2012 January - February - Land O` Lakes District of the Barbershop

64 YEARS OF BARBERSHOP HARMONY
Volume 64, Number 1
OVER 714,089 SQUARE MILES
A Bulletin for Barbershoppers in the LO'L District
January - February 2012
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Spring Convention and
International Preliminaries
&
Division One Quartet and
Chorus Competition
May 4 - 5, 2012
Stevens Point, Wisconsin
See page 7 for registration and housing
Pitch Piper
The Pitch Piper is published bi-monthly by the Land
O' Lakes District Association of Chapters of the Society
for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop
Quartets Singing inAmerica, Inc.
Land O' Lakes Chapters are situated in the states of
Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin, the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan, and the Provinces of
Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.
Office of Publication:
Editors: Bob/Bill Fricke
2011 S. 14th Street
Manitowoc, WI 54220
920-684-6866
Email: [email protected]
Send address changes to Pitch Piper c/o SPEBSQSA,
Inc., 110 7thAvenue North, Nashville, TN 37203-3704
Any and all correspondence or copy should be sent
to the editor.
DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President:
LARRY LEWIS
130 Hilltop Drive
Neenah, WI 54956-3516
(H): (920) 727-4800 • (C): (920) 213-2516
[email protected]
Exec. Vice President:
CHUCK SCHUBBE
15398 615th Avenue
Mapleton, MN 56065
(H&W): (507) 869-3756 • (C): (507) 420-3658
[email protected]
Imm. Past President:
DOUGLAS MILLER
4822 Rutledge Street SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372-1847
(H): (952) 447-8265 • (C): (612) 964-8769
(F): (952) 447-0820 • [email protected]
LO'L Home Page on the
Internet: http://loldistrict.org
FUN-FILLED
BARBERSHOPPING YEAR
AHEAD
Submitted by Larry Lewis
LO'L District President
The deadline for the
submission of this article
came prior to the Mid
Winter Convention in
Tucson, so I will report
out on Mid Winter in my
next column.
We are coming off another successful
Leadership Academy. The unseasonably
warm January was a welcome relief from
the traditional cold temperatures usually
experienced during our winter gathering.
The cancellation of our Chord College
allowed us to offer some new electives that
Pitch Piper
Secretary:
ARV ZENK
209 Candi Court
N Mankato, MN 56003
(H): (507) 388-7509 • (C): (507) 995-1655
[email protected]
Treasurer:
JACK EDGERTON
1804 Conant Street
Stevens Point, WI 54481-5819
(H): (715) 344-5746 • (C): (715) 340-3221
[email protected]
Financial Development:
JIM HALL
614 Drumlin Trail
Cambridge, WI 53523
(H&C): (715) 781-8714
[email protected]
District VP - Division One:
THOMAS WEBER
N114 W16629 Royal Court
Germantown, WI 53022
(H): (262) 251-8943 • (W) (262) 789-2500
[email protected]
District VP - Packerland:
CLARY REINHARDT
137 State Street
Neenah, WI 54956
(H): (920) 725-1485 •(C): (920) 915-2355
[email protected]
District VP - Southwest:
THOMAS SCHUBBE
8540 Thomas Avenue S
Bloomington, MN 55431
(H): (952) 888-6773 • (W): (612) 961-7930
[email protected]
District VP - 10,000 Lakes:
DAN TRUE
8091 Stone Creek Drive
Chanhassen, MN 55317-7419
(H): (952) 401-0793 • (W): (952) 512-8049
(C): (952) 210-5156 • [email protected]
District VP - Red Carpet & Northwest:
GORDON BILLOWS
73 Haverstock Crescent
Winnipeg, MB R3P 2M7
(H): (204) 488-2009 • [email protected]
were well received by many in attendance
at the leadership academy. Your LO’L
Board met and approved several policy
changes that will improve both
governance and competitions.
Once
again we enjoyed hearing and seeing
some of our best quartets who participated
in the Top Gun program that weekend.
Thanks to all of those who were on the
faculty and especially to Del Ryberg, Tyler
Smith, Judd Orff and Dave Sylte for
organizing and administering this event.
District VP - Music & Performance:
DAVE SYLTE
1804 18th Street SW
Austin, MN 55912
(H): (507) 433-0004 • (C): (765-717-0081
[email protected]
District VP - Leadership Training (CSLT):
JUDD ORFF
115 E. Linden Street
Stillwater, MN 55082
(H): (651) 439-3108 • [email protected]
DISTRICT OPERATIONS TEAM
Director Contest and Judging:
JACK RYBACK
3640 Lilly Road
Brookfield, WI 53005
(H): (262) 781-6587 • (W&C): (262) 844-5184
[email protected]
Director Events:
CARL A. GRAHN
296 Stoney Ridge Road
Ripon, WI 54971
(H&C): (920) 570-2093
[email protected]
Director Marketing & Public Relations:
KEN METTLER
125 N. Blanding Woods Road
St. Croix Falls, WI 54024
(H): (715) 483-9202
[email protected]
Director Membership:
STEVE ZORN
3036 N Snelling
Roseville, MN 55113
(H): (651) 639-0366
Google Voice: (651) 31S-ZORN
[email protected]
Director Youth In Harmony:
JON BUSS
PO Box 68
Star Prairie, WI 54026
(H): (715) 410-7324
[email protected]
We will soon be entering the time of year
when many chapters will be putting on
their spring shows. I want to encourage
everyone to both enjoy and show support
to each other by attending chapter shows
in your area. I also hope you are planning
to attend the Packerland Division and
District Spring Prelims scheduled for May
4-6 in Stevens Point. Let's all work to make
2012 a successful and fun-filled
barbershopping year.
