What happens at our rehearsals

Barbershop harmony is an a cappella (unaccompanied) style of singing with four voices. The ‘lead’ usually sings the melody, with the ‘tenor’ harmonizing above the lead. The ‘bass’ sings the lowest harmonizing notes and the ‘baritone’ provides the in-between notes, either above or below the lead to make chords (specifically, dominant-type or ‘barbershop’ sevenths) that give barbershop its distinctive, full sound.

We are a chorus rather than a choir, because of our strong emphasis on performance. Performing barbershop music incorporates movement, expression and emotion in order to entertain.

Barbershop singing originated in USA in the 19th century, in barbershops and on street corners, in the tradition of recreational music. Barbershop is flourishing world-wide through the efforts of the Barbershop Harmony Society and its 30,000 members. Mighty River Harmony is affiliated to BHS via NZABS-The New Zealand Association of Barbershop Singers.

We are a chorus rather than a choir, because of our strong emphasis on performance. Performing barbershop music incorporates movement, expression and emotion in order to entertain. Barbershop singing originated in USA in the 19th century, in barbershops and on street corners, in the tradition of recreational music. Barbershop is flourishing world-wide through the efforts of the Barbershop Harmony Society and its 30,000 members. Mighty River Harmony is affiliated to BHS via NZABS-The New Zealand Association of Barbershop Singers. There are currently over 400 members in New Zealand in 12 choruses.

In 1992 the Hamilton Hair Razors Barbershop Chorus was formed with Jill Rodgers as the Musical Director. Lloyd Smith, a former member of gold medal-winning chorus in US, The Vocal Majority, was instrumental in providing expertise and guidance in the style. The City of Sails Chorus provided help and encouragement.

Barbershop singing has some elements of a competitive sport, and in 1996 we were the champion New Zealand chorus. Attendance at the 1998 Pan Pacific Convention in Hawaii with 51 members was a major highlight for the Chorus. We hosted the 1995, 2003 and 2010 NZ Conventions of Barbershop Singers.
The Chorus changed its name to Mighty River Harmony in February 2003.

Mighty River Harmony’s Musical Director, Gary Taylor, is known as Mr Barbershop in the National Barbershop scene. With 30+ years experience in singing in the Barbershop Style and 25+ years as an MD, he looks forward to building our Chorus along side the Music and Administrative Teams. Gary also directs Harmony a Plenty in Tauranga. The two choruses combined as Mighty River Harmony a Plenty to take the bronze medal in the national convention in Dunedin in 2007. Mighty River Harmony went one better in 2009 taking the silver medal in Wellington and earned another bronze in this year's competition in Hamilton.

The chorus is holding two Open Nights on Tuesdays 15th and 22nd February at 7.30pm. at the McMeekan Centre, Ruakura, Hamilton (enter off Ruakura Rd) . Here's a map

Prospective members and anyone interested in hearing what barbershop singing is all about are most welcome. You could find yourself wanting to come to the FREE six-week training course where you will learn about vocal projection, resonators, breathing, stance, presentation and many other aspects of harmony singing.

For further information, call Bernie on 853 7613.

WARNING FROM THE SURGEON-GENERAL
SINGING IS ADDICTIVE! YOU COULD GET HOOKED!
YOU MAY EVEN EXTEND YOUR LIFE!