August 2005 2001 International Gold Medal Chorus XXIII NUMBER 4

In this issue .

Editorial Comment...page 2 A Family Affair...page 3 Entropy...page 4 Sleepless in Salt Lake City .page 5

UCANSING2 Society-wide Guest Night Monday, September 12th

7:30 10:30 p.m.

SALT LAKE CITY!!!! Photos by Don Proctor and PROBE Used with Permission

August 2005

Page 2 Harmony Gazette

The Gazette Bulletin of The New Tradition Chorus

Editorial Goal

By means of professional reporting, articles, photos, features, letters, and editorials, provide information about the Chorus to our chapter, the Society and the community, which will assist our members in achieving our goals and objectives.

The New Tradition Chorus Northbrook Chapter Illinois District

Meets every Monday at 7:30 P.M.

at the Christian Heritage Academy 315 Waukegan Road, Northfield, Illinois

MUSICAL DIRECTOR Jay Giallombardo

Music Team: J.D. Rich, VP-Music

Jay Giallombardo, Music Director Duane Fenn & Brian Milnikel, Assistant Directors

Duane Fenn, Chapter Coach Bob Tempas, Tenor Section Ldr.

Pat Brady, Admin Tenor Section Ldr. Ralph Brooks, Lead Section Ldr.

Dennis Barto, Admin Lead Section Ldr. Dick Kingdon, Baritone Section Ldr.

Ben Ahring, Admin. Baritone Section Ldr. Duane Fenn, Bass Section Leader

Bob Haselsteiner & David Lee, Admin. Bass Section Ldrs. Ben Ahring, Music Librarian

Duane Fenn, Learning Tape Prod. Barry Cain, Presentation Team Leader

The HARMONY GAZETTE is published by and for the New Tradition Chorus, Northbrook, Illinois Chapter of SPEBSQSA, Inc., an educational and non-profit society.

Articles without by-lines are written by the editors. Contributions are appreciated and will be credited to the author. All submissions will be edited for clarity and for reasons of space.

Editor: Don Meseth Assistant Editor: Jennifer Sievers

PO Box 2235 Northbrook, IL 60065

gazette@newtradition.org Phone: 630-539-1544

Photographers: Nancy & Tom Nicholson

Past Editors Richard Nelson and Michele Arnette were Illinois Bulletin Editor of the year

1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 International BETY:Second place 2003, Third place 1999, 2000 - Fourth place 2001

THE SOCIETY VISION STATEMENT The Society is to be a widely recognized ever-growing, singing fraternity of men, drawn together by their love of the four-part a capella, close-harmony style of music known as barbershop whose mission is to perpetuate that style by sharing it and their love for it with people of all ages throughout the world; and to be a leader in the cause of preserving and encouraging vocal music, in our education systems and in our communities, as a lifelong recreational activity and an essential element in one s cultural well-being.

President John Trumbull Executive Vice President Stan Sakalowski Board Member-at-Large Barry Cain Chapter Development Vice President Ralph Brooks Chorus Manager Brian Milnikel Immediate Past President Stan Hadley Marketing & PR Vice Pres. Max Kieba Music Vice President J.D. Rich Operations Vice President Chuck Feuillan Secretary Mike Saeger Treasurer Rich Nelson

Editor ial Comment

Gentlemen:

"From the shadows of the ever-lasting hills...."

The competition was great...the venue was fantastic, almost inde-scribable...the heat was bear-able...and the third place medal was well earned!

I'm sure many of us felt the scores should have been better, especially after the many comments from those "in the know", but we took the stage, did our best, and accept what is accorded to us, as gentlemen of barber-shop harmony do. Let's never forget that there are thousands of singers all over the world who would have given their eye teeth to be in our position. Stan Sakalowski said it best at our victory party. We're back. And we let all the barbershop harmony world know it. The New Tradition is not a chorus to accept one "gold", and then just fade away. No, we are back, and they will know at the next International in Indian-apolis.

