This month's newsletter includes: - A celebration of the incredible internationals performance by BHA Women's Champions Skylark - An article on The Electric Barbercats recent performance at Dunsborough SongFest - A newspaper article featuring a wonderful Christmas program being run in Tasmania - A callout for Festive content for our December Harmony News - A summary of AGM motions, including ... more

One month on from the end of our 2024 Festival, we thought it would be fitting to celebrate with a little wrap up in the form of Harmony News! View here more

It's that time again! Welcome to issue 2 of the #singitforward BHA & SAA Youth Newsletter! Check it out here and don't forget to Subscribe! more

Welcome to a special bonus edition of Harmony News as we find ourselves 7 days out from this year's festival on the Gold Coast! In this newsletter, you'll find useful info for first-timers and returners, as well as the lineups for some of our non-contest performance opportunities, and plenty more! View here.   more

The August edition of Harmony News, featuring all things Barbershop Harmony Festival! View here. more

The July edition of Harmony News, in which we celebrate the launch of the brand new Australian Songbook 2.0, and all things Festival! View Here more

The June edition of Harmony News, featuring a multitude of updates about the 2024 Gold Coast Festival. View here. more

It was fantastic to see over the six Regions, a total of 72 quartets competed for qualification, a record high number, and up on 2023 (50 quartets) and 2022 (54 quartets), with participation up across all Regions. It was great to see members back in full force, with exciting events happening in all Regions. There were also chorus performances and ... more

Sadly, Barbershop Harmony Australia has lost one of its early pioneers, the delightful Mr John Wareham OAM. John started singing at eight years of age, progressing from busking on The Corso at Manly, to singing at weddings. Following his early forays into singing and taking some lessons in Sydney years ago, John gave his vocal chords a rest before joining ... more

The May edition of Harmony News, featuring the announcement of the 2024 guest quartet!! View here. more

The April edition of Harmony News, featuring the launch of Gold Coast Festival registration! View here. more

Registration for the 2024 Gold Coast Festival including Harmony Academy is now open! Earlybird prices are available until 30th June, and merchandise pre-order is available until 14th July! www.barbershopfestival.com.au more

The March edition of Harmony News! View here. more

A new revision (24) of Contest Rules has just been posted as Standing Order 6. Amongst the rule changes are: Rule 1.5 – clearer definition of gender identity and that it can’t be changed during a contest cycle Rule 1.14 - Removal of the 75/25 ratio for mixed choruses – now just requires two different gender identities without any minimum ... more

Introducing the new monthly BHA newsletter - Harmony News! This will be emailed out monthly, as well as posted here on the website. View here. more

2024 F2F Summary Over the recent long weekend, the BHA National Council congregated in BHA's upcoming 2025 Festival location, Canberra, for our annual Face-to-Face Meeting. The purpose of this meeting was to plan ahead for 2024 and beyond and review the wonderful feedback submitted by you our members in the recent Membership Survey. We started with an exploration of the last 10 years ... more

Introducing #singitforward, the new newsletter for barbershop Youth Development in Australia! Are you a student, an educator, or simply interested in the future of barbershop? Check out the first edition of the newsletter using the link, and click Subscribe if you'd like to receive future editions! https://mailchi.mp/376a4437a27d/singitforward-issue-1-december-2023?e=1a8139302a more

Attachment Here's the last Pan Pac Newsletter. There's lots of good information here including: - HOW TO ACCESS LIVE STREAMING OF THE CONTESTS - THE QUARTET AND CONTEST DRAWS AND IMPORTANT CONTEST INFORMATION - WHERE TO DINE IN THE EVENING (This augments information sent to you last week) - HARBOUR CRUISE TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE - AND MORE! See you in Auckland ... more

Attachment Here's the latest Pan Pac Newsletter. See you in Auckland soon! more

Attachment Welcome to the latest edition of the 2023 Pan Pac Newsletter! There is lots of useful information here, so please take some time to read through the content, and hopefully it will address most, if not all, of your questions.   more

The contest portal is now ready to accept your chorus entry for the PanPac contest in Auckland in Sept 2023. All your singers will need to be financial members of BHA as well as paid convention delegates. Registrations for convention are found on this webpage: https://convention.barbershopharmony.nz Please note that the early bird rate ceases on July 14th, after that the ... more

Quartet Qualifying Results Now that all qualifying contests have been completed, the full list of quartet qualifying results has been published. Quartets who meet the criteria according to Pan Pac Contest Rules will be contacted to formally enter the Pan Pac and associated BHA and BHNZ contests. Congratulations to all quartets who competed. more

Pan Pac Contest Rules Contest Rules for the 2023 Pan Pac Contest are attached. These describe the qualification process for Pan Pac and supplement existing BHA and BHNZ Contest Rules. more

Attachment Exciting news: you can now register for Pan Pac 2023! You won't want to miss out on this epic event which is shaping up to be the largest Barbershop Convention in the Southern Hemisphere - ever! Check out all the details in the latest newsletter, which is hot off the press and attached for your convenience. There's some awesome updates ... more

Attachment Results of qualifying for National Contest are now out! (See attached PDF) This year qualifying was via Regional contests and also a video contest for quartets who could not attend their Regional contest due to COVID restrictions. Under BHA Contest Rules, the top 45 eligible quartets scoring greater than 60% qualify for the Open, Men’s, Women’s or Mixed as appropriate, ... more

BHA has announced that quartets that satisfy any of the criteria below are eligible to enter. Any quartet that had to withdraw from their nominated Regional contest due to COVID or other health issues, Any quartet that did not enter their Regional contest due to COVID or other health issues, and Any mixed or women’s quartet that did not enter ... more

Attachment Dear Members, BHA is excited to announce that delegate registrations for the Barbershop Harmony Festival 2022 is now open! Details are in the Festival News (PDF attached) and on the Festival website. Start planning your trip now! In Harmony,  Richard Wadick Barbershop Harmony Australia www.barbershop.org.au more

Dear members and friends The past few years have seen significant change in the worldwide barbershop harmony community towards the removal of barriers to entry into this historically men-only singing society. The expansion of barbershop as a genre that includes and embraces all people, regardless of gender identity or other attributes, has grown across the world and challenged the long-held ... more

Making a multi-track video can be a challenge. There are a wide array of processes, software and tools which you have to choose from and going from camera to schmick final product can be a daunting prospect. To that end here are some tips and tricks to help streamline the process: Prepare a guide track. This is essential as it ... more

BHA MEMBERSHIP REVIEW UPDATE Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic facing Australia and the world, we continue to progress with the BHA Membership Review and the task of developing a full understanding of the issues important to all members. The BHA Membership Review Survey saw a significant percentage of our members respond, representing a broad cross-section of clubs and ... more

The BHS Marketplace is excited to announce the addition of several new shipping options for international orders. By partnering with FlavorCloud, the largest premium network of 250+ carriers, BHS can now offer international delivery options at a fraction of the cost. All international online order confirmations will contain a tracking number, when clicked, will provide door to door tracking ... more

Dear Members Following yesterday's message about the cancellation of all BHA regional barbershop events due to the risks involved with COVID-19, it is with great disappointment that I pass on the news that the Board of Barbershop Harmony New Zealand has no other choice but to cancel the upcoming Pan-Pacific Convention scheduled for September 2020, in the interests of public ... more

Dear members Over the last week, the pace of information about Coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact has escalated rapidly. Your BHA National Council has been working with Barbershop Harmony New Zealand leadership and the Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges to gather information and make recommendations about how best to manage our response and to make decisions about our upcoming regional ... more

