Over twenty five
years ago the British Association of Barbershop Singers
was established and affiliated to the American Society.
Now there are over 50 clubs in the UK, with a huge
annual Convention which includes chorus and quartet
competitions. Barbershop is well covered on television
with frequent appearances by British choruses, including
the Sainsbury's Choir of the Year contest, at which
barbershop choruses have excelled in recent years.
In 2004 Cambridge Barbershop Chorus won the Choir of The
World title at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod.
In 1938 the Society for the Preservation of Barbershop
Singing in America (SPEBSQSA) was formed, and currently
it has over 30,000 members, making it the largest
singing organisation in the world.
Today there are
barbershop organisations in most civilised countries of
the world, as this unique style of singing becomes ever
more popular.
There are many national associations. They
often have their own guild of judges and run many
educational events.
In the UK for example, there is an annual Harmony
College - a residential weekend course where numerous
classes are run on music skills, stage performance,
directing, show production etc. It is always a sell-out!
The Harmonisers have many friends and associations which
whom they keep in touch and, as would be expected,
perform in concert with other choirs and instrumental
groups.
To give an idea of who these are, below you will find
the badges and logos of some of these good folk .....