Mad Love to you from Cape Town, South Africa 🇿🇦🙌🏾❤️
Love this perspective
Thank you!!
I created a group at a junior college because of my obsession of collegiate a cappella/ a cappella in general. We entered ICCA for 3 years straight. I was determined my original mindset was to make a mark stating that community colleges can take on a UC or state schools. Each year my mindset changed. From our second and third year when we competed we worked hard and wanted just to improve ourselves and had wonderful performances. But our most recent year that was our highest high and created beatiful memories and surprisingly got awarded. Even though we lost we were so proud that we got peope to look our way and got acknowledged that the junor college can compete with the rest of them. And these memories will be forever locked in my heart and cherished forever.
GOODNESS, I love you!!!! Thank you for your positive focus on the ESSENTIALS of music ❤️
Excellent Deke, music is EVERYTHING! 💖
Yes! Thanks for sharing and putting this into words. This is so true!
Thank you! I love this.
Thanks, Deke. You always make me think. Singing in a chorus that's won SAI International a number of times, we certainly have a competitive focus. But we also focus on fun, which I think is what you were saying, yes!!?
love this, love you.......thank you........
Biggest win for my chorus in my time with them was dead last place in the 2013 mid atlantic district western division contest. We scored in the low 50s which was a higher score that most of the choruses in the division because they did not compete. It was our first appearance on stage in about 10 years. Just getting in stage was a tremendous feat in and of itself and the score was respectable all things considered.