Are you interested in becoming a judge? If you are, please submit an Expression of Interest to our Chairman of Judges, Ian Mulholland, at ianmul58.im@gmail.com. The window for this year’s intake ends on 15 March 2020. more

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With our chorus year coming to an end, it's time to start planning for 2020. Yikes! Next year, in place of August A Cappella, Sweet Adelines Australia will be bringing you the Region 34 Education Symposia. These days will be a fantastic opportunity for your members to experience and work with fabulous visiting faculty. Take this opportunity to save these ... more

MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION — WHAT DO I NEED TO DO? The new membership year begins from 1 January 2020. You don’t need to do anything. Clubs are responsible for Membership Registrations and Club Registrations by 31 December. Each Club appoints a representative to complete these registrations on behalf of its members. These registrations provide the following insurances for the club and ... more

Our first association involvement in the 2019 Movember campaign has delivered some extraordinary results. We all know the health benefits and camaraderie that comes from singing together as part of this wonderful Barbershop family and this activity allowed us to collaborate across our nation as we shared that message with the Australian community. Here is our participation in the ... more

Thank you to all those who have completed the delegate survey from the 2019 BHA Festival held in Hobart last September. To date 113 responses have been received and the process of reviewing the data is underway, but here are some of the highlights. Some of the early results appear to be supportive of the Festival concept and some of ... more

Dear members this Newsletter article is to: 1. Call for nominations for Vacant BHA Council positions The following Council positions become vacant for 2020-2021: President Treasurer Vice President Marketing and Development Vice President Events The deadline for receipt of nominations for these positions will close with the Secretary at midnight on Friday 8 November. A Nomination Form is attached HERE ... more

An email was recently sent to all Club Presidents inviting them to submit a nomination for your Club to be considered for the BHA Club of the Year Award. This is a reminder to get your nominations in as the deadline is not far away. With so much great work happening throughout our organisation we need to take the ... more

With so much great work happening throughout our organisation we need to take the time to recognise and acknowledge the individuals that are the backbone of your Chorus. Every Chorus is invited to nominate their "Chorus Member of the Year." Each of these members will be acknowledged at the Welcome Dinner. Please note that every club is invited to nominate ... more

The BHA National Council continues to work through the results of the 2018 BHA membership survey . We are referencing the information contained within the responses in consideration of the key strategies and objectives for BHA. This is in line with our strategic vision of Enriching Australia Through Harmony. This time we are focusing on the importance of education. When ... more

With the 2019 BHA Festival drawing near this is the last call for nominations for the 2019 BHA Medal and we have extended the deadline for entries to Thursday 22nd August 2019. First awarded in 2017, the BHA Medal recognises an individual’s exemplary contribution to the advancement of barbershop in Australia. It will be awarded to a current BHA member ... more

Dear Members A question: Is singing contemporary music important? As most of you know, we barbershop singers have a bunch of traditional songs that we like to sing together, called the Barberpole Cat songs. This tradition was formed many years ago, when these songs, written in the early 1900s, were perhaps a little more contemporary. Nowadays, these Barberpole Cat songs ... more

The BHA National Council is pleased to call for nominations for the 2019 BHA Medal. First awarded in 2017, the BHA Medal recognises an individual’s exemplary contribution to the advancement of barbershop in Australia. It will be awarded to a current BHA member in good standing who has consistently “put in” for barbershop. The award is made for sustained ... more

BHA 2018 Membership Survey Snippets - Recognition The BHA National Council continues to work through the results of the 2018 BHA membership survey. We are referencing the information contained within the responses in consideration of the key strategies and objectives for BHA. This is in line with our strategic vision of Enriching Australia Through Harmony. This time we are focussing ... more

ISSUE 2 of the 2019 Hobart Festival News has now been circulated to all members with lots of vital information about the upcoming Hobart Festival. You will find information on the following in the Festival Newsletter WHAT IS HAPPENING ON TUESDAY? WIN A NIGHT'S ACCOMMODATION AT WREST POINT MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SING REGISTER NOW CONTEST ENTRY NOW OPEN HARMONY ACADEMY ... more

Barbershop Harmony Festival Hobart 2019 Qualifiers Following the completion of the regional contests and the approval of the BHA Council and the VP Chair of C&J, Alex Morris, the following quartets have qualified to compete in September at the Barbershop Harmony Festival and Convention to be hosted in Hobart. We had great number of quartets sing at regionals during Autumn and to be eligible for the ... more

The Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges is seeking applications from people interested in joining the judging program What does it take to be a judge? Scoring Judges If you are interested in being a judge in the Music, Performance, or Singing categories, you should have a strong desire to help our choruses and quartets become better singers, musicians, and performers. ... more

As explained in the last edition of In Harmony, ensuring compliance with copyright law is not always straightforward. You must have a sufficient number of legal copies of any sheet music for each member of the chorus or quartet. (Note, however, that if your group is capable enough, you may be able to learn a song just from (legal) learning ... more

Important Information for Clubs and chorus administrators. Recently we have decided to run a survey of clubs and choruses to find out exactly what clubs are doing in terms of youth engagement and recruitment strategies. The ultimate aim of this survey is to help share successful youth engagement models between clubs, so clubs can become more adept at recruiting younger ... more

BHA 2018 Membership Survey Snippets The BHA National Council has been working through the results of the 2018 BHA membership survey and referencing the information contained within the responses in consideration of the key strategies and objectives for BHA in line with our strategic vision of Enriching Australia Through Harmony. When it comes to personal member satisfaction, “The pursuit of ... more

Voices In Paradise is back! Registrations are now open and we have a brand new website. Featuring new guest educators The Velvetones (2018 AUS/ACA Champions) and Blindside (2018 BHA Champions) The workshop registration process is now easier for individuals and groups. Click below to purchase your registration. You'll be notified when the songs available. Click the following links to register ... more

Compliance with copyright law is a vexed issue in BHA and BHNZ. While the majority of choruses and quartets comply with the law, there are a number of misunderstandings of what is needed and some inadvertent breaches do occur. Achieving copyright compliance is not cheap, but it is important that BHA and BHNZ are equally fair to all and everybody ... more

Affiliate Discount Code Update As you may know, BHA members are entitled to a 25% discount on the BHS Marketplace site shop.barbershop.org – the same discount BHS members get. This discount applies to all clothing, merchandise, learning tracks, and printed sheet music. Due to the increased cost of fees BHS must pay copyright holders and arrangers, discounts do not apply ... more

Now is the time for quartets to get organised for regional contests. Please remember that quartet registration/re-registration is completed annually, and is the responsibility of the quartet. All quartets planning to compete in regional contests in 2019 need to register/re-register their quartet by Friday 15 March. First, you must be a financial member of BHA for 2019. Club members should ... more

Just in case you missed the email I sent to all members in January, here is a recap….. Feeling adventurous? Have you ever thought about having a crack at being an MC? Well, there’s an opportunity for you right now to reveal your flair for public speaking and hone your compering skills. This year we are conducting an MC Program ... more

One of the benefits of our affiliation with BHS in the USA is access to their magazine The Harmonizer. The January/February2019 edition has just been published and is available here. It’s presented in a new format with some editorial changes. Go on over and have a look. Trevor Rootes BHA Secretary more

GAINING COPIES OF MUSIC FROM BHS THAT DO NOT HAVE INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT CLEARANCE BHS already offers hundreds of arrangements that are available for ordering by international customers. BHA members can order these via BHS’s website at https://shop.barbershop.org. If there is other music in the BHS catalogue without international copyright that you wish to use, there are two ways to go ... more

