Barbershop Harmony Australia

Hall of Fame

The Barbershop Harmony Australia Hall of Fame seeks to recognise and enshrine current and former Barbershop Harmony Australia ensembles, and individual members, previously defined associate members, and voluntary contributors who were singers, music directors, arrangers, administrators, national, regional, or club committee members who have made significant and outstanding contributions to Barbershop in Australia since its inception in 1985.

In determining membership of the Hall of Fame, the nominating committee may consider a candidate's record, ability, influence, integrity, camaraderie, and character. The number of competition medals gained, festivals attended, choruses coached, or years of service shall only be a consideration, and shall not be determinative in assessing a candidate's eligibility, nor does it determine eligibility.
 

BHA Hall of Fame Nomination Committee

  • Ian Mulholland
  • Stephen Griffin
  • Eddie Klimowicz
  • Richard Wadick
  • Paul Adams
We would like to thank previous nomination committee member Mike Donnelly for his work on the 2022 and 2023 inductions.


Legends and Life Members of the BHA Hall of Fame

As a Legend of Barbershop Harmony Australia, an inductee is recognised as having sustained the most outstanding and exemplary impact on BHA and barbershop at a national and often international level.

The classification of Legend is applied to honour those persons who have had the most significant impact on BHA and caused Barbershop in Australia or the organisation to change significantly for the better. Legends should be persons who immediately come to mind when the people at the very pinnacle of Barbershop within Australia are discussed.

Legends hold a special place in the BHA Hall of Fame and are also awarded Life Membership of BHA.
 
