The happiest people you will
ever see! Those are not just words in a song, they are one one of the reasons
this organization exists: to bring happiness to the world through a cappella
music.
Southern
Accent Show Chorus started in October 2004, with Peggy, Cherri, Jennifer,
Donnie, Mary Helen and Ginger. The chorus is now made up of members
from around northeast and north central Louisiana. Chartered
through Sweet Adelines International, which has over 30,000 members
world-wide. Southern Accent is one of about 600 chartered groups in the world.
Membership is
open and requirements for membership are simple: a desire to
sing and a willingness to attend rehearsals. The benefits of
membership are varied and lifelong.
Southern
Accent Show Chorus performances are uplifting, moving, and never the same
twice! Beautiful barbershop-type a cappella harmony means "no
instruments" -- just excellent blended female voices, with all four parts: tenor,
baritone, lead, and bass.
Our repertoire
includes some old favorites, such as "We'll Meet Again" a
favorite during World War II, and some lively compilations such as
"We Are Family" and "I Feel the Earth Move." Our
performances are all good, clean, family fun, and you will probably hear a joke
or two during our performances.
The History of Barbershop
Barbershop music, with its close, unaccompanied
four-part harmonies and ringing chords, is a uniquely American folk
art. It evolved in much the same way as other forms of vocal
music. Although no one can say exactly when or where barbershop
music began, the growth of the tradition was certainly aided between
the 1860s and 1920s by the types of songs popular at the time--songs
characterized by sentimental lyrics and uncomplicated melodies that
could be harmonized with a variety of four-part chords.
In
the early years of American barbershop music, singers most often
improvised harmonies. When the printing press was adapted to
produce musical notation, there was further advancement of the
barbershop idiom. Many early pieces of sheet music were printed
with the standard vocal line and piano accompaniment, and with an
additional quartet arrangement on the final page.
At the
turn of the century amateur singers, usually men, could often be heard
singing improvised barbershop harmony at parties and picnics.
Minstrel shows also featured barbershop quartets, who sang in front of
the curtain as an "olio" act while performers and stage hands
prepared for the next act. It was convenient to use a quartet for
this purpose, since no props were required.
Sweet Adelines International
In the summer of 1945 World War II was nearly over and
the world was recalling gentler days. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, there
were women who wanted to enjoy--and participate in--the
"chord-ringing, fun-filled harmony" that their husbands,
members of the men's Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of
Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA), were singing.
These women organized "Sweet Adelines in America."
Today there are nearly 30,000 members of Sweet Adelines International
in more than 600 choruses.
The organization is
international in scope, with chartered chapters in Australia, Canada,
England, Finland, Germany, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand,
Scotland and Sweden, as well as all 50 states in the United
States. Interested persons also participate in prospective
chapters in such far-away places as Denmark, Fiji, Venezuela and United
Arab Emirates. No matter what the native tongue, barbershop is
sung in English.
From the beginning the purpose of Sweet
Adelines International has been to educate and train its members in the
art of singing four-part harmony, barbershop style, and to promote
interest in and advance the musical art form through education and
performance.
Barbershop Harmony Today
Barbershop harmony has evolved into a highly stylized
art form requiring the same high degree of singing skill as other types
of choral music.
Barbershop harmony's four voice parts
are still called by their traditional names--tenor, lead, baritone, and
bass--whether referring to men's or women's vocal groups. One of
the distinctive qualities of barbershop harmony is that the melody,
sung by the lead voice, is below the tenor harmony. This follows
the pattern of many early American hymns written for men and women,
with the melody in the male tenor voice and the women singing harmony
above. The barbershop harmony of today is a highly stylized art
form requiring the same high degree of singing skill as other types of
choral music.
As the popularity of barbershop
harmony has grown, so has the type of participation. Barbershop
singing is no longer restricted to male quartets, and both men's and
women's choruses now enjoy this unique art form. Choruses ranging
in size from 20 to 150 or more members have found this singing style a
challenging and exciting musical experience.
Young Women in Harmony
Sweet Adelines International continues to promote
barbershop-style harmony. Members experience the thrill of
singing and performing this exciting musical art form through many
educational and training programs. In addition, Sweet Adelines
International's Young Women in Harmony Program for music educators
provides free educational materials and music for junior high, high
school and college age singers. It is helping to fill the gaps
left by budget cuts in the arts curricula in public schools.
Music educators and students from around the world are responding
enthusiastically to this program.
If you are interested in learning more about barbershop
music, Sweet Adelines International, or the Young Women in Harmony
Program, we will be happy to provide assistance. Call one of the
local numbers listed below, or you can call, write, or fax to
international headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Office hours are
weekdays from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Central Time.