The board elected and welcomed Jim Hall
as our new Vice President of Financial
Development. Jim is a good fit for this
position and will coordinate his education
and fund raising for Harmony Foundation
along side his chapter visits in the “Take
the Coaching to the Chapter” program.
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January - February 2012
MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM
Submitted by Richard Staedt
Fox Valleyaires President
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM VOCALITY!
Vocality is very pleased
and thankful for the
outstanding year we had in
2011. It is so much fun for
us to get together for
rehearsals, our family
outings and, of course, our
many performances! We
also had a change in
personnel in 2011. Bob stepped down as baritone and Tom
stepped in. Bob is having fun singing in a couple of
choruses and Tom has become “extra” busy with the
Vocality schedule! We are looking forward to getting back
into the competition cycle this coming year and continuing
to learn new songs and improve our overall performance
package. We have enjoyed both renewing and building new
friendships during our travels and look forward to many
more opportunities to do so in 2012.
The Appleton Fox Valleyaires have completed their sixth annual
Community Christmas Chorus program. Chapter Development
VP, Ken Felton collected names from chorus members and P.R.
VP, John Micke spread the word through print media. Letters
were sent to the men the
members turned in.
We
began rehearsals on
st
November 1 and ended on
nd
December 22 with a White
Elephant gift exchange, food
and refreshments. We had
twelve men of all ages as
depicted in the picture. Ten
made all the rehearsals and
th
performed on our 12 annual
Barbershop Bistro Dinner
Manitowoc County, WI
show and our first Christmas
show. Four men have been
- Tim Steffen
auditioned and three have
Milwaukee, WI
submitted membership
- David “Bart”
applications. Zack's wife Mel,
Bartkowiak
in the picture, has been
West
Allis, WI
encouraged to join the Fox
Valley Sweet Adeline chorus in
- Dan Burkee
Appleton. As we follow up on
St. Croix Valley, MN
the guests, it is possible we
- Clarence “Bud”
could have two or four more of
Urtel
them join the chapter.
Here are a few fun “statistics” from 2011.
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2011 Chapter
B.O.T.Y. Winners
Pitch Piper
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12 shows
12,428 driving miles!
Added 10 new songs to our repertoire
Added the newest member to the Vocality family th
Andrew Matchinsky, born April 29
Released our 2nd recording "Alleluia" one year after our
debut CD
Had over 2400 hits on our website
Were aired on the "Harmony Time Radio Show" - twice!
Our debut CD was nominated for "The Best
Barbershop Album" and “Best Barbershop Song” by
the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America
(CASA)
Hosted the "Vocality Hospitality Room" at the LO’L
District Convention
Named the 2011 Recording Artist of the Year by
Woodchuck Studios!
We look forward to seeing many of you throughout 2012!
Vocality
Jay, Tony, David, & Tom
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January - February 2012
LO’L MUSIC EDUCATION
SHARING THE WEALTH
Submitted by Dave Sylte
LO’L Director Music and Performance
Leadership Training
Ac a d e m y - L a ke s
Chord College Review
We c o m p l e t e d o u r
experiment of combining
our music education
classes, The Lakes Chord College (LCC),
with our Leadership Training Academy
(LTA) at UW-River Falls, and based on the
early reviews, things went very well. There
was good attendance for the weekend,
especially at the new Friday afternoon
classes and there was a lot of interest in the
brand new classes.
We had a good representation from
chapters across the District. Especially
encouraging was seeing a number of
young Barbershoppers who were
experiencing a weekend like this for the
first time. A number of these guys were still
singing tags very late on Saturday night
and pitching them in high ranges that
would make dogs in the neighborhood
very nervous.
Just as important as the education part of
the weekend, was a reminder why most of
us became Barbershoppers in the first
place. There's the satisfaction and the
goose bumps that come from ringing fourpart chords. But then there's the fellowship
that goes along with our singing activities.
That's the basis for the frequently used PR
line, “Although most men join for the
music, most stay for the friendships they
make.” What other organization can you
join where you don't necessarily know
what a guy does or did for a living, but you
know what part he sings or in which
quartet he has sung? What a great
weekend for meeting old friends and
making new ones.