  • Bruce Okeley (Life Member #1, 1993) - the founding secretary of the Australian Association of Men Barbershop Singers (AAMBS) from 1985 to 1991. He was also the founding Music Director of The Men in Harmony Barbershop Chorus, the first such chorus in AAMBS. Bruce was a driving force behind the formation of the National Association having travelled to the USA on 1984 to meet with the heads of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA – which later became the Barbershop Harmony Society, or BHS). Bruce wrote and edited the first editions of Barbershop Notes, the national newsletter, and was instrumental in organising the first quartet competition, held by video submission in 1986. This led to the encouragement and formation of barbershop groups in Queensland and NSW. Bruce is widely regarded as the “Father of Barbershop” in Australia.
  • John Little (Life Member #2, 1997) accompanied Bruce Okely on the trip to the USA in 1984 and was part of the initial quartet formed with Bruce. He was elected President of AAMBS and held that position from 1985 to 1991. In 1988 John signed the first Affiliation Agreement with SPEBSQSA, and AAMBS was now part of a worldwide organisation. John was another unabashed enthusiast and promoter of barbershop and led The Men in Harmony on a tour of Britain in 1989 where connections with the British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) was made. John’s contribution as the inaugural President and Board visionary of AAMBS was outstanding in the early formative years. John continued to serve as AAMBS Treasurer 1996-1997. John passed away around ten years ago.
  • Andy Aberle (Life Member #3, 1997) was an early and enthusiastic member of Men in Harmony and took on the AAMBS Board position of Vice President from 1985 to 1991. He took on show and concert promotion, and generally “wrangled” things behind the scenes. He was instrumental in the organisation of the UK tour, and also organised several AAMBS Conventions, viz. 1991, 1993, 2003, and as AAMBS VP Conventions oversaw the Sydney Convention in 1997. Andy was the author of the book “AAMBS – The First Twenty Years, 1985 – 2005”. Andy passed away in 2021.
  • Linc Abbott (Life Member #4, 1997) was an early mover and shaker in the Sunshine Region, having been a barbershopper previously in the USA before moving to Australia. He was a quartet singer at the Gold Coast’s Dreamworld and was part of the The Barbershop Boys, the 1987 AAMBS Quartet Champion (another contest held by video). Linc was the founding Music Director of The Banana Blenders Chorus (later to become The Blenders) and was a great enthusiast and promoter of barbershop in the Southern Queensland area. In 1991, his quartet The Sentimentals, were crowned the first AAMBS National Champion quartet at the first AAMBS national Convention, and the quartet went on to represent AAMBS at the 1992 International Convention in New Orleans. Linc was a prolific barbershop arranger and created many “standards”, especially of Australian songs, that are still sung today. Linc passed away in 2015.
  • Mel McMichael (Life Member #5, 2001) was the inaugural founder of the Bathurst Barbershop Club in 1988 and organised a visit by the Californian Gold Coast Chorus from the USA, of which he had been a member before coming to Australia. This tour really kicked off barbershop in a big way in regional NSW, with Canberra also joining in hosting the chorus on that tour. Later in 1992, Mel was elected to the AAMBS Board and in 1993 became AAMBS President. By this time Mel was living in the Sunshine Coast area of Queensland which hosted the first AAMBS Harmony College in 1994. Mel organised sponsorship for the AAMBS quartet champions at that time (Bad Habits from Perth) to not only attend the Harmony College, but also to represent AAMBS at the 1995 BHS International Contest in Miami. Mel continues as an enthusiastic and committed supporter of barbershop in the Sunshine Region.
