THE NEW GREY-ERES 2000.

BARBERSHOP QUARTET

The New Grey-eres have entered the new century with the enthusiasm that they finished the 1900s, Highlights this year so far are, 1st Prizes at the Liverpool & Crosby ,Music Festivals, also gaining runner up position in the Whitbread Senior Citizens Talent Contest at Southport, Lancs. In June the Quartet had their own Show at the Crosby Civic Hall, well supported by the local citizens.

We are still keeping up our support of local charities, and in March the Quartet had a very successful fund raising event at the Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, collecting £110-00, in less than 1 hour of singing in various locations around the Centre, the monies going to the Macmillan Nurses Fund(cancer relief ).

The Waterloo Day Centre for the Elderly, has given us much pleasure to visit, to entertain the residents, with sing alongs, plus quartet songs, and a few laughs with the folks, Among our jaunts we have sung at a Wedding, a Golden Wedding, and 2 Retirement Homes, that brought us to July 2000.

Harry, Mike, Des, Jim, at the Civic Hall, Crosby.

A brief description of Barbershop Harmony.

It owes its roots to America, no one knows for sure just when the first barbershop music was sung, or who the singers were, the absence of, radio, cinemas, television , meant that most people gathered around the piano, singing and harmonising to popular songs of the day, When four Guys found they could sing in harmony without the need of instruments they would step out and entertain others, the singing parts are, Lead who sings the melody, Tenor, Bass, and Baritone who add the harmonies. Barbershop Harmony is a style of unaccompanied vocal music, characterised by consonant* four part chords, for every melody note, the melody is consistently sung in the second voice down.

*consonant= harmonious in sound.