This came to mind in recruiting instructors
for the LTA-LCC weekend. Once
approached, these guys are eager to share
their areas of passion and expertise on a
January weekend. And the expertise of our
members in a wide range of topic is really
impressive. Even more impressive is the
willingness of these guys to give up a
Pitch Piper
weekend to share this expertise with fellow
Barbershoppers. Here was some feedback
from instructors after the weekend. One
instructor said, “It's just another way to give
back to a hobby that's been very good to
me.” Another instructor responded,
“Thanks for including me! There are few
things I'd rather do on a weekend than to
spend it with a bunch of dedicated
Barbershoppers.” Still another instructor
added, “I have a blast doing these classes.”
In addition, Adam Scott from the Music
Education Staff of the Barbershop
Harmony Society in Nashville led
eight different classes over the weekend.
(That must be some sort of indoor record
for these weekend education events.) And
after it was all done, Adam was still up late
on Saturday night singing tags with a
bunch of new LO'L Barbershop friends.
Adam's response after the weekend,
“Thanks for letting me be part of a great
event this weekend. LO'L plans and
executes very well, and I was happy to be
part of it.”
We would like to thank all of the
instructors for doing their part to
This sharing of
share the wealth.
administrative and music expertise was a
shot in the arm for all of the chapters who
were fortunate enough to have guys
present to pick things up and take them
back to their chapter.
Sharing of the Wealth Continues
This sharing of the wealth will continue
during the coming year given the music
2012
education resources that are available to
each chapter in the District. The first
resource is the Standing Ovation
Program (SOP). We now have 23
fellows around the District trained in doing
an SOP review of your annual show or any
other chorus or quartet performance. All
you need to do is send me an e-mail and
we will direct an SOP Reviewer your way.
The second resource is Take the
Coaching to the Chapters (TTCC).
We revised the criteria for this program last
year so now any chapter that wants to
improve its performance is eligible for one
free coaching session each year. Again,
send me your request and Judd Orff from
our District Education Team will recruit a
coach who is a good match for your
chapter. For both SOP and TTCC requests,
e-mail me at [email protected].
The last music education resource is the
four Quartet Coaching Clinics that are
scheduled for this year as follows:
• 10,000 Lakes Division
March 3 - Stillwater, MN
• Southwest Division
March 3 - Faribault, MN
• Packerland Division
March 31 - Appleton, WI
• Red Carpet/NW Divisions
April 14 - Fargo, ND
For contact information on these Clinics,
refer to your LO'L 2012 District Directory.
We are trying to share the rich music wealth
that we have all around us. Now all you
need to do is take advantage of it.
SINGOUT
Sunday, August 12
Call time will be around 11:00am
Game is at 12:10pm
We have set the date for next year’s trip to Target Field. We will again be singing the
National Anthem, God Bless America and Take Me Out To The Ballgame.
Get out your calendar and plan to join us in delivering another vocal treat to 40,000 of
your closest friends!
For more information, email Ken Slinde at [email protected]
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January - February 2012
• Consider what advertising you will do - print media,
directories, etc.
• Consider training members to sell ads and tickets
• Consider writing articles - educational to the public, giving
helpful tips and advice, become known as a music expert
• Consider what publicity and press releases are needed
• Consider how social media like facebook and your chorus
web site can be used
DO YOU HAVE A MARKETING PLAN
FOR THIS YEAR?
Submitted by Ken Mettler
LO’L Director Marketing and Public Relations
Welcome to another edition of Marketing the
Magic of Barbershop Harmony. It was good to
see many of you at our leadership training in
River Falls. Our subject today is: “Every
Chorus needs a marketing plan for the year.”
The plan can be short and to the point, or it
could take several pages. Sadly, many plans
are complicated and therefore not implemented, so, the simpler
the better. The plan becomes the backbone of how you will
operate this year. However, if you get stuck in the middle of the
plan, don’t throw the whole thing out. Instead, modify it to meet
your current needs and expectations.
Seventh, decide how to make and demonstrate that your shows
are a great bargain for the price. Determine how you will achieve
awareness of your product.
Eighth, determine what marketing strategies you can afford!
What can you do in house? What do you need to outsource?
Budget your dollars.
Ninth, write out measurable and attainable marketing goals. Turn
your goals into numbers. For instance, your goals might be to
gain at least 20 new members or to have one sing-out a month, or
to increase your chorus income by 20% this year. Your goals
might be financial, numerical, or simply to improve community
awareness.
Here are a few basics for your Marketing Plan:
First, collect information you have from last year’s successes and
failures. What went well? What needs changing? Do some
research in your market area. Some things to consider are:
Tenth, analyze your year as you go along. Monitor results. Identify
programs that are working.
• Your previous market patterns - what worked well and why?
• Your audience - Why do they come? What are the
demographics? Who is your target market?
• Your musical product - What's out there now? What's the
competition offering? What must you invest in?
• The people and groups you will need to rely on - Who can
help you in your effort?
