Barbershop, Bagpipes and Inspiration

To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. But we must not drift or lie at anchor - Oliver Wendell Holmes

It's the choir off-season at the moment, a time to rest, reflect and generally restore, ready to launch back into the new season. We have some very good concerts before Christmas, a tour to Krakow next summer and the Male Choir competition in Torquay in March 2012.

There is no doubt in my mind that the choir has had a good year just past, some splendid performances and excellent audiences but an organisation must look to the future, for unless we move forward there is no doubt we will drift back.

Deliberately, I have been looking around at other musical orgainisations, looking for inspiration, looking for a way forward, looking for a way to help us improve our music making. I haven't yet found it but I think I have recognised some of the things our beloved male choir genre is missing, but more of that in a minute. Let me share two inspirations that I have had recently.

I spent last Saturday watching the World Pipe Band Championships on the BBC Scotland live internet feed; my best friend at school played (and still plays) in The Gilnahirk Pipe Band and I remember the thrill of hearing these wonderful organisations in my teens and early twenties.

The winners were The Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band from Northern Ireland, one of the leading pipe bands in the world today; it is arguably the most influential and successful pipe band ever. Led by Pipe Major Richard Parkes MBE and Drum Sergeant Keith Orr, the band has won every major championship title available to them, including seven World Pipe Band Championships and a colossal 43 major championship titles.

Watch the video below, listen to the incredible musicality of these guys and girls - they are just like you and me, ordinary people, with real jobs and real lives. The difference is that they have achieved absolute excellence in their hobby, in their passion, in their amateur music making. They are clearly enjoying everything that they do, clearly having a ball doing it.

So, what makes them so good. Well, they practice, they practice hard, they are very dedicated to their art. They are gifted but all gifts need to be nurtured and in Richard Parkes they have inspirational leadership from a gifted musician. They are very clearly proud of their achievements - but I am guessing that their pride comes from knowing that they do their very best every time they step on to the grass. Importantly (to me) is that whilst I have focussed on the winners at "The Worlds" - there were probably another 50 bands (in all the various grades) there, all competing, all striving to improve, all constantly learning from their experiences, learning from the judges comments and drinking in the experience of hearing the best in the world and wanting to be like them.

There is an overarching organisation in the form of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association. The RSPBA is the recognised Centre of Excellence for the promotion and development of Pipe Band Music internationally. Its services and facilities are noted on their website and include: education, training and certification in Piping, Drumming, Drum Majoring and Pipe Band Adjudication; an annual Summer School, an Academy of Pipe Band Musicianship; setting standards of Pipe Band competition performance. Please note it does not mention promoting Scottish Culture or promoting the constant playing of nostalgic hymns and arias. Excellence, training, education, adjudicating, schooling are the key words. Rather than constantly looking back the male choir genre needs to look forward, we, at Bournemouth Male Voice Choir must strive to do that. Only by embracing these kinds of values will we be able to inspire younger men (like those in the Pipe-Band world) to experience the best singing of their lives - in a men's choir.

Another inspiration came closer to home, a new friend and member of Bournemouth Male Voice Choir David Wood is also the new Director of Ocean Harmony, a Barbershop group from Southampton. David, very kindly, invited me to visit one of their rehearsals and I really enjoyed hearing this group. What was fascinating for me was that the "Guild of Judges" had sent one of their representatives to the rehearsal to discuss the groups recent performance at "Convention". A screen was set up, the choruses performance was projected on to it and played through speakers and the adjudicator had to talk about why they had given the scores they had. What a fabulous idea! No more giving the cup to a choir because they come from the same place as you! The judge had to stand by their adjudication.

I got chatting to the members and the judge and I was very impressed by their striving to improve, very much like the members of Bournemouth Male Voice Choir, but very interestingly this endeavour was well supported by the overarching organisation, The British Association of Barbershop Singers. I have taken some words from their mission statement and they are remarkably similar to those above from the RSPBA in so many ways. "Embrace and perform music predominantly in the barbershop style, and in a broad range of other a cappella styles. Through the educational and coaching opportunities available in the Society, they continually improve their public and contest performances. Each chapter embraces and performs a cappella music, our chapters are leaders in the musical life of their community, employing and enjoying the same educational opportunities for improvement available to quartets and all singers. District and international conventions, festivals, and educational conferences incorporate contests, activities, and training sessions to meet the needs of our membership and their families. We continually strive for improvement in individual, quartet, chorus and Society activities, performances, and events…….. largest supporter of vocal music education in the world, the alliance has formed strong partnerships with school choral groups, music educators, and their organizations."

So again, an organisation interested in eduction, coaching, improvement, conventions, festivals, contests, training, partnerships....

I am convinced that the groundwork we are putting in place, improving standards, singing new music and looking forward to a future that in fresh rather that looking backwards to a nostalgic past that never really existed is the right thing to do.

The 2011/2012 season will see the choir ratchet up its performance standard and strive to be the best it can be, why not get involved with us? The Male Choir genre offers a unique opportunity for men to perform wonderful music from a wide range of styles.

If you are a voice coach, why not offer to help with coaching?

If you are a choreographer why not help us with our stagecraft?

If you are a composer show us your music!

If you are a singer who lives in Dorset and wants to be the best you can be - why not join us!?

I'll leave you with a Barbershop choir singing one of our new pieces the delicious "Lux Aurumque" by Eric Whitacre - watch this then drop me an email (musicaldirector@bournemouthmalechoir.co.uk ) telling me how you can help drive forward the best sort of ensemble singing - "Men's Choirs"