Heart O' Lakes Harmony ("HOLH") is one of 800 chapters of the Barbershop Harmony Society, the world's largest all male singing organization. We meet every Monday evening to practice, perform, socialize, and have fun. We currently have about 45 singers of all ages, from all walks of life, and from all parts of Otter Tail and Becker Counties.
The main purpose of the Barbershop Harmony Society is to preserve that old American institution, the barbershop quartet. We do this by singing and presenting barbershop harmony both as quartets and as a chorus so that this great form of American music is preserved and encouraged. We sing on our own annual shows, for many community events, and at an annual competition. We also perform Singing Valentines each February 14th. We would love to sing at your next function or event. If you're looking for a unique musical treat to liven up your event, please check out our "Hire Us" section.
In addition to sharing our music with others, another great passion of ours is learning more about the art form of four-part, a cappella singing. We get vocal instruction from our Director as a regular part of chorus rehearsals, and it is a very important component of the chorus experience. We also receive coaching at times from visiting experts in the art form of barbershop, where we not only learn how to sing better, but also how to perform better, both visually and vocally. Beyond our chapter, there are Harmony Education Program schools in our District and a week-long school each summer entitled Harmony University for barbershoppers of every level of experience!
In the spring of nearly every year, Heart O' Lakes Harmony participates at a regional competition called the "Red Carpet Division." Contests are a special time for both quartets and choruses from our region to come together to sing for each other, and to get some constructive feedback from a panel of judges. Based on the scoring level, some quartets and choruses may advance to the District level, which is about a 5-state/province area known as the "Land O' Lakes District." The top groups at the District level in both quartet and chorus categories get to travel to the International Competition, which is held each summer in a different city in North America. In 2012, the International Competition will be held in Portland, OR. Click here to learn more.
Most chapters have a number of members who form their own quartets in addition to singing with the chorus. Heart O' Lakes Harmony currently is home to a number of wonderful quartets, and we are very proud of them! Click here to see our quartet section to learn more about them.
Heart O' Lakes Harmony is a chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, a non-profit organization of approximately 25,000 members who sing in choruses and quartets across North America. The Headquarters is in Nashville, Tennessee.