• Survey members and audiences
• Track finances, leads, visitors to your chorus and website,
note the percent of visitors to new members
Do your research. Check out your competition. Determine your
unique positioning. Then you will be in a much better position to
promote and sell your chorus services. When you establish goals
for your marketing campaign, you can better understand whether
or not your efforts are generating results through ongoing review
and evaluation of results. Be sure your plan is a living document
that can be adapted as needed. Good marketers continually
review the status of their campaigns against their set objectives. If
you do so, you will ensure ongoing improvements to your
marketing initiatives and it will help you with future planning in
your chorus. Remember, there can be more musical magic in the
air when marketing is done well.
Second, find your market niche. Target specific markets for your
musical programs and describe them.
Third, describe your musical product. How does it relate to the
market area? What does your market area need? We may think
we know what they need, but, is it working?
Fourth, describe your competition. This will help you develop
your own unique selling feature. What makes you stand apart
from the rest?
Fifth, write your chorus mission statement into your marketing
plan. What needs to be included?
MAKE NOTE...new email address for
Executive VP Chuck Schubbe
[email protected]
• It should identify who your audience is. Who are you selling
to?
• It should uniquely describe what you're offering. What are
you selling and promoting?
• It should state how you are selling it. What is your unique
selling proposition? What is your distinction?
District Board of Directors
VP Financial Development
Jim Hall
614 Drumlin Trail
Cambridge, WI 53523
(H&C): (715) 781-8714
[email protected]
Sixth, write down the marketing strategies that you will possibly
use.
• Consider how you can network - go where your market is
• Consider your direct marketing options - sales letters,
brochures, flyers
Pitch Piper
5
January - February 2012
HAROLD HILL RETURNS!
Submitted by Steve Zorn
LO’L Director Membership
“Operation Harold Hill”
is in full swing. This
Society-sponsored
membership effort is the
highlight for 2012. Let's
review the numbers for
2011 and then learn what we can do to
increase our membership.
2012 Summaries
Chapter
New Members
Minneapolis
8
Hilltop
6
St Cloud
Fargo-Moorhead
Greendale
5
Saskatoon
West Allis
Appleton
Madison
4
Regina
Winnipeg
Fergus Falls
3
St Croix Valley
Dunn County
Greater Grand Forks
Green Bay
Rock Valley
2
Thunder Bay
Wausau
Willmar
Bismarck-Mandan
Delta County
Frank Thorne
Greater St Paul Area
La Crosse
Lake Geneva
Manitowoc
1
Mankato
Minnetonka
Polk County
Racine
Stevens Point
A highlight of the year was the licensing
of the new Thunder Bay chapter. It is
great to have this new group in our fold.
“Operation Harold Hill” is an intensive
effort to help chapters improve
performance and attract new members.
Chapters sign up for the program by
going to www.operationharoldhill.com.
Taken from the website, “Operation
Harold Hill is a mobilization of the
Society to increase membership for
2012. It is an opportunity for each
chapter to select its own method of
recruitment of members that fit its
particular vision, not a new plan
designed for everyone to implement in
the same way. The goal is to increase the
Society's recruitment by 25% over the
previous five-year average…”
The Operation Harold Hill website provides a
huge array of ideas and opportunities for
chapters. Even if you are not an officer in
your chapter, go to this site and see if there are
some things you can do to encourage
membership in your chapter.
Please contact me with any membership
questions or ideas. Please let me know so I
can use this column to show how we can all be
like HAROLD HILL. Let's make 2012 a break
out year by drawing in all the men who would
enjoy singing with us!
As of mid January, 16 LO'L chapters
have enrolled. I have contacted all
chapters and encouraged them to sign
up. This program offers great
information and expert guidance.
Immediately after signing up, a chapter
is assigned a “Harold Hill” who will work
alongside chapter leadership to help.
Each Harold Hill is specially trained and
brings a wealth of experience. While the
work will be done over the phone,
“Harold Hill” will become very familiar
with your chapter and provide guidance
and encouragement.
Rooftop Rhythm
2011 was a good year in the LO'L District
for gaining new members, but not as
strong as hoped. Eighty-eight members
joined. Thirty-two of the 52 chapters had
at least one new member. Our total
membership at year end was 1832.
Pitch Piper
A Capella Quartet
Ashley - Nathan
Jacob - Steve
www.rooftoprhythmqt.com
608.751.5098
[email protected]
#rooftoprhythmqt
Nathan Oxley
Quartet Contact
6
January - February 2012
Pitch Piper
7
January - February 2012
REPORT YOUR CHAPTER’S
ACHIEVEMENTS
2011 Bulletin Editor of the Year
Contest on Hold
Submitted by Dick Teeters
Submitted by Dick Teeters
Land O’ Lakes District PROBE Coordinator
Chapter Achievement Awards - is not really a contest even
though awards are made. It is a means by which you can let the
rest of the district know that you have an active chapter.
For over 45 years, PROBE (Public Relations Officers and Bulletin
Editors) has conducted a program called Bulletin Editor of the
Year (BETY). This program determined the top bulletin editors in
each district and, eventually, the top bulletin editor in the Society.