The 2018 BHA membership survey received over 200 responses leading up to the National Convention and the early results are demonstrating some clear trends in member experience and aspirations for our Barbershop community. The draw for the prizes of a $35 BHA shop voucher was held at the farewell luncheon and won by David Merrells and Noel Craig. If you ... more

On a magnificent Adelaide evening over-looking the city lights from Adelaide Oval, BHA President Dan Milgate had the honour of awarding the 2018 BHA Medal to Mr Mel McMichael. Mel’s contribution was beautifully summarised by one of the panel members: “The recipient is truly a standout candidate for the BHA Medal award for 2018 and his credentials speak for itself. ... more

For the second year running, The Blenders have been awarded the 2018 Club of The Year title, presented by BHA Secretary Mr Trevor Rootes. The Blenders combination of musical development, community engagement, youth development and education shone through in the submission, and deservedly saw them win the title. At the Saturday night showcase, the Blenders Youth Chorus demonstrated that barbershop ... more

All Clubs appreciate having committed members who are willing to go the extra mile, and this award is a timely opportunity for Clubs to show the tremendous gratitude that we have for these members who tirelessly contribute to the success of every Club and ultimately BHA. We know that many clubs consider their awards at the end of year celebrations ... more

Still reeling from the euphoria of participating in one of the most exciting events in Adelaide’s history? Makes the Beatles appearance at the Adelaide Town Hall all those years ago pale in insignificance doesn’t it? There were certainly many moments in history created over that momentous week that was the 16th Barbershop Harmony Australia National Convention and Contest. How many ... more

Quartets are responsible for their own BHA registration. Once your Club has completed your personal membership registration, due by 31 December, you can register/re-register your quartet. Quartets planning to enter the regional conventions should register early in the year.  Non-contesting quartets may register at any time during the coming year. Trevor Rootes - BHA Secretary secretary@barbershop.org.au more

The new membership year begins from 1 January 2019. You don’t need to do anything. Clubs are responsible for Membership Registrations and Club Registrations by 31 December. Each Club appoints a representative to complete these registrations on behalf of its members. These registrations provide the following insurances for the club and members from the beginning of the new year: o ... more

Hobart 2019 Convention is from Wednesday 18 September to Sunday 22 September 2019. The Convention is at Wrest Point Convention Centre Harmony Academy follows, Sunday 22 September to Wednesday 25 September 2019. It will be conducted at the Tasmanian Police Academy. Start planning now. What a great opportunity to visit Tasmania Come for the Convention, stay for the experience. Trevor ... more

We are still on a high from all the wonderful performances at this year's convention in Adelaide. Did you want to share your performance with your family and friends? Well you can! This year all photographs are available for you to download and share free of charge. We're also in the process of uploading all performance videos to our YouTube ... more

Bob Fritz, 1935 – 2018 Bob Fritz died last Friday after a long bout with cancer. Bob was an exceptionally knowledgeable barbershopper having been singing Barbershop for over 70 years. He joined Sydney Harmony in 1999, while still a member of the Sydneysiders Express. Bob made countless contributions to Sydney Harmony over the past 19 years. He was always the ... more

The BHA Club of the Year is an annual award, coordinated by the Vice President - Membership and adjudicated by a special Committee of representatives appointed by the BHA Council. The Award Committee will review each Club’s nomination and make recommendations to the BHA Council, with the winner to be announced at the 2018 Adelaide Convention. The following criteria will ... more

This is separate to the Club of the year award. It is, however, an equally important acknowledgement designed to allow Clubs throughout BHA to more publicly recognise one of their members. This would be for outstanding service and accomplishments as a member of your Club and as a member of Barbershop Harmony Australia. The criteria for the selection of your ... more

A key strategy for the BHA National Council is to engage more with our members and the Presidents Advisory Council on Membership (PACM) is one opportunity to do exactly that. This initiative is designed to draw a diverse group of members to serve on PACM to consider topics of national significance to BHA and provide insights on new ideas and ... more

As part of your membership of Barbershop Harmony Australia, we have negotiated an arrangement with the Barbershop Harmony Society in the US to offer you discount purchases from the Barbershop Harmony Store. BHA members are eligible for a 25% discount on many products from the Barbershop Harmony Society Marketplace. Products include some sheet music, learning tracks, and clothing items. For ... more

The BHA National Council is pleased to call for nominations for the 2018 BHA Medal. First awarded in 2017 to Mike Donnelly, the BHA Medal recognises an individual’s exemplary contribution to the advancement of barbershop in Australia. It will be awarded to a current BHA member in good standing who has consistently “put in” for barbershop. The award is made ... more

Eight Australians have just returned from an amazing week at BHS’ Harmony University in Nashville, Tennessee. The eight of us (Lyndal Thorburn, Geordie Cullen, Jennifer and Glenda Lloyd from Canberra; Tim Green and Jono Albertini from Brisbane; Alex Morris from Melbourne (also on the faculty this year); and Lea Baker from Sydney) were amongst almost 800 students and voluntary faculty ... more

Adelaide Convention - Registrations are now closed Registrations for the Adelaide Convention need to close well prior to the actual Convention dates to enable catering and logistics to be finalised. If you have not already registered unfortunately you can no longer register.     more

During August we sent out our most comprehensive member survey since 2005 as we seek to explore the views of our members, clubs and regions and inform the priorities and strategies for Barbershop within Australia. The survey will be facilitated through the Survey Monkey platform and will be open for 4 weeks and we anticipate having the first pass of ... more

Purchasing Music Online Increasingly, sheet music is being distributed online. Purchasing sheet music via a legal online store is permitted even when the store is based overseas. Online retailers have their own agreements with publishers and owners of works regarding the sale of the works. As such, they may sell works into the territories for which they have an agreement. ... more

Dear colleagues Many of you may have seen the Barbershop Harmony Society’s (BHS’s) recent statement on the future of membership within BHS, in particular the opening of membership to all. If you haven’t yet seen it, you can view it HERE. Your Barbershop Harmony Australia leadership team has watched with interest the reaction and debate within the United States barbershop ... more

1. Member Survey drafted and ready for launch! We are currently testing our most comprehensive member survey since 2005 as we seek to explore the views of our members, clubs and regions and inform the priorities and strategies for Barbershop within Australia. The survey will be facilitated through the Survey Monkey platform and will be launched in early July 2018. ... more

CONVENTION NEWS As we hurtle inexorably towards our 2018 annual Convention now less than three months away, your Convention Committee has been working hard to ensure that your event comes to fruition as smoothly as possible with the aim of creating an exceptional experience for all. You will have noticed whilst exploring the Convention website that your Convention Committee ... more

Calling all photographers! Are you a budding amateur photographer? Do you take photos for a living? Well, if you're planning on coming to our Adelaide convention, then BHA needs you! We are looking at putting a team of photographers together to take pictures throughout the convention. This will be for things like contest results, the welcome dinner, miscellaneous photos of ... more

The "BHA MEDAL" Gentlemen of our southern land. We have but a short time left to get our thoughts together to choose your next "BHA Medal" recipient. When the time comes, please ensure that you have included in your nomination the reasons why you believe he should win. Remember, the judging committee should have heaps of "stuff" to discuss. ... more

Attachment Dear members As our Association reaches its 33rd year, we are now taking some time to focus on building Barbershop Harmony Australia to reflect the views and goals of our contemporary membership. We want our members to view their singing as more than just a hobby, but as an opportunity for positive change – both in themselves, and in their ... more

