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Miracle of voices

The 20 male singers of the Academy Barbershop Chorus keep a unique, fading American art form alive, saying barbershop is the best music one can make.

By TIM GRANT
Published January 21, 2005

[Times photos: Joseph Garnett Jr.]

Director Brian Mason leads the Academy Barbershop Chorus in Joshua during a weekly rehearsal session. Mason said the Academy group is selective in admitting new singers. “Other choruses will take anyone and that’s admirable,” he said. “But we have a standard. We’re looking for people with a higher talent level, higher drive, higher focus.”

	Stephen Stenzler, right, and Milt Bronson warm up their voices during rehearsal for the Academy Barbershop Chorus. Each year on Valentine’s Day, the singers hire themselves out to the public. “I’ve seen people so happy to see us show up they were in tears. It affects us too to see someone that happy,” said Bronson of Largo, who has been singing barbershop for 28 years. “It kind of tugs at your heart.”
	Mason leads the Academy Barbershop Chorus through rehearsal as members, from left, Dean Davis, John Kulesza and Michael LeBlanc follow along. The group meets every Monday night, rehearsing for three hours, blending their bass, tenor, lead and baritone voices to sentimental tunes like Sweet Georgia Brown, Stand By Me and Sam Cooke’s Another Saturday Night.
	Bass singer Mike Korbel gets a little help from his wife, Carolyn, as he prepares for a rehearsal.

TAMPA - They call it the fifth voice.

When the chords of their four-part harmony ring perfectly in tune, barbershop singers say the result is a magical sound that soars above their heads and electrifies the air.

"Sometimes you can hear it bounce off the ceiling," said John Kulesza of South Tampa, who has been singing barbershop for 25 years. "The sound is so sweet. It's like striving for the gates of heaven. You're reaching for perfection."

The old-time a cappella singers sporting gaudy costumes and straw hats had their heyday in vaudeville and minstrel shows at the turn of the century. Members of the Academy Barbershop Chorus are among thousands around the globe dedicated to keeping this uniquely American art form alive.

Many say they love barbershop for this simple reason: The first time they experienced the miracle of the fifth voice, they knew they'd spend the rest of their lives trying to do it again and again.

They meet Monday nights at Independent Day School on Orange Grove Drive in Carrollwood. The 20 men rehearse for three hours, blending their bass, tenor, lead and baritone voices to sentimental tunes like Sweet Georgia Brown, Stand By Me and Sam Cooke's Another Saturday Night.

They aim to beat Heralds of Harmony, the venerable barbershop chorus that has held the Florida state title for 14 years straight.

Most of the Academy Barbershop members used to sing for the Heralds of Harmony. They broke away a year and a half ago to start this new group, hoping they could build a chorus that can one day achieve what the Heralds never have - winning the international barbershop singing title.

"The Heralds have about 80 members at any given time and traditionally they've been the chorus to beat," said Brian Mason of Academy Barbershop. "They don't get beat that often within the district."

Barbershop originated with quartet performances, four men harmonizing sappy love songs with no instruments backing them up. But as participation declined over the years, shy and nervous would-be singers preferred choruses.

In a popular music culture now dominated by the influence of hip hop and slick digital sounds, barbershop is anti-Puff Daddy, the musical heritage of mostly white men who think it's hip to be square.

There are 44 barbershop choruses in Florida. All are members of what might be the longest named organization anywhere: the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, commonly called the Barbershop Harmony Society.

The society, based in Kenosha, Wis., has about 31,300 members worldwide.

"Hopefully we can encourage young people," said Academy Barbershop singer Mike Pinals, a physician. "Our chorus' motto is: "This isn't your grandfather's chorus.' "

While some choruses compete fiercely against each other, they also socialize. Heralds of Harmony will host a potluck dinner before the state competition in late April in Jacksonville.

"We are competitors, but friends," said Dave Cross, 46, an Academy Barbershop lead singer.

Each year on Valentine's Day, Academy Barbershop singers hire themselves out to the public for $50. Four tuxedo-wearing singers show up at people's homes, offices and hospital rooms to harmonize two love songs, Let Me Call You Sweetheart and My Wild Irish Rose.

"I've seen people so happy to see us show up they were in tears. It affects us too to see someone that happy," said singer Milt Bronson, 72. "It kind of tugs at your heart."

The influence of barbershop music on other popular forms of singing is profound. "Old Blue Eyes" himself, the great Frank Sinatra, sang in a barbershop quartet before he became famous with the Tommy Dorsey band.

In the latter half of the 20th century, the close harmony style was the hallmark of pop and jazz bands like the Beach Boys, the Four Seasons and the Four Freshmen.

Historians think barbershop singing originated in the African-American community, starting in the 1800s. Black people harmonized the popular songs, spiritual songs and folk songs of the day, according to African-American musical tradition.

The sound became so popular that white professional quartets brought it into recording studios.

The 20 men who sing for the Academy include music teachers, accomplished singers and some men with no musical training at all.

Some have been singing barbershop for 40 years. Others have only recently discovered the art form.

"When I saw retirement coming, I thought it would be a good idea to find something that would be fulfilling," said Adelman, an ear, nose and throat physician who retired in 2001.

He happened on barbershop when he heard the Heralds of Harmony perform at a Rotary event.

"I thought barbershop was just four guys standing around," Adelman said. "I didn't realize it is so demanding to make the right sounds and breathe properly. You really get captivated by your ability to blend."

For more information about the Academy Barbershop Chorus, call John Kulesza at (813) 503-0009.

[Last modified January 21, 2005, 11:09:09]