Each year, the Land O’ Lakes District has participated in the
program. That is until this year. Apparently the program has been
put on hold for this year, but only at the district level.
The program is entered by having a member of the chapter,
usually the secretary, complete a form. There are approximately
30 categories in which the chapter can earn points. Examples are:
Membership Drives, Annual Shows, Other Chorus
Performances, Quartet Performances, Participation in Division
and District Contest, Youth Outreach Activities, Chapter Board
and Music Committee Meetings to name just a few. Awards are
presented to the top three chapters in each of three plateaus,
based on chapter membership. It’s easy to participate and every
chapter should have an entrant.
The following is a statement from PROBE President John Elving,
that some of you may have seen on Facebook, or elsewhere.
This is just to let you all know that there will be a bulletin contest
this year for those who published at least six different editions of
their chapter bulletin in the year 2011. However, there are some
changes that are taking place.
Forms can be found on the LO’L District website. Access the
website, click on ‘District Document Center’ (you might have to
go to ‘About Us’ first) and scroll down to the line that reads
‘Achievement Awards Reporting Form - 2011). It’s in .pdf format
and is easily downloaded and printed. If there is a problem, I can
be contacted at [email protected].
As of our annual meeting last year, the district BETY contests were
at least temporarily done away with, mostly due to lack of
participation in the last few years. Instead, everyone will be
eligible to compete in the IBC. Additionally, there will not be
separate contests for hardcopy and electronic bulletins. These will
all be judged in the same contest under the same rules. That
means that Layout & Reproduction and Design & Graphics will
be folded into one, taking into account differences in how they are
published.
There are a few changes made to the form for 2011 so use the
new form. There are several added ways in which your chapter
can gain points.
I encourage every chapter to enter the program. Last year almost
70% of the chapters participated in the Achievement Awards
program. This is the most ever. I would really like to have 100%
participation. That would be wonderful!
New Bulletin VP Jerry Daiker and I are working on updating the
contest rules and information to be published on the PROBE
website. As soon as possible, we will have that information for all
to see. In the meantime, if you have questions feel free to contact
either Jerry at [email protected] or me.
Submission forms must be received by me on or before April 10,
2012. Data received will be compiled and combined with other
submissions and awards will be made at the Spring Convention
in Stevens Point.
Start getting your bulletins in order to submit to Lowell Shank,
IBC Chairman ([email protected]) by April 1, 2012. You
will need two consecutive publications in a printed format, even if
it is electronically published, for the ease of the judges who need
to mark up copies.
If anyone has any questions, please contact me at my e-mail
address listed above and I’ll provide you with all the information
you need.
Keep checking the website (www.harmonize.com/probe) for
more up-to-date information.
THE GAY NINETIES QUARTET
INDUCTED INTO THE LO’L 2011 HALL OF FAME
In recognition of their exceptional contributions to the Land O’ Lakes District and for the
Encouragement of Barbershop Harmony, the Gay Nineties Quartet was inducted into the
LO’L 2011 Hall of Fame.
The Gay Nineties Quartet from Monevideo, Minnesota has been entertaining
barbershop audiences for 67 years and is still going strong. The quartet is celebrating
the start of their 61st year as the oldest, continuous registered quartet in the Society!
The routine remains the same though the faces have changed slightly in those years.
The trademark is deadpan comedy and these “Four Fugitives from a Mortuary” excel
at it.
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January - February 2012
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January - February 2012
YOUTH IN HARMONY
Submitted by Jon Buss
LO’L Director Youth In Harmony
Thanks to Ken Bester, the only student to attend the Youth in
Harmony class at the Leadership Academy in River Falls,
Wisconsin. We had a great discussion about YIH and what we are
trying to do. The Society has a stated vision and mission for all of
us, which is a good one. What Ken brought to the class was his
experience at work with Kimberly Clark. Here is the layout that we
came up with. Each chapter can apply these to the chapter goals
as well.
MEASUREMENT: The number of youth that participate in
each activity sponsored by each chapter of this LO’L District and
the BBS Harmony Society.
It would be great if those reading this article would share this with
their chapter and send me any and all suggestions to add to this
list. All ideas are welcome.
OBJECTIVE: To increase and/or sustain the LO’L District
membership. This is the long range objective. [5, 10, 20, and 30
years out]
GOALS: To increase the number of youth to be exposed to the
barbershop style of music. If we accomplish this through our
youth activities, it will help to achieve our long term objective.
STRATEGIES: Create connections with youth in multiple areas.
Schools - churches - community organizations [e.g. YMCA,
boys/girls clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters], inner city programs,
summer sports, etc. - bars [young people hangouts] - Karaoke 4H clubs - fairs - theatre groups. Leverage social media to access
BBS: Pandora, YouTube, iTunes, Tagmaster, Smartphones, and
Facebook. This is a contact sport and we need to be involved with
youth everywhere, if we are going to achieve our goals and
objectives.
