Arts, Etc.Music

Barbershop performances bring harmony

Ladies of Leo – a group comprised of junior liberal studies major Melissa Molinaro, sophomore music and theatre arts major Mona Lutfi, sophomore photography and theatre arts major Sonora Hernandez and junior music major Amanda Timko – perform “I Don’t Mind,” “On My Own,” and “Ma, He’s Making Eyes At Me” The at the barbershop harmony concert May 9 in Morgan Auditorium. / photo by Nicole Ambrose
Ladies of Leo – a group comprised of junior liberal studies major Melissa Molinaro, sophomore music and theatre arts major Mona Lutfi, sophomore photography and theatre arts major Sonora Hernandez and junior music major Amanda Timko – perform “I Don’t Mind,” “On My Own,” and “Ma, He’s Making Eyes At Me” The at the barbershop harmony concert May 9 in Morgan Auditorium. / photo by Nicole Ambrose

Karla Rendon
Staff Writer

Exceptional harmonies, matching attire and talented vocalists entertained an estimated audience of 70 as Morgan Auditorium hosted the Barber­shop Harmony Concert on May 9.

Seven quartets showed off their talents and took the audience back to an era of simpler times.

The groups’ songs were a cappella, and each quartet brought their own charisma to the stage.

One group named American Pastime had the audience laughing as the lead introduced the tenor, bass and baritone by the wrong name and another group known by the name of the Newfangled Four introduced themselves not to the audience, but to each other, which also had the audience roaring with laughter.

“It really throws you back to where those old movies take place,” junior biology major Jacqueline Marquez said.

“I’m glad I came to this, I find it soothing. I don’t know much about this music but I can tell each person has their own role. It’s a learning experience,” Marquez said.

Each singer in a barbershop quartet plays their own role in the group. The lead is responsible for singing the melody, the tenor sings a higher pitch of the melody, the bass sings the lowest notes and the baritone completes each chord.

“One of the things I liked the most was the timing,” said Mt. San Antonio College student Rosalind Charles.

“They were all very unified, I could tell who was who and they all had good voice texture and a good balance, no one sung over another,” Charles said.

Charles’ favorite quartet was the Newfangled Four, a group consisting of four young men dressed in matching black suits with blue shirts that started less than a year ago.

“I would say they were my favorite because they were really animated. They blend well together and their a cappella was very balanced,” Charles said.

Also representing University of La Verne was Ladies of Leo.

They stunned the audience with their cover of “On My Own,” a song from the musical “Les Miserables.” Their cover gained a standing ovation from a few audience members.

Member of the Leo Singing Dudes and junior music major Ernie Reyes found himself instantly fascinated with barbershop quartet from the time he first heard it.

“I heard everyone singing and thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, where has this been all my life,’” Reyes said.

“Barbershop quartet is a lot of fun. We’ve been trying to put on something like this for so long,” Reyes said.

Reyes advised anyone interested in joining a barbershop quartet to find a place with support.

“Just do it. The barbershop quartet community is really nice and there is no better way than just jumping into a group. It just has this way of making you smile,” Reyes said.

Karla Rendon can be reached at karla.rendon@laverne.edu.

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