  • Stephen Griffin (Life Member #6, 2005) – First became a member of BHA in Feb 1991 as a member of The Blenders Chorus and Sweet Accord Quartet. Steve has served in many leadership roles in the organisation including, President Gold Coast Barbershop Harmony Club, Sunshine Region President, and BHA president from 1998 to 1999. During his time as president of BHA Steve targeted youth development and established the national Young Singers in Harmony program. As part of the youth program, he traveled with a youth quartet from The Blenders to each state to host school workshops as a lead into forming a youth cell with each chorus that wished to participate. He also authored the first Australian Music Leadership Team Handbook. After his term as BHA President Steve continued for many years as VP Youth Development.
  • Ian Mulholland (Life Member #7, 2009) joined AAMBS in 1987 and was a member of the 1993 National Champion Quartet, Bad Habits. He was also an enthusiastic and prolific music arranger and after being elected to the AAMBS Board in 1996-1997 as Music VP set out to create a songbook of Australian songs arranged in the Barbershop style, which was eventually published in 2004 (The Great Australian Barbershop Songbook). Ian also identified that to improve our enjoyment of singing barbershop we all needed to understand the craft better, so he set out a program for Chorus Director education (including sessions at Harmony College), and also had the vision to create what became the Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges (AGBJ) in 2004. Ian served as AAMBS VP Music again from 2003-2005, as Chairman of AGBJ from 2004-2012 and 2020-present, AAMBS VP Events 2012-2013, and AAMBS President 2014-2017 (during which time, against some vocal opposition, he championed the introduction of mixed harmony singing, and also jointly developed the concept of annual conventions/festivals). He also served on the World Harmony Council and attended 9 out of 11 International Conventions from 2009 to 2019 as a competitor (in chorus and quartet), and also as a BHA representative.
  • Mike Donnelly (Life Member #8, 2011) - Mike joined AAMBS in 1997 having moved to Perth and retired from the US Navy. Mike became AAMBS President in 2002 and served for 12 years until 2013. During this time Mike cemented the relationship with BHS, which matured to become one of a partnership rather than the parent-child relationship previously. Mike also served as the inaugural President of the World Harmony Council, an organisation of over 20 worldwide barbershop organisations with a common purpose to promote barbershop singing the world over. Mike attended every International Convention during his time as President and helped place BHS firmly on the world stage.
  • Kevin White (Life Member #9, 2011) was elected AAMBS Secretary in 2005 and served in that role for 10 years until 2014. During this time Kevin spend countless hours tightening up AAMBS/BHA’s legal position and with the support of his wife Nerida, formed a formidable secretarial team, producing a monthly newsletter and helping grow the association, including the name change to BHA in 2013. Kevin worked tirelessly behind the scenes and was also heavily committed to administration at his Club during this time as well, and became in many ways, along with Mike Donnelly, the heart and soul of the organisation over an extended period. Kevin passed away in 2019.
  • David Brown (Life Member #10, 2015) was elected AAMBS Secretary in 2000 and served for 5 years until 2004. During this time David set up the first membership database and created a front-end inquiry system to make the job of administering the AAMBS membership a much easier job. He wrote the first dedicated contest administration software for AAMBS (Scorer) and donated its use freely to AAMBS and BHNZ. David continued to serve as a Contest Administration Judge until 2017, training and leading the Contest Administration group for over 10 years, and regularly updating Scorer to enhance its functionality.