From the keys of the Contest Administrators……. We have just completed the successful rounds of Regional contests over three weekends. This has kept John, Aaron and Linda, as the three Contest Administrators in Australia, on their toes, travelling around the countryside. We are very happy with the way everyone has been able to use the online contest entry system we ... more

COPYRIGHT AND MAKING COPIES OF MUSIC Recently, Barbershop Harmony Society has tightened up on BHA members being able to buy copies of music directly from the BHS Marketplace. Under US copyright law, BHS is only able to sell music to Australia where international copyright has been secured. This means it is often unable to sell its arrangements into the Australasian ... more

Greetings! I hope you are all enjoying the activities involved with this year’s round of regional contests and conventions! It’s great to see so many of you appearing on social media as you post fun items about your choruses and quartets, and we all really enjoy the feeling of camaraderie we experience knowing that we are all going through the ... more

MEMBERSHIP YEAR From 2019 we will change our membership year to the calendar year, 1 January to 31 December. The intent of the change is to bring membership registration more in line with the operational year of clubs. The new arrangements were passed at the 2018 AGM and come into effect from the beginning of 2019. For this transition year, ... more

Barbershop singing has been featured in the rock musical We Will Rock You. Staged at His Majesty’s Theatre in Perth with a semi-professional cast, a number of members of Vocal Evolution were involved. The show starred well known Australian performer Normie Rowe, and also Chris and Courtney Murphy (of Australian Idol fame). The producer and director of the $500,000 show ... more

As we move closer to the convention, BHA is pleased to announce that we will be having two separate workshops at the convention. One schools workshop on the Wednesday, and a youth workshop on the Friday. Our guest clinicians, along with workshop materials will be announced closer to the date. Once again we will be running our successful Teacher's scholarship ... more

In the last In Harmony Newsletter, Derek Cosburn provided a timely reminder that recognition is a key component of expressing our gratitude to those members of our barbershop community who contribute so much in keeping our clubs, regions and national association thriving. The introduction of the inaugural BHA medal in 2017 was the first time that a member could be ... more

The last major survey of member’s views was carried out in 2005. Since that time we have seen many changes in the Australian and International Harmony landscape requiring responses by our clubs, regions and association to ensure the ongoing viability of the Barbershop community. Drawing on the latest research by Barbershop Harmony Society, a major survey has been designed to ... more

In today’s society of sue first ask questions later, insurance is one an absolute must for all organisations. BHA has several insurance policies to designed to protect members, club offices, performers and volunteers. Group Accident Cover Cover for students and member’s injured whilst participating in the nominated activity: ·Death & Disablement lump sum benefits, ·Non-Medicare Medical Expenses, and ·Loss ... more

Quartets need to re-register on an annual basis and in time for the regional contests. Unfortunately, many quartets leave it till the last minute, just in time for the close of regional contest entries. This creates a lot of last minute work in late March early April for our executive officer, Jeannie, and our contest administrators, Linda, Aaron and John. ... more

The 2018 BHA National Barbershop Convention website (https://www.barbershopconvention.com.au/) is now open and ready to accept registrations. This Convention is being held for the first time in Adelaide. Most activities will be held at the famous 152 year old National Heritage listed Adelaide Town Hall, 128 King William Street, Adelaide. Check out the venue here: http://www.adelaidetownhall.com.au/ The Convention will run from ... more

We're thrilled to have secured the Barbershop Harmony Society's 2015 International Quartet Champions, Instant Classic as the headline quartet in the Adelaide Convention and as educators at the Harmony Academy that follows. Instant Classic is comprised of Kohl (baritone), Kyle (bass), Theo (lead) and David (tenor). They are four good friends with a passion for barbershop harmony, a cappella music, ... more

On the 11th of April we celebrated Barbershop Quartet Day! This date commemorates the birth of the organised barbershop movement on the 11th of April, 1938, when 26 men gathered together at the invitation of Rupert Hall, the “Royal Keeper of the Minor Keys,” and O.C. Cash, “Third Assistant Temporary Vice Chairman” for a songfest. Subsequent gatherings snowballed, leading to ... more

This year we will be using the online entry portal found at Contests.barbershop.org.au. It will be available from 1st March. Closing dates and details for each of the regionals are as shown below. (Note : The following information is as currently provided to the Contest Administrator : Further information should be available directly from your Region Administration) Each Contest is ... more

Believe it or not, I didn’t join BHA because I had a love for administration and paperwork. I would hazard to guess that, like you, I joined BHA because I just really liked the music. But now, thirty years later, I find myself in the rather daunting position of guiding our association and ensuring that BHA as an association can ... more

As a first-time attendee I was impressed with the whole weekend and how well, and how smoothly everything went. At the peaceful and delightful Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation Camp, accommodation is in bunkhouses containing multiple rooms, each having three double bunks and its own toilet and shower room. The location was perfect for our use, as barber-shoppers in that ... more

Greetings! I'm your new VP Events, Richard Wadick. I just came back from my first Face-to-Face meeting in Adelaide with your National Council. I am so excited to have visited the city where our next national convention and contest is going to be held. I am also pleased to report that a majority of the groundwork has already been completed ... more

As VP of Marketing and Development, a big part of my portfolio is making sure that the message gets through to you. We have a number of exciting things happening this year so I can't wait for you to hear more about: Our first National convention in Adelaide. This is going to be a fantastic event in an exciting location. ... more

I hope everyone is ready for a great, harmony filled year. As VP Music my biggest focus is to develop better and more accessible education to help all of our members, choruses and quartets, realise their potential. Some of the things we are focusing on is to bring you a new look Harmony College with some brand new streams that ... more

We have some new initiatives planned for 2018 to support the engagement of the wider Barbershop membership with the future of our wonderful organisation. More information will flow over the coming months but here is a snap shot of the key initiatives: Enhancing the profile of the Club Member of the Year, Club of the Year and the BHA Medal ... more

I Need You(th)! Hello Members. It's an exciting time to be a BHA member, with so many opportunities to get involved and help spread our wonderful artform to young people all across our nation. Last year we reached out to educators in the form of our presence at musical education body events and the successful teachers scholarship. This provided educators ... more

To all members. Last year at our National Convention, I had the distinct pleasure in designing, producing, then presenting the very first “BHA Medal” to Mike Donnelly. For all of us who were at the Sydney Convention, we know what the “BHA Medal” represents. But as a short explanation for the “newbies” to our organisation, the “BHA Medal” is awarded ... more

This is my last newsletter article as BHA President. I hand over to my good friend, Dan Millgate, who I am sure will lead you well. I also want to thank all members past and present of the National Council who have provided me great assistance and served all members well. Lastly, I want to thank you, the members, for ... more

Prior to the 2017 Pan Pacific Convention in Sydney, the AGBJ held it’s 3-yearly Category School to train our talented pool of judges in Australia and New Zealand. We were joined by a stellar faculty in Kevin Keller (MUS), Sean Devine (SNG), Rob Mance (SNG) and Linda Vinall (CA) who ably led our judges through what was an incredibly intense ... more

Eighty or so souls signed up for the Harmony College at the Naamaroo Conference Centre following the completion of the PanPac Convention with high expectations and anticipation. It can be categorically stated they were not disappointed and it would not be an exaggeration to say their expectations were far exceeded. The once-in-a-lifetime faculty included all four members of Crossroads ... more

What a great Convention we’ve just had. Full of events and activities. The fact that everything seemed to run so smoothly was wholly due to our hard-working band of volunteers. I gave lots of accolades at the Convention to these people, but I want to put it in writing again. A big thank you to the leader of the local ... more

