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Essentials in
Collegiate Quartet Contest
HEAT rocks the Summit
The 2003 MBNA America Collegiate Barbershop Quartet Contest Champion, HEAT, from the University of Miami was invited to perform at A Cappella Summit and they share their experience with us.
Updated: 12/9/2003 9:48:00 AM
HEAT rocks the Summit!
By Matt Swann, baritone of HEAT
Each year, organizers of the East Coast A Cappella Summit, held in Boston, traditionally invite a barbershop group to perform. This year, the 2003 MBNA America Collegiate Barbershop Quartet Contest Champion, HEAT, from the University of Miami was invited to perform at this prestigious event.
We were very well received by the large crowd that assembled at Boston University Halloween night for some great a cappella singing. The chilly 60 degree weather – Hey, we’re from Miami! - failed to cool our enthusiasm for performing “way up North.”
The A Cappella Summit is a cornucopia of ideas, workshops, and performances by musicians from across the country. Much like our own Harmony College programs, one can take classes on everything from vocal percussion to pop arranging. These classes are very informative, taught by masters, and offer a lot of bang for the buck. Many famous artists from groups such as Take 6, Rockapella, and Harmonytrix are brought in to lead the sessions.
We were the only barbershop group to be featured at the summit, which typically fills the bill with contemporary jazz and pop a cappella ensembles from colleges in New England and beyond, including MIT, Tufts and Harvard. In the quartet, the four of us have all had experience in jazz/pop, and we have all sung in the Vocal Jazz program at the University of Miami, contributing to the winning of several DownBeat awards and the recording of a new album.
HEAT closed the show Friday night, and afterward we enjoyed exchanging stories and teaching tags into the wee hours of the morning. Our show consisted of several barbershop tunes as well as a few pop/R&B numbers. We also did a demonstration of the structure of barbershop, singing through each part and demonstrating tuning, balance and dynamics. The audience thoroughly enjoyed learning the “Mickey Mouse” tag from us, and the quartet left the stage to a standing O and cheers for an encore!
The attendees of the summit were very turned on by the barbershop sound, noting its difference from the pop a cappella style. A particularly intrigued performer from one of the college groups noted that vocal independence and musical line are more important in barbershop because of the homophonic structure and emotional delivery. He was hoping to hear some more barbershop and asked HEAT to mail him some CDs. We exchanged addresses and hope to mail him several, including ours, which (shameless plug!) goes into production this January.
Another convention attendee, a music educator from eastern Maine, liked the focus on presentation and the more “grounded” approach Barbershoppers take in producing a well-rounded performance. He was hoping to bring much of what he had learned at the summit back to his school and apply it to his students.
The A Cappella summit is a must-see event for any lover of vocal harmony. It is an educational experience as well as a terrific opportunity to hear top tier singing. We highly encourage anyone in the New England area next October to attend the entire weekend. Each year the barbershop quartets continue to impress the crowd and show just how incredibly our art form can affect people.
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