Our one day festival in St. Croix Falls, WI on Saturday, January
14th was a huge success! We exposed 27 boys and 73 girls to the
BBS style. We had a great audience for the show. Our clinicians
and quartets were fantastic in their performance and working
with the youth. I challenge everyone to try one, it is fun and
invigorating. The BBS Harmony Foundation pays $15.00 per
evaluation and your District will add $5.00 per evaluation for a
first time workshop, submitted to me. Your passion for youth will
guide you. GO FOR IT!!!!!
INITIATIVES: Festivals/one day workshops - Camps of various
kinds for girls and boys - Youth ensembles - Scholarships for
individual students or school curriculum's in your area. Joint
shows [high school choirs, college choirs, quartets, octets, etc.]
Fundraising for local schools music educators. Mentoring in
various ways. Quartet competition. Octet competition. Chorus
competition.
Jon Buss - 715-410-7324 • [email protected]
PO Box 68, Star Prairie, WI 54026
Harmony Society. This way, we are accountable to our goals.
CONTEST REGISTRATIONS ON EBIZ
Submitted by Jack Ryback
LO’L Director Contest and Judging
Greetings LO’L Members:
The combined SW/10,000 Lakes Divisions (March 31) and the Division One (April 14) Contests are now available on Ebiz Contest
Manager to enter your Quartet or Chorus (or VLQ if applicable) for the contest. Please make sure to follow the CJ20 registration
procedure to the very last page and read over the note on “legal music” and then “enter” the contest. This will finalize your
registration for submission. If you don't have all your songs confirmed as of yet…that's ok. Simply add all the possible songs that
you may sing in the contest. This never needs to be an exact list and it's best to have more songs than less when registering.
Deadlines for registrations are always 30 days prior to the contest date and registrations should always be available on Ebiz about
30 days prior to that date. As always, if you have any questions on the registration process, please feel free to call me at 262-8445184 or send me an email. If you need help with registering, I will be happy to walk you through the process over the phone. Simply
call me to set up a time to do so.
The registrations should be open for the remaining contests shortly, so please visit Ebiz or watch your email for my note informing
you of the availability. Also, there are some policy changes for C&J. Please make sure to read over Carl Grahn’s article detailing
these changes. Good luck and have a great spring contest season in LO’L!
10
January - February 2012
MAJOR CHANGE IN QUALIFYING FOR THE
FALL QUARTET CONTESTS
DIVISION CONTESTS ARE
JUST AROUND THE CORNER
Submitted by Carl Grahn
LO’L Director Events
Submitted by Carl Grahn
LO’L Director Events
A major change as to how quartets qualify for the different District
Fall Quartet contests was approved by the District Board at their
meeting in January. The system used in the past was District
Quartets, Novice Quartets and Senior Quartets each qualifying
by different scores. The new system is, All Quartets singing in
Division Contests will be listed and sorted in a
descending order by score. The top 24 quartets will
qualify for the Fall contest regardless of the awards they
may have received at the Division Contest. Should any of
these 24 indicate they will not be attending the fall contests, the
next in line will be invited provided they have scored 60 percent
or more in a Division contest the previous spring.
ARTICLE XIII DIVISION CONTESTS of the District Polices is
your information source for Division Contests. The polices are
on the LO’L Website. Go to loldistrict.org, click on “links”, click
on “LO’L Document Center”, click on “District Polices PDF”.
Per District Policy 13.01 - All quartets and choruses must qualify
at a Division Contest to compete at the Fall District Contests. The
2012 Division Contests are:
March 25th - Southwest/10,000 Lakes Divisions
Mankato, MN
April 14th - Division One
Greendale, WI
May 4 & 5 - Packerland Division
Stevens Point
(Including the District Seniors Quartet Championship
and the International Quartet Prelim’s)
May 19th - Red Carpet/Northwest Divisions
Fergus Falls, MN
A study of how this would effect the Novice and Seniors at the fall
contest was made using the past 5 years and this showed that at
least one of each would have been in those fall contests.
Why was this change made? This past year was the year the
straw broke the camels back, when we had 32 quartets qualify
under the old system. Yes this is good, however, it required the
District to have a triple panel or 3 additional Judges at the contest.
Then, when the smoke cleared with last minute drop outs, we had
25 quartets in the contest and a double panel would have been all
we needed. For economics reasons, it was decided that with the
decline in member participation at the conventions, along with
increasing room rates, meals and airfare for Judges, we need to
hold our Fall Judging panels to a
double panel. Yes, we know that E
stands for ENCOURAGEMENT,
however, it also stands for
E c o n o m i c s . T h e re f o re , u n t i l
participation out performs
economics, this method will be in
effect to qualify quartets for the LO’L
Al
y
Gar
Fall District Quartet Contests. There
Les
will be no change in the method of
m
Ji
qualifying choruses for the LO’L Fall
1995 LOL District
Seniors Quartet Champions.
District Chorus Contest.
Est. 1943
The contact person for each of these contests is also on the LO’L
website under “Events”, then click on “3 year Events Schedule”.