It is hard to believe the PanPac is done and dusted. There were certainly many great highlights but the one that sticks in my mind the most is the welcome Gala Dinner. What a wonderful night that was. The camaraderie and bonhomie in that room on the night was positively uplifting and enjoyable. I heard later that the Kiwis are ... more

Competitors can access their photos as follows... Go to www.vspice.com.au In the "Contact Us" menu, select "Barbershop Photos" Log in with password:  harmony Purchase away... Contact the Vspice people if there are any issues.   more

Please note that the Sunday Church Service was previously advertised as being held at St Andrews Cathedral in George Street Sydney, This has now been changed and the Sunday Church Service will be held at 8.30am at Scots Church which is located on the Corner of Margaret and York Streets in Sydney directly opposite Wynyard Park. Further details are as ... more

Most of the main Convention venues are within easy walking distance from one another. The following map shows the general Darling Harbour precinct. Please note, the walking distance and times indicated are from the International Convention Centre The only venue not covered in the above map is the Grand Hall at Sydney Boys High School which is where the John ... more

Final arrangements are currently being made to facilitate webcast viewing of the major Convention Events as listed below : Live Viewing Quartet Contest - Session 1 A$10 Quartet Contest - Session 2 A$10 Quartet Contest - Session 3 A$10 All Quartet Contest Sessions A$20 Chorus Contest A$30 Showcase of Champions A$35 All of the above A$49 Delayed Viewing For Delegates ... more

SYDNEY A CAPPELLA FESTIVAL – OPEN TO ALL BHA MEMBERS The Sydney A Cappella Festival lead by Deke Sharon is open to everyone. There may be a misconception that it is a youth only event. This article is to confirm that the Festival is open to all BHA members - youth, adults, all chorus and quartet singers, music directors and ... more

One of the many benefits of our Barbershop hobby is that when we travel, we are able to visit the rehearsals of our fellow Barbershop groups whilst travelling. I have been travelling throughout Europe and have found most groups are only too happy to host foreign visitors. It is not always easy to get to a rehearsal however, for various ... more

BHA Club of the Year Award, and Chorus Member of the Year Award With so much great work happening throughout our organisation we need to take every opportunity to recognise the clubs and individuals that are leading the way for Barbershop in Australia. In this spirit we encourage every club in BHA to participate via the BHA Club of the ... more

BHA Medal 2017 - Call for nominations The BHA National Council is pleased to announce an exciting addition to the BHA recognition framework that includes Chorus Member of the Year, Club of the Year and Life Membership. A new addition to our recognition framework The BHA Medal recognises an individual’s exemplary contribution to the advancement of barbershop in Australia. The award is made for sustained outstanding leadership, ... more

Attachment We recently had a very successful membership drive with 20 fresh faces on day one converting to 10 people auditioning to join our chorus after the five week programme. The first night was nearly overwhelming with as many new singers as regular members in attendance! This is a significantly better result than our efforts in prior years and I thought ... more

Sound Connection participated in the BHS International Convention in July. The convention took place in Las Vegas, across the Planet Hollywood, Paris and Bally’s casinos. The lead up to Convention was exciting enough as we had members coming from all over the USA and directly from Australia on the Monday and Tuesday. Many members had taken advantage of the school ... more

The big news, if you haven’t heard it, is that Blindside, our 2016 BHA National Champion Quartet finished 3rd in the BHS International Youth Quartet contest and 22nd overall in the BHS International Open Quartet contest. The best results by a BHA quartet so far! A big shout out to The Blenders chorus who have supported Blindside over the years, ... more

Registrations for the Pan Pacific Convention need to close well prior to the actual Convention dates to enable catering and logistics to be finalised. If you have not already registered there is only just over a week left so don't miss out. Registrations, which close on Wednesday 6 September 2017, can be made through the Convention website or by clicking ... more

There will be two chorus rehearsal rooms available for use by competing choruses on Thursday 28 and Friday 29 September. Both rooms will be fully equiped with seven sets of four step risers and will be available for use from 8am to 5pm each day in 1 hour blocks of time (plus a 10 minute changeover time). It is expected ... more

Convention merchandise is now available for ordering from the Convention website. Head to the Merchandise tab of the Convention website and order away! Please note, to allow time for manufacturing, no further orders will be received after Wednesday 6 September 2017. Sydney Convention T-shirt - A$25.00 Sydney Convention Polo Shirt - A$35.00 Sydney Convention Button-up Shirt - A$45.00 Sydney ... more

Congratulations to all quartets who have qualified through our Regional contests for the Pan Pac Convention in Sydney in September. To those who missed out, my sincere commiserations. I’m sure our expert judging panels have given all groups plenty of “food for thought” of what things to work on going forward so that you can enjoy your signing even more. ... more

Make your Sydney Convention experience complete by participating in the A Cappella Festival conducted by BHA, for some time during the Tuesday and Wednesday of Convention week. There are classes and workshops all led by Deke Sharon, the “father of contemporary A Cappella”. The details are at the FESTIVAL WEBSITE. The Festival is open to everyone – youth, students, adults, ... more

Entry for the Pan Pacific, BHA & BHNZ contests are now available online. Entries for the 2017 Sydney PanPac Convention are now open and will close 1 September 2017. We are introducing a new contest management system that requires all entries to be completed on-line by one representative member of each quartet or chorus. This will include nominating songs that ... more

For those of you who have been fortunate enough to see the Tokyo Barbers Chorus perform previously, you will need no reminder on what a fantastic and entertaining bunch of guys they are. For those of you who have not yet had this pleasure, you are in for a treat because they are coming to Sydney to participate in ... more

An Analysis of BHA Chorus Sizes and Contest Scores Late in April, a paper regarding Chorus Size and Contest Scores was distributed to all members. Discussion centred around small, medium and large chorus awards or alternatively grade based awards. Responses were received until June 3. Attached is a copy of the original paper, also a summary of members' responses. While there was support for a grade-based system, there was ... more

Responses to the Chorus Size Analysis Paper Late in April, a paper regarding Chorus Size and Contest Scores was distributed to all members. Discussion centred around small, medium and large chorus awards or alternatively grade based awards. Responses were received until June 3. Attached is a summary of members' responses. While there was support for a grade-based system, there was also significant support for maintaining the status ... more

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Our panel of BHA and BHNZ judges have finished reviewing all the entries for the Pan-Pacific Medal Design Contest and the results are in! After much deliberation we can announce that the recipient of two VIP registrations to the 2017 Pan-Pacific contest in Sydney is Avery Vaughn! Avery's design will now go through some final tweaking before it is sent ... more

As we enter our “season” of regional contests, it’s a busy time for Australian barbershoppers. There will be Regional contests held in Sunshine, Central, Victorian, Eastern and Western Regions, held as qualifying contests for our National contest in September to be held at the Pan Pacific Convention in Sydney. A big vote of thanks to our judges and CA’s, and ... more

HarmonySite, the easiest to use chorus-management tool in the world, is going from strength to strength. Recent sign-ups include Toronto Northern Lights and A Cappella Showcase (current Harmony Inc champions), as well as dozens of BHS and SAI choruses in North America and the UK. The latest release is out, with dozens of improvements. What is HarmonySite, you ask? It's ... more

Tony Sykes from Sydney Harmony contributed to an online story about Barbershop Quartet Day which was published recently on the Australian news & opinion website The Big Smoke. It includes videos of quartets Signature and Ringmasters and Blindside gets a mention.   Here is the link:   http://thebigsmoke.com.au/2017/04/11/wholesome-foursome-honouring-boys-barbershop/       more

