Land of the Sky Barbershop Chorus

ASHEVILLE, NC, Mar. 24, 2008. The Land of the Sky Barbershop Chorus placed 6th out of 22 choruses at the recent convention and competition held by the Dixie District of the Barbershop Harmony Society in Greenville, SC. This is the second highest the chorus has placed in competition in its 60 year history.

The chorus had 41 men on stage under the direction of Mr. Chuck Greene, of Fletcher, and competed against strong choruses from Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, Charlotte, and a number of other cities from across the southeast. The Land of the Sky Chorus is part of the Asheville Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), and is made up of men from Buncombe, and the surrounding counties.

The Chapter’s BHS registered quartet, “TBA”, also competed in the quartet section of the competition and scored high enough in the preliminary session to gain the coveted “mike tester” spot for the quartet finals. “TBA” members are James Monday of Waynesville, Mike Richard of Fairview, Ralph Johnson of Asheville, and Kevin Kehres of Fletcher.

The Chorus, and its various quartets, performs in a number of venues throughout WNC. Annual activities include the delivery of “Singing Valentines” each Feb., and an Annual Show, which in 2008 will be performed in Hendersonville, Waynesville, and at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville on Dec. 6. Last year the Show was titled “Kicked Off Broadway”.

The Chorus is open to all men who like to sing. Rehearsals are open to anyone who wants to come and listen, and auditions are held every week for those men who want to give this wonderful original American art form a try. The weekly meeting and rehearsals are held at 7:30 PM at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 51 Wilburn Place, W. Asheville.

More information can be found at www.ashevillebarbershop.com, or by calling 828-768-9303.

The Barbershop Harmony Society (www.barbershop.org), which is celebrating its 70th birthday in 2008, has about 33,000 members in 16 districts all over the world. The Society is now headquartered in Nashville, TN. The Society’s International Convention and Competition for 2008 will be held in Nashville and will feature about 50 quartets and 30 choruses from around the world.

The Asheville, NC, Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society is a non- profit organization of men who love to sing Barbershop harmony and whose mission is to provide an attractive well-rounded Barbershop experience for its members, support educational and charitable projects, and community service, and to perpetuate and promote public appreciation for Barbershop style singing.
- Asheville Citizen-Times