Crown City Chorus sings well, has fun
Members of the Pasadena Crown City Chorus sang and had fun
REVIEW…
The Pasadena Crown City Chorus has accomplished one of its main missions: to get a group of men together for fellowship, to sing and to have fun. The Chorus of 50 men under the direction of its capable conductor, John Minsker, and four special quartets presented an afternoon of entertaining songs at a generously attended program at Pasadena High School on Saturday.
From its opening number, “Hi, Neighbor”, to its rendition of “America the Beautiful” at the closing, the chorus maintained a good blend and strong harmony as is called for in the a cappella barbershop style that was popular from the late 1800s virtually until the 1940s. Tuneful infractions occurred early, but passed quickly as the chorus warmed to its 10-tune program, bringing a special tenderness in “For the Sake of Auld Lang Syne”.
John Minsker leads the Pasadena Crown City Chorus
Four Chords from San Marino High School Chamber Choir
Four quartets, two invited guests and two formed from the Chorus, offered an array of songs that reminisced about long past times, providing a colorful addition to the program’s title, “Remember When…”. The invited quartets were the San Marino High School Chamber Choir Barbershop Quartet and The Edge, a group from the Santa Fe/Brea chapter affiliate of the Barbershop Harmony Society; from the chorus itself were quartets Impact and Jolt.
The Four Chords blended nicely in “Amazing Grace” which they had performed on a trip to Spain with the San Marino Chamber Choir, and delighted the audience with their version of “What do we do with a Drunken Sailor”. Impact, a quartet that has been winning awards lately according to Master of Ceremonies, Larry Oberlander, sang songs in line with the “Remember When” theme with “It Had to be You” its best
Impact
Jolt, the barbershop quartet
in a fine arrangement. Jolt in its brief three-number stint after intermission, sang about how barbershop quartets are formed seeming to be a history of this group. The Edge was, in this program, the well-honed group that has performed for only two years, but whose members have years of barbershop quartet singing experience. They demonstrated their award winning ways (they were named the 2009 Far Western District Quartet Champions and in the International competition came in 16th place semi-finalists) through six numbers that was meant to show their range. From the raucous “Who’ll Take My Place When I’m Gone” to the smooth “Lovely Way to Spend an Evening”, the quartet was confirmed in style and harmony, just what a barbershop quartet should be.
Show production and management was handled by Ken Van Oort; script by Rob Schaumann and Bill Niemand, stage management, Leonard Jensen with Mike Alexander; Marketing/tickets, Jay Marcott; Youth in Harmony, E. Phil Aydon. The Pasadena High School Audio Visual Club provided sound, camera support and ushers.
By Bill Peters
Photos by Bill Peters
1 Response for “Crown City Chorus sings well, has fun”
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Congratulations to our dear friend, Bill Cauley and to your capable conductor, John Minsker, and the four special quartets of the Crown City Chorus. Sing on!