A reminder to all members that if you are purchasing items from the BHS Shop (music, clothing, audio, merchandise, books etc) you are entitled to a 25% discount off the retail price. Just enter the 2017 Affiliate Discount Code - 2017AFF25 - at checkout for your discount. See their full range at http://shop.barbershop.org/ more

Barbershop Harmony Australia (BHA) is starting up a new program to send skilled individuals to every club once a year to aid our choruses in developing their skills musically, vocally, in performance as well as offering organisational guidance and mentoring. We want to be able to touch base with our members and provide a forum to engage with BHA leadership. ... more

The 2017 Pan-Pacific Convention website is now open and ready to accept registrations for both the Convention and the Harmony University which will immediately follow the Convention. This promises to be one of the most exciting Barbershop Conventions and Harmony Universities ever held in the region. Aside from the anticipated high level of performances and the rare fellowship opportunities it ... more

Dear Barbershoppers, I would like to remind everybody that a Memorial service for Linc Abbott is scheduled for this coming Saturday, March 18th at 2.30pm. Metropolitan Funeral, 224 Newnham Road, Mt Gravatt. The family has asked that the gathered barbershoppers sing 2 x 2 sets of songs during the service with three of the songs being Linc's arrangements of: "I ... more

This contest is now closed. A big thank you to all entrants in the Design a Medal contest, and congratulations to AVERY VAUGHN, the winner of a free VIP double registration to the 2017 Pan-Pacific contest and convention in Sydney, 28 September 2017 to 1 October 2017.      more

Recently the BHA National Council (the “Council”) met for its annual face to face meeting, this time in Adelaide, so that the facilities for the 2018 Convention could be inspected. All Councillors attended and a wide ranging discussion was had. Key points are listed below. The Council encourages comments and input from members on any of the topics discussed, or ... more

The Sydney 2017 Pan-Pac Convention is to be held in the International Convention Centre, Darling Harbour from Wednesday 27 September 2017 to Sunday lunchtime 1 October 2017. This will be immediately followed by Harmony University at Naamaroo Conference Centre, Lane Cove from Sunday afternoon 1 October 2017 to Wednesday 4 October 2017. This promises to be one of the ... more

MR BARBERSHOP HARMONY AUSTRALIA, Linc Abbott, passed away on Monday, February 27, 2017. Many long standing barbershoppers called Linc this name because of the massive contribution he made to the introduction, expansion and development of the barbershop harmony movement during the first 25 years of barbershop harmony here in Australia. Linc came to Australia with his family in 1972 and ... more

The faculty (kneeling) L to R Richard Reeve, Jonathan Bligh, Jill Rogers, Rob Sequeira & David Reid On Friday afternoon 24 February 2017, over sixty barbershoppers from throughout the Eastern Region wended their various ways to the Myuna Bay Sports and Recreation Complex on the shores of the beautiful Lake Macquarie, 90 minutes drive north of Sydney. They were ... more

QUARTET MEMBERS With regional contests approaching, all quartets intending to compete will need to be registered or re-registered with BHA. At the moment, only 22 quartets are registered across our six regions. For each quartet, a representative should complete the Quartet Registration or Quartet Re-Registration Form. It is available at https://www.barbershop.org.au/commonfiles/bha/db_uploads/Quartet_Registration__E_Form_Apr2016.pdf Once complete, the form may be forwarded to our ... more

Welcome to 2017, a new year of barbershop fun and expectation. The big event, of course, will be our hosting of the Pan Pac Convention in Sydney in September, and the opportunity to meet up with our Pacific brothers from New Zealand, Japan and elsewhere. There’s also a harmony college running straight afterwards, and with the quality of the faculty ... more

Over the last two or three years, it has become the responsibility of each club to update its details in the BHA database. This has cut administrative costs. At the beginning of the new year, each club is asked to please take the time to update its contact details, office bearers, member email, address, phone number, emergency details, etc. Many ... more

Novatones are searching for a new MD. Ian Miller, Novatones MD since 2009 has decided to call it a day and step back after 26 years of directing and another 20 years of quartet singing prior to that. Ian also spent time as a Singing category judge, 4 years as VP Music for BHA, act as Dean of National Harmony ... more

Welcome to the following new member  3505       Joel Bolitho         High Altitude Harmony more

Click on this link to see registration details  more

Expressions of interest are sought for the position of Music Director of the Miner Chords who are based in Ipswich, Queensland.   contact David Green daveandsandyg@bigpond.com 0407831326   more

We are excited to bring the internationally renowned musical genius Deke Sharon to Sydney, Australia on Tuesday 26 & Wednesday 27 September 2017 for the Sydney A Cappella Festival. "The Father of Contemporary A Cappella" - Entertainment Weekly "A one man a cappella revolution" - Boston Globe "Deke Sharon makes a cappella cool again" - NPR Deke Sharon is the ... more

Looking for a challenge? A group of expatriates located on the Indonesian Island of Batam, a rapidly growing city of around 1.5 million people just 12 miles and an hour by modern fast ferry from Singapore, is looking for an MD. We are seeking a confident, energetic and competent musical director with a true spirit of adventure to create a ... more

Melbourne Pasefika Mens Choir Gold Medal lead singer from 2014 International Champion Quartet Musical Island Boys, Marcellus Washburn has been busy spreading the joy of music since his move to Melbourne from New Zealand. Marcellus directs a small a capella group, the Melbourne Pasefika Mens Choir, a platform for Polynesian male singers that has proven popular since its formation in August 2016. "I ... more

Welcome to the following new members who have joined BHA over the past two months 486 Jason Contarini High Altitude Harmony 3487 Malcolm McHardy High Altitude Harmony 3488 Bruce Winter High Altitude Harmony 3489 Samuel Grose Sydney Harmony 3490 Charlie Tam Sydney Harmony 3491 Paul Shea Sydney Siders Express 3492 Geoff Fox Riverland Ramblers Mens Barbershop Chorus Inc. 3493 Harvey ... more

The recent Annual General Meeting of The Westcoast Barbershop Harmony Club marked the end of an era, with Bruce Okely no longer accepting nomination as its Music Director. Following the election of Kim Sebbage as our Music Director, nominated by Bruce, Life Member John Christie moved that, in recognition of Bruce’s long standing service to the club, he be awarded ... more

Merry Christmas to All 2016 has been a good year for BHA, and we should all be proud of our individual and collective barbershop achievements. Whether that means you sang in a quartet for the first time, learned your notes and words of a new song in record time, or contributed to your Club in a significant way, it doesn’t ... more

The Webcast videos taken during the various performances at Newcastle have now been uploaded to YouTube and are available for viewing. They can be viewed by either Clicking on the embedded link in the Webcast page of the Convention website https://www.barbershopconvention.com.au/Webcast and using the >> and << buttons as shown to navigate between the various videos. Alternatively, the separate YouTube ... more

2017 Regional Conventions Central Region – Saturday, 22 April 2017 Sunshine Region – Saturday, 22 April 2017 Victorian region – Saturday, 29 April 2017 Eastern Region – Saturday, 06 May 2017 Western Region – Saturday, 13 May 2017 Tasmanian Region – Saturday, 13 May 2017 (NB : could the organisers of each of these events please ensure full details are ... more

In July I was fortunate to be invited to attend category school at Belmont University, Nashville along with a small contingent of AGBJ members. Being the only Contest Administrator, I joined my BHS and Harmony Inc counterparts as we spent several long days (8:30am – 10pm) discussing and sharing our challenges and learning from each other about how contests are ... more

