Barbershop 'quartet' looking to grow to 50 after losing members during the pandemic

So you think you can sing?

Kelowna’s barbershop quartet wants to hear from you.

Okanagan Vocal Harmony is looking to bolster its membership after the pandemic left it in tatters.

“Singing is probably one of the most dangerous things you can do when you’re looking at an airborne disease and transfer,” explains music director Peter McBride.

“We stumbled along as well as we could using tools like Zoom or having masked, far away meetings outside. It’s not like a proper rehearsal where we can get the close harmony that the hobby demands.”

He says it’s been very difficult. They have lost a number of members due to low interest and retirement.

“We’re seeing the normal attrition of an organization that normally attracts older men.”

But they’re not just looking for men.

“Although the old image of singing barbershop is four guys in boaters, in fact, the society two-and-a-half years ago announced an initiative called Everyone in Harmony. That dropped all the barriers to men and women singing together in choruses.

“Structurally what we will usually end up with in choruses that have more than one gender is you’ll have a men’s group, a women’s group and a mixed group. And they’ll have slightly different identities and slightly different songs and arrangements to make it work,” he adds.

Before the pandemic, the chorus would perform in public parks, in shopping centres, sing the anthem at ball games and entertain residents at retirement homes.

McBride hopes to build the membership back up to 50 people, so they can compete in the ‘very large quartet’ category at an upcoming competition in Federal Way, Washington in October. It will be the first major event for the Evergreen District; which includes B.C., Alberta, Oregon, Washington and Idaho, since singing competitions were brought to a halt by COVID-19 in early 2020.

Anyone interested in joining Okanagan Vocal Harmony can email McBride at [email protected] or reach out through their Facebook page.