Gentlemen, we did a great job in Salt Lake City. Now we have a year to polish, perform, buff out and put the finishing touches on our next performance, and remind all the barbershop harmony world with our great job that "WE ARE BACK"

Don Meseth Editor

Submissions for the next issue of the Harmony Gazette are due by

September 16, 2005.

August 2005

Page 3 Harmony Gazette

A Family Affair Submitted by George Moloney

This was another spe-cial International competition for me. My son, Brad, sang with us. It is a great feeling to have your son share in the same hobby.

Brad s first Interna-tional was in Calgary (1993) where he per-formed out front as the little boy in Just A Baby s Prayer At Twilight . He did the same set in Pittsburgh (1994) with us.

We then competed in Miami (1995). Join-

ing Brad and me

on the stage was another son of mine, Brian. He was Phil the Fluter (doing the backward flip-flops across the stage) in our Irish set. Yes, the New Tradition had three Molo-neys competing that year!

Brad competed with us in Salt Lake City in 1996. He then took some time off. He came back in Nashville (2001) for our Gold performance. He performed with us in Portland (2002) for our Swan song. He again competed in Louis-ville (2004) last year and, finally, this year in Salt Lake City.

We both participated with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the Gold Medal Chorus (picture below). It was such a thrill to be singing with this Choir and to have my son singing next to me.

Brad is now starting a new chapter in his life. He is mov-ing to Denver to start law school. He will be out there for the next three years. I am hopeful he will return and sing again with me and the New Tradition. However, he may decide to compete against his old man by joining the Sound of the Rockies chorus in Denver.

No matter where he sings, I have cherished the past few years where we were able to do something fun together. Brad and George Moloney

Moloney Photo

August 2005

Page 4 Harmony Gazette

Sweet Traditions New Tradition Women s Auxiliary

Join us! Date: 3rd Monday of each month Time 7:30 p.m. Place: Christian Heritage Academy Program: TBA

The 2005 Sweet Traditions Board

Nancy Nicholson, President 262-886-5486 Merrill Seal, Vice President 847-229-1868 Kay Schuetz, Secretary 630-325-0214 Marlene Anderson, Treasurer 708-422-0918 Marion Meseth, Membership 847-827-6530 Roxanne Barto, Sunshine 847-564-0399

Mindy Lazor, Immd. Past President 847-257-1000

Please call anyone on the Sweet Traditions board if you have questions, suggestions, or wish to volunteer.

Entropy By President John Trumbull

One of the most commonly asked questions on the planet is: How are you? It has become a trite lit-tle greeting -- a safe way to say hello , while pretending to care

about someone.

I usually respond with one of several answers: Blessed ; Still viable ; Wounded, but alive ; or

(my favorite) Poised on the brink of disaster. And you?

And that is where I believe all volunteer organiza-tions are, including this chorus: poised on the brink of disaster. We are always at risk

just moments away from collapsing under our own weight; ceasing to exist, for any number of reasons: apathy, member attrition, failure to attract and inspire an audience, you name it.

It s the second law of thermodynamics: entropy

the inevitable and steady decline toward disorder. Without the continuous input of energy, everything tends toward chaos.

Just like a sustained note at the end of a phrase, our chorus requires the continuous investment of energy to keep it going. Instead of investing that effort, some folks adhere to the philosophy of: Ignore it, and it will go away. Indeed, it will.

Choruses come and go. Some win a medal, and are never seen on the contest stage again. Why is that?

So, here we are, wondering how to keep this chorus alive and well how to preserve it for our sons and grandsons to enjoy how to guarantee its survival, so that audiences may be moved, for years to come.

Well, there are two ways that YOU can respond to this need: you

can climb aboard, and invest some of your

ideas and energy; or, you can hope that some-

one else takes care of it. But, hope is not a strategy.

It would be a shame if, one day, you come to re-hearsal, only to discover Oh no! The door is locked! A sign on the door reads: Rehearsal can-celled; chorus dissolved .