From
the
Archives...
May/June 1982
On the cover:
Pittsburgh Bound: The Minneapolis Commodores and
Little Rascals, Talk of the Town, ‘Lectric Chord Company,
and Queen City Slickers
Page 5 - Jack Gray named LO’L BOTY
Page 13 - The Menomonee Falls Chapter presents “The Great
Merge” featuring The Louisville Thoroughbreds and Blue Grass
Student Union
Many years of side-splitting
musical harmony
GARY ERICKSON
606 S. 10th St. • Montevideo, MN 56265
(320) 269-7148
Main Street Station
an a capella quartet
robb jason steve patrick
contact: steve mendell
(608) 769-5830
[email protected]
www.mainstreetstationquartet.com
facebook: main street station
Pitch Piper
11
January - February 2012
Now, for the Society Scholarship…
DIRECTOR’S COLLEGE IS FOR YOU!
Submitted by John Plazek
LO’L Chorus Director Development
YOU MUST SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR EACH
SCHOLARSHIP YOU ARE APPLYING FOR. If you want to
apply for both scholarships for a better chance to receive one,
then you must send in TWO APPLICATIONS, one to Nashville
and one to me. The Society applications will only be
st
accepted if postmarked between March 1 and April 1st,
2012!
Happy New Year Director's, it's that time again. Out with the old
and in with the new. Maybe new songs, maybe new members,
maybe a new attitude about the music, and maybe learning some
new directing techniques to help your guys!
What better place to do that then at Director's College and
Harmony University, July 29 - August 5, 2012. For the
Harmony Foundation sponsored scholarship application, go
to: http://barbershop.org/directors-college-scholarship.html.
Make plans to attend for the best week of your Barbershopping
life! You won't regret it!
If you have any questions, please contact me at the above address
or call 414-423-8885 or email [email protected].
You have 2 DIFFERENT WAYS to receive a FREE Scholarship
(transportation not included). 1) Apply for the Harmony
Foundation Scholarship AND 2) Apply for the Land O' Lakes
District sponsored scholarship.
Now here's the Society Information:
Here is the Director's College Harmony Foundation
Scholarship Guidelines and Criteria for the Application
In order to be considered for a Director's College (DC)
scholarship, you must meet the following criteria:
1) The Harmony Foundation Scholarship information
is listed below.
• Be a BHS member, associate, or affiliate
• Be a front line director, assistant director, or aspiring director of
a barbershop chorus, and
• Must commit to becoming a Certified Director *see note*
• Have not received a scholarship within the last 5 years to attend
Directors College, and
• Can commit to the dates of Directors College
July 29 - August 5, 2012.
*Note - To become a Certified Director you must take specific,
designated classes that focus on directing skills, sound
management, music theory, barbershop craft, and leadership.
• Please complete and send Director Certification
application with the Directors College Scholarship Application
and paperwork.
• If already enrolled in program, please note that on the
Certification Application.
• Exceptions - Affiliate and Music Educator recipients.
Please read and follow the below instructions.
Failure to follow all instructions will result in
invalidating your application.
• Applications must be completed and postmarked to the Society
Headquarters between March1st and April 1st (if you live
overseas, emails ARE acceptable…please send PDF format)
• Applications submitted first and that meet all criteria will receive
priority
• Applications sent before the deadline will be asked to be sent
again between the requested dates of March 1st and April
1st
• Priority will be given to Front Line Directors
• Once all scholarships have been offered, each successive
application will be filed in order of receipt and placed on a
waiting list
• If for some reason the scholarship award recipient cannot
attend DC, the next in line will be offered the scholarship.
2) For the LO’L Scholarship, send the following information to
me at:
John Plazek
Attn: LO'L Scholarship
nd
5859 S 42 Street
Greenfield, WI 53221
The Land O' Lakes District is giving away one Directors College
Scholarship. Yes, emails are acceptable for the LO’L scholarship
only. You can also find this info at: www.loldistrict.org.
The rules for LO'L are:
The applicant must be:
- A Front line Director of an LO'L Chorus.
- Able to attend Director's College in St. Joseph, MO.
- A Member/Associate member of the LO'L District.
- Application must be received by me no later than May 12, 2012.
This is for tuition, meals and lodging only. You must provide your
own transportation to and from Director's College.
Please send the following information to me:
-
Your Name:
Your Member #:
The Chorus you are currently directing:
Your Email address:
Your Home address:
Your City, State, Zip:
Your Phone #'s:
Your Voice part for learning CD:
Why you want the Director's College Scholarship:
Have you received an LO’L District Scholarship before:
If yes, when?
- Have you received a Society Scholarship before:
If yes, when?
Thank you for listening and remember… it's what's up front that
counts!
That's it!
