Bringing Barbershop Harmony to the Classroom BY DEBBIE BAKER, SA DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Titanium Quartet at the Sweet Adelines booth at the NAfME conference in Grapevine, Texas.
W
e had a fantastic time representing Sweet Adelines at the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME) conference last November in Grapevine, Texas. SA public relations manager Lauren Stark and I combined our individual expertise into a powerhouse exhibit full of energy and music! The conference drew choral and instrumental music educators, collegiate music education students and community and publicschool choir directors. That was exciting for me because, as a music educator and former NAfME/SA educator award winner, I have a unique perspective into the choral music classroom. Our goal was to ensure everyone we met went away knowing that SA is the world’s largest a cappella singing organization for women of all ages, and that our commitment to advancing the barbershop art form includes educational opportunities around the globe, from New York to New Zealand. Our new presentation for the event featured commentary from well-known choral music educators such as Lori Lyford, Debbie Cleveland, Lynn Gackle and Ryan Heller, who spoke about the benefits of incorporating barbershop music into the traditional choral classroom. The video demonstration included performances by several Rising Star winners, including C’est La Vie, Hot Pursuit and Adrenaline.
42
January 2019 | TH EP I TC H P I P E
Our booth was adjacent to the luncheon area which allowed us to provide entertainment and education to many, many attendees. Attendees were invited to sing with SA's third place and most entertaining international quartet, Titanium, who enthusiastically taught tags so participants could experience the thrill of ringing chords. The crowds often erupted in applause as the sounds echoed through the hall. On the second day, several attendees came to our exhibit asking for more information. One of the highlights of the trip was being invited to participate in an after-hours drum circle. While the intent of the activity didn’t include formalized singing, it did allow us to interact and make connections with several collegiate vocal music students who later asked how SA could help them establish barbershop singing in their future classrooms. These interactions also generated a lot of interest in the upcoming Rising Star quartet and YWIH chorus video contests. We had music educators requesting classroom resources and a couple of women interested in visiting their local chorus. In all, it was a wonderful, interactive way to demonstrate the beauty of barbershop harmony and the educational opportunities SA offers all over the world.
