Several BHS students brought home accolades from the Barbershop Harmony Society’s midwinter convention in Daytona, Florida from Feb. 7-12.
The Barbershop Harmony Society named Burlington High School’s Female Barbershop Quartet “YTBN” Grand Champion with their love song “Dream a Little Dream of Me” in the NextGen Jr. Quartet Contest.
Members of YTBN, known as Yet To Be Named, include Genevieve Hauser, Megan Fitch, Zoe Lipor, and Maddie Thompson.
According to Penny Yanke, BHS music teacher, the quartet opted for YTBN because members couldn’t quite come up with a name.
“They couldn’t come up with a name and they put the name on the form and it never got changed so they kept it,” she said.
On Friday, Feb. 10 in the Chorus Festival, BHS’s men’s quartet, “Reigning Men,” received a silver rating and Grand Champion in the Plateau A Division.
Here Comes Treble, the female barbershop choir, earned a gold rating and placed second in the Plateau AA Division.
Under the leadership of Yanke, 39 students attended the conference. Yanke advanced the barbershop music in 2018 with the goal to “help students develop a style of singing that they can continue many years after they are out of school.”
She said, “It improves their ability to sing in tune, develop their listening skills and to work collaboratively as a group.”
Yanke said students put many hours of preparation, including rehearsals on weekends, before the competition.
One of the many great aspects of the Barbershop Midwinter Convention is that the students make new friends from the other singing groups from across the country.
“Quartets from all over the United States audition to be part of the competition,” Yanke said.
The community can hear BHS’s barbershop quartets and choirs perform at Sing-a-bration at 7 p.m. on March 7 in the Burlington High School gym, 400 McCanna Parkway, Burlington.
Students will also compete at the district Solo and Ensemble competition on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Bristol Elementary School.
BASD offers a comprehensive music program with courses in choir, band, and orchestra. Teachers engage students in studying music to help develop language skills and express themselves through song.
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