Pitch Piper
12
January - February 2012
LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
THOROUGHLY ENJOYED
VERN ZWICKY CHAPTER COUNSELOR
OF THE YEAR AWARD
Submitted by Bill Mark
The leadership academy was fantastic! I have been to other
sessions, but this one was the absolute best. Five Faribault
Lakelanders attended, and we all came away pumped up. We
were made to feel welcome even before arriving. I drove a
minivan with three other Lakelanders to River Falls Friday
morning. We were honored with an unexpected police escort,
we were led by a squad car right to the building. A very polite
young policeman stopped us right on the edge of the University
of Wisconsin campus. After we had a nice chat, he gave us
directions to the building where he thought the training would
take place. We could not find the building, and he again
stopped when we were obviously lost, performing a U-turn. He
then gave us a police escort to the building. I think it is just swell
how helpful and friendly the police department of River Falls is.
If any other barbershopper wants a police escort next year, all
he has to do is go 34 when the speed limit is 25. I only received a
warning, and made a new friend.
Pitch Piper
The 2011 Vern Zwicky Chapter Counselor of the Year Award
recipient is Chuck Olsen of Fergus Falls, MN, representing
the Red Carpet/NorthWest Divisions. Presenting the award is
Judd Orff.
13
January - February 2012
LEADERSHIP ACADEMY AFTERGLOW
The Bottom Line
LLLL
O
O
O
O
LLLL
St. Croix Crossing
Grand Design
Vocality
Expedition
LLLL
O
O
O
O
LLLL
TTTT
O
O
O
O
PPPP
TTTT
O
O
O
O
PPPP
G
G
G
G
U
U
U
U
N
N
N
N
G
G
G
G
U
U
U
U
N
N
N
N
Q
Q
Q
Q
U
U
U
U
A
A
A
A
R
R
R
R
TTTT
EE
E
E
TTTT
S
S
S
S
Q
Q
Q
Q
U
U
U
U
A
A
A
A
R
R
R
R
TTTT
EE
E
E
TTTT
S
S
S
S
Pitch Piper
14
January - February 2012
2012 LEADERSHIP ACADEMY OFFERED...
Good Coaching
Good Food
Good Administrative
Training
Good Singing
Education
...AND MORE!
2012 District Board of Directors
(Left to right): Larry Lewis, President; Tom Weber, VP - Division One; Dave Sylte, VP - Music and Performance/Education; Jim Hall, VP
- Financial Development; Jack Edgerton, Treasurer; Chuck Schubbe, Executive VP; Arv Zenk, Secretary; Clary Reinhardt, VP Packerland; Dan True, VP - 10,000 Lakes; Thomas Schubbe, VP - Southwest; Gordon Billows, VP - Red Carpet/Northwest; Judd Orff,
VP - Leadership Training (CSLT).
Pitch Piper
15
January - February 2012
Land O’ Lakes District Association of
Chapters of SPEBSQSA Inc.
110 7th Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37203-3704
NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
MANITOWOC, WI
54220
PERMIT NO. 14
DATED MATERIAL ENCLOSED
Calendar
NOTE: Dates shown on this page are for those activities
that have proper clearance through the District Secretary.
Please DO NOT send show registrations to the editor, DO
notify:
ARV ZENK, Secretary
Land O' Lakes District
209 Candi Court
N Mankato, MN 56003
[email protected]
2012
March
3
3
10
18
24
24
24
30-31
April
13
14
14
14
Hilltop, MN
Milwaukee, WI
La Crosse, WI
Greater Grand Forks, MN
Manitowoc, WI
Minneapolis, MN
Oshkosh, WI
Southwest & 10,000 Lakes Contest
Fergus Falls, MN
Vocality, Rebecca Davis
Detroit Lakes, MN
Vocality, Rebecca Davis
St. Croix Valley, MN
Greendale, WI
Division One Contest
Appleton, WI
The Real McCoy
14
14
14
21
21
21
27
28
28
28
May
4
5
19
19
25-26
June
30
July
1-8
Dunn County, WI
GQ
Mankato, MN
Wausau, WI
St. Cloud, MN
Old School
Willmar, MN
Great Northern Union
Winnipeg, MAN
Regina, Sask
Regina, Sask
West Allis, WI
The Benson Family Singers
Green Bay, WI
October
26-28 Rochester, MN
Fall Convention
November
10
Rock Valley, WI
10-11 Hilltop, MN
December
8
Greendale, WI
Stevens Point, WI
Spring Convention &
International Prelims
27
28
28
Stevens Point, WI
Packerland Contest
Fergus Falls, MN
Red Carpet & Northwest Contest
Greendale, WI
Saskatoon, Sask
May
3-5
2013
April
6
27
3-5
18
Hilltop, MN
Portland, OR
International Convention
Greendale, WI
Division One Contest
Minot, ND
Red Carpet/Northwest Division Contest
Regina, Sask
Regina, Sask
Dauphin, MAN
The Bottom Line
Hilltop, MN
International Prelims &
Spring Convention
Hilltop, MN
Southwest/10,000 Lakes Division Contest
Appleton, WI
Packerland Division Contest
June
30-7/7 Toronto, CAN
International Convention