 

Members of the BHA Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame allows the induction of members and ensembles, based on a candidate's outstanding service and overall contribution to Barbershop Harmony Australia.

Candidates are judged on the basis of their overall positive influence and contribution to Barbershop Harmony Australia, as opposed to one specific aspect. The evidence of the nominee's contribution to the advancement of the national objectives of BHA needs to be clearly apparent. This must be sustained over a significant period, generally greated than 15 years of continuous meritous impact.

 

2023 Inductees

  • Vocal Evolution - Vocal Evolution (VE) was formed in 2002 as an offspring from Men In Harmony. It was apparent by 2003 that VE was going to be influential on a National scale, with a bronze medal in their first contest. They continued to develop as they aimed for excellence and that elusive “A grade” performance. Silver medals followed and the Chorus went on to become the premier chorus in Australia winning it’s first gold medal in 2009, a BHA and Pan Pac gold in 2011, BHA in 2011, 2013 and 2016 where they set a new benchmark score of 82.7%. All that while, they represented BHA three times at International (2011, 2013, 2016), with a record high placing of 14th in 2013 in Toronto with a score of 81.8%, still the highest International score and placing for a BHA chorus. VE released three CD recordings, became a development ground for high quality singers and quartets, as an influential and leading chorus in Australia over a seven year period.
  • Alliance - The national influence of Alliance is testament to the capability and dedication of it’s members to the barbershop craft and barbershop in Australia. 3 times BHA Open quartet champions, all members became certified judges, and as individuals and as a quartet supported numerous educational events around Australia, judging and holding workshops over an 8 year period. They promoted the love of barbershop, the fun of barbershop and the camaraderie of the barbershop community as a shining example.
  • Ian Lushey - A member of BHA for nearly 30 years, Ian has been influential in the development of barbershop nationally and regionally contributing to the growth of barbershop in the Victorian region and across the country as a music director, arranger and singer. Ian has been the last 20 years as music director of the Melbournaires Harmony Chorus. Ian started singing in quartets soon after he joined achieving top 10 placement in national competitions. As part of the Six Foot Four quartet, Ian won the best novice quartet medal in 2001. Ian is also an accomplished arranger, with several of his arrangements being added to the Melbournaires repertoire, including one being sung at this PanPac convention. Ian has worked on developing his and other Music Director skills, attending training courses in Australia and overseas and sharing his knowledge freely. He is highly regarded in the barbershop fraternity for his musical ability and his skill as a director.
  • Bob Fritz - An exceptionally knowledgeable barbershopper having been singing Barbershop for over 70 years, Bob joined BHA in 1997 and contributed to the central region and as a member of the National association executive team, taking responsibility for arranging national and Pan Pac conventions. Bob passed away on 12th of October 2018. Bob brought extensive barbershop knowledge and experience to BHA serving on BHA Council and promoting barbershop through numerous radio and TV interviews. He readily volunteered his skills as an MC at many regional and national conventions and contributed strongly through his countless contributions to Sydney Harmony over 19 years. Bob was always dedicated to improving the standard of everyone’s Barbershop performance, leading by example he was always one of the first members to master a new song and was always willing to help others to do the same. Bob was a stickler for riser discipline always being the first onto the risers at each rehearsal. As Sydney Harmony’s first 80-yr-old member, Bob never let anything interfere with rehearsal attendance except for trips to the USA to visit his many children and grandchildren. In 2015, Bob became a Life Member of Sydney Harmony and retired to Toronto, NSW.
  • Gary Kirk - A noted Music Director of Central Coast chorus for over 20 years, Gary has been influential in establishing the choruses within the central region and as a quartet singer from the early days of the association. Gary has been a strong national support and instrumental in the development and growth of barbershop across Australia.
  • Derek Cosburn - A member since 1988, Derek has been a champion of barbershop singing and BHA since that time and instrumental in fostering the development and growth of Barbershop in Queensland and the early days of the national association. As a pioneer contest medal winner, he has represented BHA at the international level on multiple occasions in both Open and Senior categories, and sung lead in a number of champion quartets, including The Sentimentals and Benchmark. He has been an instrumental member of The Blenders chorus and fostered the development and growth of barbershop singing on the Gold Coast over a period exceeding 30 years
 

