Mountain Music
High Country Barbershop Chorus Keeps On Singin' by Kristen Denbow The Barbershop Chorus in Show Low has a been through a lot since its inception many decades ago. Our local chapter was revived in this area by Doc Dockendorf, when he moved to Show Low. There had been a chorus, but it had broken up, unbeknownst to him. The local paper still had an ad about the chorus meeting Tuesday nights at Blue Ridge High School in the music room, so he thought they were still getting together. Doc went to check it out and was disappointed to discover the group had dissolved several years before. Months after this discovery, he got the roster from the old chapter and started making calls. Several members were interested in starting up the group again so, on or about April 14th, 2000, the group began again with 12 people. After meeting every week for a while, the group grew to 20 and decided to apply for their chapter license. A couple years later, the group chose to have a float in the 4th of July Parade and have ever since. For the first several years, they won Best Musical Float. Doc was the director for 18 years until Theresa came along and he was able to pass the torch. One thing Doc insisted on every year was to enter the Arizona Division Barbershop Chorus contest to get feedback from the judges and improve. They made District in 2010. James Mark Burden has been the assistant director. Things have changed for the group over the past few years due to covid and other factors, but they are persevering. They stopped singing for two years because of covid passing between singers easily. Despite this they have a very good core and hope to grow to get back to where they were. The White Mountain Chapter currently has fifteen to twenty members and is always open to welcoming more. New members are coming in and they have opened up to accepting women in the group. “A lot of the chapters have done that, because it’s a little more difficult especially in a small community to find people coming in. The hard part with women is that their voice has to have a certain tonal quality and they have to know how to use their voice so that it blends with the men. There is a challenge,” explains Theresa Dick. The Barbershop Society holds Harmony University every year, which has helped to draw in the younger crowds. The big competitions, all the chorus’ being in the chorus competitions, more young people are coming into barbershop, according to James. One of the goals of the chorus for the community is get some more of the young 36 The Maverick Magazine
June 2022 Issue
people involved, such as high schoolers becoming part of the chorus, or even forming their own youth quartet. Doc Dockendorf - Director Emeritus Doc began his musical journey of 51 years as a sophomore in high school when he walked into a music store and bought a book of barbershop arrangements. In 1949, he was in the choir at school and formed a quartet with three other students called the Cold Fire Four. The uniform consisted of Cold Fire bow ties and shoelaces. When they would sing, a blacklight would be put on so all the audience would see on stage was teeth, bow ties, and shoelaces. Doc decided it was something he wanted to do however life intervened and he didn’t really have time to spend doing it. He went to school, and then the army, where he did have a quartet. In college he had no time for barbershop though one of his criteria for graduating to get a job was the city had to be below the Mason-Dixon line and it had to have a barbershop chapter. Doc went to West Palm Beach Florida and joined one there. He enjoys the ringing chords the most. “Like angels, singing those notes up there. I got hooked.” “Well, we’re really excited to be able to have a show, that’s first and foremost. Because of all the health reasons and stuff. It should be really good. We have an excellent quartet coming in. We’re excited to be back on stage performing. I just hope that the people of the White Mountains support us as they always have. Come out and hear the show and just enjoy themselves.” ~ Doc Dockendorf Theresa Dick - Director Theresa took over as director a couple years prior to Covid. She is invested in staying true to the foundation of barbershop while updating the organization to draw more youth and increase the numbers. “We’re just trying to move it in a little more modern direction. When people think of barbershoppers they think of old men in candy-stripe vests and bowties and handlebar mustaches. That’s where we came from, that’s our foundation. But in order to draw more youth into it we do have to update it. That’s one of the things we’re looking at doing while keeping that foundation in place. We don’t want to lose - I don’t want to see them lose where it started. But at the same time, we do have to move it forward, and start with more new stuff. We’re not in a big city, we don’t have the option and all the people. So we have to do - I guess we have to be a little Celebrating 20 years “on the Mountain”