Well, didn’t we have a great time in Newcastle? What a great Convention! A huge vote of thanks to Keith Thornton, Trevor Rootes, Brian Bleakley and the team from Novatones and Eastern Region. And our visitors from the USA – Forefront – Drew, Kevin, Aaron and Brian, and our judges – Steve, Joe, Dusty and Tony – a nicer bunch ... more

BHA President, Ian Mulholland speaking at the function A function was recently held to farewell Andy Aberle, BHA and Men In Harmony Life Member, who has retired from active barbershop singing after 31 years and at almost 92 years “young”. Andy is our oldest active BHA member. Many of you will know Andy. He was one of the founders ... more

AUSACA is a well-established annual A Cappella event conducted in Melbourne by Vocal Australia. In September, barbershop ensembles were successful in the finals with Festival Statesmen Chorus (mini) taking first prize in the League Division. They also won the award for the best contemporary song. Individual awards for members of Festival Statesmen went to Jono Webb for best soloist, and ... more

Our youth members brought a great deal of energy, enthusiasm and quality to our recent Newcastle convention. Overall, there were nine quartets and two choruses contesting in both the youth and open events. In addition to contests, youth joined the Combined Youth Chorus that performed at our Welcome Dinner and at the Youth Concert. No doubt this was the best ... more

Delegates started converging on the NSW port city of Newcastle on Wednesday 28 September 2016 to attend the 14th National BHA Convention. This was the first annual Convention following the switch from biennial conventions after Melbourne last year. Newcastle is the second largest city in NSW and the eighth largest in Australia. It also has the distinction of being ... more

The symbolic Pitchpipe was recently passed on at the Newcastle Convention farewell luncheon by Novatones President, Brian Bleakley to Hills Harmony President, Dick Bushell who was representing the three Sydney Clubs, Sydney Harmony, Hills Harmony and Penrith Harmony who will be co-hosting the Convention in Sydney next year. "This is going to be a big Convention as it will not ... more

The new Harmony Foundation Youth Barbershop Quartet Contest dominated day one of Nashville International Convention. The Quartet Contest was held in the Schermerhorn Symphony Centre, one of the most beautiful and acoustically perfect locations ever to host a BHS International event. Pratt Street Power (MAD), 82.0% won gold from 29 contestants. On the day there was a mere 2.2 percentage ... more

The Baden Street Singers organised a full day of A Cappella Harmony workshops on Saturday, 6th of August from 10am to 4pm at the Shenton College campus; aimed at high school students (years 8 -12) who have an interest in singing. The day was be lead by our own highly accredited director Lionel Pierson with expert coaching from: Alex ... more

The 2016 BHS International Contest was held in Music City, Nashville, TN - the home of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Over 8000 people walked through the doors of the Bridgestone Arena on the bustling Broadway for 5 days of brilliant entertainment. I once again, had the privilege of hosting the webcast alongside Debbie Cleveland and this year also joined ... more

Music Director - Miner Chords Applications are invited for the position of MD at The Miner Chords Ipswich, Queensland. .Email Howard Kennedy at whk@optusnet.com.au   more

Educating Students and Teachers Alike with this Full Day of A Cappella Singing The Baden Street Singers are organising a full day of A Cappella Harmony workshops on Saturday, 6th of August from 10 am to 4 pm at the Shenton College campus; aimed at high school students (years 8 -12) who have an interest in singing. The day will ... more

2016 Regional Contest Season and Hunter Harmony Convention Congratulations to each region on a fantastic season of regional contests. A total of 32 quartets qualified for the open contest, 9 for the seniors contest, 7 for the youth contest and 7 for the mixed contest. Alongside what will surely be an action packed chorus contest, Hunter Harmony is set to ... more

CONTESTS: make sure you don’t miss the youth contests this year. The very entertaining youth and schools contests are on Wednesday 28 September at the main convention venue, Newcastle City Hall. HELP NEEDED: we are hoping to have a good number of ensembles from surrounding areas in New South Wales. Members in these areas are particularly invited to spread the ... more

Many clubs are unaware that there are many funding opportunities available throughout the year, every year, for arts-specific activities such as the things YOUR barbershop chorus does all the time. The world of funding and grant applications might sound like a real headache at first. All of the paperwork aside, many clubs don’t even know where to start looking ... more

Music Director Wanted Wollongong Harmony Chorus (Ladies) Wollongong is a University town in the heart of the picturesque Illawarra region of the south coast of NSW, just 80km down the road from Sydney. It was chosen to host this year's Region 34 Convention. After 10 years at the helm of WHC, Director Jan McCarthy is now handing on the baton. ... more

Just about every week each one of you will attend a rehearsal of some sort or another. It could be your chorus/club regular rehearsal, or it could be your quartet rehearsal. It could be a performance or a workshop even. Whatever the occasion, take the time to say “G’day” to your fellow singing mates. They are sharing this wonderful hobby ... more

There are a lot of youth development activities going on around the country. Some recent highlights include: A youth day conducted on the NSW Central Coast by SOUNDWAVES. Dick Costin and Gary Kirk were behind this initiative in mid-April. On the day, Blindside quartet worked with the dozen young people involved. The Club is hoping to develop a mixed youth ... more

Open this article and click here to see a great little video of some of the atttactions and scenery in store for you. When you come to Newcastle make sure to leave some time to enjoy some of these wonderful features of the region. Newcastle is a cosmopolitan harbour city located just two hours north of Sydney, right on the ... more

A number of the major Convention events are to be held at the newly refurbished Wests City Club in Newcastle including the Welcome Dinner, the Quartet Competition Final, the Chorus Competition, the Showcase of Champions and the Farewell Lunch. The Club also has excellent restaurants providing a very convenient eating location throughout the Convention. Being a registered Club, all non-Club ... more

Now is the time to register for Newcastle (Click here to Register) The substantial Early Bird Savings only apply providing you register BEFORE 31 May 2016. Packages Available Early Bird Special Registrations (if you register on or before 31 May 2016) Standard Registrations (if you register on or after 1 June 2016) Full Delegate $329 $399 Partner Delegate $269 $329 ... more

The Crowne Plaza have offered a special deal for BHA Members attending the Newcastle Convention, as follows: Crowne Plaza Newcastle Cnr. Wharf Rd & Merewether Street, Newcastle, NSW Australia 2300 Cityside Suites including breakfast for one guest $245.00 per room per night Harbourside Suites Including breakfast for one guest $275.00 per room per night King Spa Suites including breakfast for ... more

New Memorandum of Understanding signed between BHA and BHNZ Previously, under an informal understanding between BHA, BHNZ and Hawaii, Pan-Pacific Conventions have been run every 3 or 4 years since 1994, rotating between New Zealand, Hawaii and Australia. Hawaii has been a difficult location for Australians to get to (mainly due to the cost), and Hawaii has struggled to get ... more

An update from your President, Ian Mulholland. Your Busy Council Over the last two months, since our face-to-face and goal setting meeting, your BHA National Council has been getting down to the various tasks that we set ourselves. Some of the most important outcomes that affect members are outlined below. Music scholarships are available to both BHS Harmony University (up ... more

2016 will provide plenty of action for BHA Members, with Youth BBDO’s, Regional Contests, numerous concerts and, of course, our BHA National Convention “Hunter Harmony" coming up in Newcastle in late September. Next up: Regional Contests… If you haven’t already entered your Quartet or Chorus, do it now before it’s too late, most entry closing dates are not far away. ... more