2022 Inductees

  • The Blenders - Formed in 1982-83 on the Gold Coast to provide for standby singers for the “Dreamworld Four Quartet”. Initially known as The Gold Tones, the chorus was renamed The Banana Blenders and starting with 30-35 members they went on to successfully host the first National convention in 1991 winning chorus silver medal. They went on to win 8 gold medals in succession followed by 4 silver, 2 bronze. Along the way they also collected 3 gold and 2 silver Pan Pacific Chorus championships. Eventually renamed The Blenders the chorus was the first to represent Australia at internationals competition which they did 2 times. The chorus has maintained a high profile nationally appearing in X Factor, Australia’s got Talent, Battle of the Choirs and The Steve Irwin Memorial. The Blenders were a driving force in establishing the Young Singers in Harmony program in Australia. The Blenders also contributed to the development of barbershop beyond their region, reaching out and supporting other choruses in their development and membership drives, often at their own expense to keep barbershop growing in both participation and performance quality.
  • Benchmark - Formed in 2008 and have had a stellar career, representing Australia four times at the international Seniors quartet contest and becoming the first BHA quartet to finish in International top ten (Seniors 6th). As a seniors quartet they have won three Pan Pacific Gold medals (2001, 2014, 2017) and seven Australian Gold medals ( from 2009 to 2018) in the seniors category. In 2011, Benchmark reached that Grand Final of Australia’s Got Talent, creating a new legion of fans across Australia and exposing the joy of barbershop singing. Benchmark then went on a tour bringing local barbershop talent into the spotlight with them. Benchmark have been active supporters of the Queensland region with performance support, coaching and mentoring of the barbershop community, past and present. The quartet has been represented by Derek Cosburn, Ray Smyth, Paul Roussel, Tom Percy, Mark Penman, John Gairns, and Nick Ellis.
  • Eddie Klimowicz - Eddie joined BHA in 1988 and very quickly moved to taking on the presidency of The Blenders Chorus and along with that the chairmanship of the organising committee for the very first BHA convention. The welcome dinner concept that is a hallmark of our conventions was the brainchild of Eddie and is now revered around the world. Eddie took the lead as National president from Feb 1992 to Feb 1993 and was instrumental in starting regular tours of international quartets and educators. Eddie has always been a strong chorus singer winning 8 gold medals with The Blenders and has performed strongly in quartets winning the National Novice Quartet gold medal and Open and Seniors Bronze and silver medals. He moved into Judging in the performance category when the Australian guild was formed and for many years has filled the Category Lead role. Eddie is highly regarded as a coach for both quartets and choruses and is extremely generous with his time to support for all barbershoppers. Eddie has been a mentor to so many aspiring barbershoppers old and young and is always ready to support their goal in any way he can. His enthusiasm remains to this day as he is still judging at national conventions in Australia and New Zealand and is currently the Performance Team Leader for his beloved chorus.
  • Nerida White - Nerida was BHA/AAMBS Executive Officer for 12 years, and supported and substantially undertook the role of BHA Secretary for two years when her husband Kevin was ill. Nerida was a tireless promoter and supporter of barbershop in Australia and NSW, where she was also heavily involved in the Central Coast (Soundwaves) Club. Nerida was a tireless editor of the BHA/AAMBS Newsletter for 12 years, and everyone looked forward to her stories of barbershop from around Australia. Although a non-singer, Nerida’s contribution to Australian barbershop was significant over a long period of time during the establishment of BHA.
  • Tim Begbie - Dr. Tim Begbie was instrumental in establishing and founding barbershop in Tasmania through his quartet Close Shave and in 1993, and as the Music Director of “The Wellingtones” who went on to become The Hobart Men’s Barbershop Harmony Club. The club went on to develop a range of choruses and quartets and Tim maintained his contact throughout these years and supported various music directors and quartets with musical mentorship, coaching and encouragement, all the while developing his own unique niche through quartet Close Shave, which formed in 1983, is now one of Australia’s longest serving barbershop quartets and in the early years put Tasmania on the Australian Barbershop map. This continuity has seen Tim mentor and develop numerous talented singers who went on to achieve high levels of national and international success, including numerous Australian Gold medal quartet representatives and Australia’s first international gold medallist. Tim continues to be involved in the barbershop community and an active supporter of barbershop within Tasmania.
  • Mike Ludwig - Mike started singing Barbershop when he joined The Blenders chorus in 1993. He very quickly showed his leadership skills and become president of The Blenders leading the chorus on their first trip to International Convention USA. He was convention chairman for the 2005 National Convention on the Gold Coast and has always been a strong contributor within the Sunshine Region. Mike sings lead with Australia’s longest standing quartet with unchanged personal “Escapade” celebrating 20 years in 2023. He achieved a long term goal with Escapade winning Quartet Senior Gold Medal in 2019. Mike is a committed chorus singer and after moving to Toowoomba in 2008 was the founder of Toowoomba barbershop club established the High Altitude Harmony chorus. He has been their Musical Director very successfully directed that chorus at many National and Regional conventions and involved then in the culture of their city. He remains a committed member of BHA.
  • Harry Owen - Harry was a barbershopper in the UK (Bristol) before he moved to Australia. When he got to Australia in 1989 Harry formed the Canberra Chordsmen and was their MD for the next 10 years. He worked tirelessly on developing and encouraging youth to sing barbershop, and over the time in Canberra introduced people like Dan Millgate (current BHA President), Nick Begbie (Idea of North) and others. Harry then moved to Perth and was instrumental in forming Vocal Evolution in 2002. He also continued to work tirelessly engaging with youth, running regular barbershop classes at various schools and was again instrumental in introducing people like Alex Morris, Ali Jamison, Lionel Pierson, Nick Schurmann and Lillian Hearne to the hobby. Harry was a certified Singing Judge from 2004 to 2010; Western Region Chairman – 2009 and Vice-Chairman 2009-11; Won two silver medals and a gold medal with quartet Four to the Bar. A Life member of Canberra cub 2010. Life member of Vocal Evolution Chorus.
  • Alex Morris - Alex has had a distinguished career in barbershop and yet, is still only in his early 30’s. Alex first joined Vocal Evolution in 2005 and soon had an impact as baritone section leader. He was appointed assistant music director in 2006 and became music director of Vocal Evolution from 2008 to 2012. Alex has also won Gold medals at both quartet and chorus levels as a singer. Alex qualified as an Australian Music Judge in 2009 and went on to be Australia’s first International BHS judge (and still is). Over his time in barbershop Alex has become a leading educator, chorus and quartet coach, a highly sought-after music arranger and has promoted Australian barbershop to the world through his regular hosting of the BHS International Webcast.