That would

be a drag, wouldn t it? I hope that does-n t happen. Dang! There is that word again

hope

as in: I hope someone else will do the work to pre-vent that sad scenario from occurring.

Only you

can prevent your chorus from drifting away into oblivion. I would love to have you ask me: How can I help?

A lyric from our Les Miserables set comes to mind: Will you join in our crusade? Who will be strong,

and stand with me?

August 2005

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Northbrook Chapter Quartets * Denotes Chapter Members

Boom Town Tenor: Craig Hall Lead: Chris Kirkham Bari: Pat Henders Bass: Jerry Metzo* (847) 354-2823

The Chi-Tones Tenor: Noah Miller* Lead: Larry Emery* (815) 477-3037 Bari: Mike Schnitzler* Bass: Andy Smith*

Chicago Sound Tenor: Peter Fink* Lead: Dennis Barto* Bari: Bart Chapin* Bass: Walt Parus* (847) 253-7197

Chordiac Arrest Tenor: Marty Jahnel* Lead: Dick Johnson* (815) 838-1874 Bari: Mike Bagby* Bass: Earl Meseth*

Father 'N Son Reunion Tenor: Paul McCracken* Lead: Lawrence Dohogne (618) 452-7196 Bari: Steven McCracken* Bass: Larry Dohogne

Gadzooks Tenor: Ed Hobbs Lead: John Cain* Bari: Bob Scheible* (312) 255-1344 Bass: Bill Schwarz*

Geneva Tenor: Gareth Cole Lead: Wayne Weiser Bari: Steve Schoultz* (312) 558-8642

Hospitality Tenor: Pat Brady* Lead: George Carlson* Bari: Keith Mockenhaupt Bass: Joseph Schlesinger*

(847) 328-0921

Lakeside Edition Tenor: Bob Tempas* (630) 887-8399 Lead: George Harper Bari: Paul Saeger* Bass: Duane Fenn*

Seriously Tenor: Robert McClerren* Lead: Craig Huotari Bari: Darryl Nordentoft (708) 482-7174 Bass: Thomas Grant

Skyline Tenor: Tim Carter* Lead: Dan Starr (630) 483-0418 Bari: Mark Betczynski Bass: Doug Smith*

Take 2 Tenor: Max Kieba* (312) 656-7469 Lead: Mike Woods* Bari: Peter Harrison* Bass: Dave Brady*

Talismen Tenor: Gene Woolcott Lead: Ralph Brooks* Bari: Dick Kingdon* (847) 934-1171 Bass: Ed Chapman

To all musicians

A C, and E-flat, and a G go into a bar. The bartender says: Sorry, but we don t serve minors. So the E-flat leaves, and the C and the G have an open fifth between them. After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished and the G is out flat. An F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough.

A D comes into the bar and heads straight for the bathroom saying, Excuse me. I ll just be a second/ Then an A comes into the bar, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor.

Then the bartender notices a B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and exclaims, Get out now. You re the seventh minor I ve found in this bar tonight!

The E-flat, not easily deflated, comes back to the bar the next night in a 3-piece suit with nicely shined shoes. The bartender (who used to have a nice corporate job until his company downsized) says, You re looking sharp tonight, come on in! This could be a major development. This proves to be the case, as the E-flat takes off the suit, and everything else, and stands there au natural.

Eventually, the C sobers up, and realizes in horror that he s under a rest. The C is brought to trial, is found guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor, is sentenced to 10 years of DS without Coda at an upscale correc-tional facility. On appeal, however, the C is found innocent of any wrong-doing, even accidental, and that all accusations to the contrary are bassless.

The bartender decides, however, that since he s only had tenor so patrons, with the soprano out in the bathroom, and everything has become alto much treble, he needs a rest, and closes the bar.