Obtaining the appropriate Copyright approvals for new songs has become a most vexing issue for many Choruses and Quartets. Gone are the days when we could just order what we wanted from BHS and then just wait for the required number of copies to turn up in the mail. After much discussion with BHS and copyright authorities, BHA have now ... more

The East Coast Harmony College was held again in February at the picturesque Myuna Bay Conference facility by the shores of Lake Macquarie on the NSW Central Coast. This annual event attracted around 60 singers mostly from NSW Clubs but also several representatives from Queensland and Victoria. The first class faculty was made up of Andrew and Jen Howson, Lea ... more

A new barbershop chorus has been formed at Wangi Workers Club. They sing Thursdays from 7pm and are tentatively called Southlakes Chorus. It has been operating now for four weeks and has 8 new members with singing interest attending. The first night was attended by members of Soundwaves Gosford who have offered their support to the new guys. Gary Kirk ... more

The death occurred in Perth last month of Laurie Russell, following a long illness. The funeral was attended by many lovers of singing and admirers of Laurie’s many skills – including John Christie, David Macgill and Bruce Okely. Very few in the Australian barbershop movement would be aware that, had it not been for Laurie’s initial enthusiasm, there might not ... more

New BHA Membership, Chorus and Quartet registration forms Application forms to register members, quartets and clubs with BHA have undergone a makeover and are now available through the BHA website. If you have any of the older forms included on your Club website please delete them in favour of the new documents. Better still, just include the following links on ... more

WELCOME to our new BHA members! Your National Council extends a BIG welcome on behalf of all BHA members to the following members who have joined us in recent months. Praveen Saggurthi Sydney Harmony Harry Harris Sydney Harmony Hugo Wilesmith Sydney Harmony Matt Harris Sydney Harmony Jerry Harris Sydney Harmony Ethan Acott Vocal Evolution Inc Ryan Gonsalves Vocal Evolution Inc ... more

Newcastle offers a wide variety of accommodation options ranging from budget rooms in backpackers or pubs, to self-contained apartments and 4.5 star hotel options. Below is a summarised list of accommodation options located in close proximity to Newcastle City Hall and The Wests City Club. Many of these hotels are also within easy access to the fare free bus ... more

One of the main Convention venues will be the newly refurbished Wests City Club located in downtown Newcastle on the corner of King Street and Union Street Newcastle. It is open seven days a week and is one of Newcastle’s favourite entertainment and functions destinations. Their large auditorium and other Club facilities will host a number of key events including ... more

The BHA Convention website is fully functional and jam packed with great information about the coming Convention in Newcastle which is due to start on Wednesday 28 September 2016. Visit the website via the link below to find the following information about this, the 14th National BHA Convention. It also has the distinction of being our first annual Convention. ... more

Benefits of Membership of BHA The attached document outlines the many benefits of being a member of Barbershop Harmony Australia, including Our Purpose and Our Values. and what the Association does for you. This is great information for all members and prospective members. So: If you are thinking of becoming a member read all about what BHA offers you and why we would love you ... more

Dates for BHA’s Contests and Conventions have been locked in for next year. They are: Sunshine Region (QLD): Friday 22 April - Sunday 24 April Central Region (South Australia/NT): Friday 29 April - Sunday 1 May Victorian Region (VIC): Friday 29 April - Sunday 1 May Eastern Region (NSW/ACT): Friday 5 May - Sunday 8 May Tasmanian Region (TAS): Friday ... more

Attachment The attached summary was prepared by Mike Matthew (President of The Canberra Chordsmen) of the key points from the Sydney workshop, attended by about twenty executive management representatives of ER barbershop choruses and facilitated by Richard Reeve (BHA VP Membership) more

Blindside are off to Pittsburgh to compete in the Collegiate Barbershop World Championships.  They have appeared on the ABC, with Eddie Klimowicz.  See the link below... more

Quartet Qualifiers for Melbourne 2015 Quartet qualifying scores for the 2015 National Convention and Contest in Melbourne have now been determined, after review and recommendation by the Contest Administrator and endorsement by the BHA National Council. Nine (9) Youth quartets have qualified for the Youth contest with a score of >50%. The Youth quartet contest will be held on Wednesday 16 September, and is a ... more

We are pleased to announce that the 2013 BHA Perth Convention DVDs are now available for sale in our Harmony Marketplace store. We have two DVDs available:  The chorus contest (plus bonus Champions of Harmony concert), and the quartet contest. Click on the link below to order yours now!   more

This is plenty of Perth 2013 merchandise still remaining in the Harmony Marketplace store, including shirts, hats, caps, stubby holders, etc. This high-quality equipment won't last long, so get your order in soon! As a special offer, we've reduced the postage on all items down to only $3.00 per item. See the link below for the full merchandise catalog. more

Attachment AAMBS Members can borrow Manuals plus Videos, CDs, DVDs from National and International Barbershop Conventions, and of individual Choruses and Quartets. Just contact Linda Vinall at librarian@barbershop.org.au and she will be happy to send them out to you. All it costs you is the postage to return the borrowed items to Kevin. BHA Members can also buy BHA Badges, Pitch ... more

BHA Library List - April 2013 Members can borrow videos, CDs, DVDs and manuals from National and International Barbershop Conventions, and of individual choruses and quartets. Contact the Secretary, Kevin White at secretary@barbershop.org.au or PO Box 6026, West Gosford NSW 2250, and he will be happy to send them out to you. All it costs you is the return postage! more

You may all be familiar with the concept of flash mobs — groups appearing suddenly in public, performing, and then, just as quickly as they appeared, disappearing back into the crowd. Recently, the lads from the Vocal Evolution chorus had the chance to stage an awesome flash mob at Karrinyup, a large shopping centre in Perth, WA, which was ... more

What is this new name and logo all about? Logos are an important part of an organisation’s public image. Common sense and standard industry practice dictate that maximum public impact can only be obtained through the consistent use of a single, recognisable logo. The name and logo of an organisation have two distinct audiences. The first audience is the members ... more

Welcome to the new Barbershop Harmony Australia website which has launched to coincide with the rebranding of our Association. We are very excited to be able to update the look and feel of our online presence and we hope that you will enjoy using it. We have plenty of items on the to-do list for the site that are yet ... more

The Fishbowl Boys have their very own CD, Smile, out now featuring the following tracks: Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Freddie Mercury Tonight Tonight by Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein Moondance by Van Morrison Blue Skies by Irving Berlin That’s Life by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon Goodbye World, Goodbye by Mosie Cister You can buy them for $15.00 ... more

Australia Brings Back Barbershop ! Our Gold Medal Quartet Benchmark appeared in the Semi Finals of Australia's Got Talent on Tuesday 7th June and received a standing ovation and accolades from all three judges.  This has promoted our beloved art form right across Austalia.     more

A History of AAMBS Information This is a detailed History of the first 20 years of the Australian Association of Mens Barbershop Singers Inc researched and written by Andy Aberle, a Founding and Life Member of AAMBS.  Cost:        $15.00 + $2.00 handling and postage Enquiries:  08 9330 4159 - aberles@internetexpress.net.au more

Anthem - the first CD from Alliance, Australia's Medal Winning Quartet who recently represented AAMBS at the 2009 Anaheim, USA International Convention. You can order Anthem either on their website www.alliancequartet.com or by phoning 0409 084 491.  We know you will enjoy many hours of listening to this great quartet. more

Contents - The Great Australian Barbershop Song Book The Song Books are available from :               The Secretary               AAMBS Inc               P O Box 6026               WEST GOSFORD  NSW  2250 more