Sleepless in Salt Lake City By Bob Scheible

Combine multiple quartet contests, several rehears-als to become a gold medal chorus (again), rehearse twice with 600 other gold medalists before per-forming with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and what do you get at the end? It isn t Meg Ryan

unfortunately.

When was there time to sleep? AIC Thursday night and wait for bus. Get to hotel at midnight. Back to conference center for 8 a.m. rehearsal Friday morn-ing with the gold medalists. Then rehearse with Northbrook. Lunch. Get an hour nap. Dinner. Semi-Finals that last forever. Catch a break Satur-day morning, rehearsal doesn t start until 10. For once have time for breakfast. Still makes for a short night. Good thing however since no time for lunch. Perform, wait, bad news, rush back to hotel, brief medal ceremony, rush back for finals

also last forever, then it s the joint hospitality room. Throw in the towel about 1:30. Rather early unfor-tunately but 5 hours later have to be back for an-other rehearsal with the gold medalists followed by rehearsal with the Choir followed by the broadcast, followed by the performance - barely got checked out by the late checkout deadline. No time for a nap. Get brunch, queue up for van to airport, catch plane, crash all the way home. It s over already!!! Sound like fun???

You bet. Great AIC show, particularly good quar-tets in semi-finals and finals, great chorus perform-ance with virtually every detail and nuance we had practiced, seemingly interminably, and then the coup de gras, the joint performance with the Mor-mon Tabernacle Choir. An awesome experience on the inside looking out and, based on feedback from friends and significant others, an equally awesome experience for the audience.

I don t remember a lot of details from some of the fifteen previous international competitions but this one will remain vivid forever. A great payoff for all the hard work

August 2005

Page 6 Harmony Gazette

Brad Moloney, Dennis Murray, John Trumbull and John Hansen crossing the street in Salt Lake City Flags A-waving! Moloney Photo

On stage in Salt Lake City Photos by Don Proctor and PROBE Used with Permission

August 2005

Page 7 Harmony Gazette

access the web

New Tradition Chorus: www.newtradition.org Barbershop Harmony Society: www.barbershop.org Illinois District: www.harmonize.ws/Ill/

Barbershop Harmony Chicagoland: www.bbs.singer.as Chordiac Arrest: www.chordiacarrest.com Hospitality: www.harmonize.ws/hospitality Lakeside Edition: www.lakesideedition.com Skyline: www.harmonize.ws/skyline Take 2: www.take2quartet.com

Board meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at the home of Immediate Past President Stan

Hadley at 7:30 P.M. Members are encouraged to attend.

New Tradition s Section Leaders

Duane Fenn Bass Section

Dick Kingdon Baritone Section

Ralph Brooks Lead Section

Bob Tempas Tenor Section

Giving it their ALL! Photos by Don Proctor and PROBE Used with Permission

Operations VP Chuck Feuillan

Immed. Past Pres. Stan Hadley

Secretary Mike Saeger

Member-at-Large Barry Cain

President John Trumbull

Chapter Dev. VP Ralph Brooks

Executive VP Stan Sakalowski

THE HARMONY GAZETTE Northbrook Chapter SPEBSQSA

Editor: Don Meseth Assistant Editor: Jennifer Sievers

PO Box 2235 Northbrook, IL 60065

gazette@newtradition.org 630-539-1544

International Gold Medalist - 2001 International Silver Medalist

1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000

Chorus Manager Brian Milnikel

Music VP J.D. Rich

CALENDAR OF EVENTS (other than regular Monday night meetings)

September 12 NT Guest Night for society-wide UCANSING2 recruiting week

September 30 October 2 Illinois District Fall Convention, Peoria, Illinois

December 2 4 New Tradition Holiday Show Glenbrook South High School

December 11 Sunset Ridge Performance

December 14 Sunset Ridge Performance

December 21 Glenview Country Club Performance

December 22 Glenview Country Club Performance

December 23 Glenview Country Club Performance

VP PR & Marketing Max Kieba

Treasurer Rich Nelson