Worldwide Barbershop

Quartet Association

SPPBSQSUS

Lodges In Motion

May 2025

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK . . . . . . . . .SPPBSQSUS Newsletter Issue 25-6

Hello Roger

NEW LODGE #18 APPROVED

Our latest Lodge #18, located in Puyallup Washington, about 10 miles from Tacoma, was just approved this week by the WBQA Board as our latest Provisional Lodge. The group, Midday Melody Men, chartered with 16 men. Greg Kronlund, President of the new Lodge, says that the men are excited to be a part of WBQA and all 16 men signed up as new members at the same time.

Congratulations and welcome to our latest Lodge and we wish them loads of harmony and fun as they entertain their neighbors!

LAKE ERIE LODGE #17 FIRST PUBLIC PERFORMANCE!

For all those who would like to take part singing in our FIRST APPEARANCE as the LAKE ERIE LODGE on Memorial Day, please join us at our next rehearsal, Monday 19th, our LAST OPPORTUNITY TO REHEARSE OUR PATRIOTIC SONGS. This year, the City of Avon has requested that the Elyria Chapter (who we will be singing with and supporting us), to sing not two, but three patriotic songs at their 2025 Memorial Day Celebration following their Parade.  

The songs will be The Star-Spangled Banner, God Bless America, and America, The Beautiful.  

This Monday evening will be our FINAL REHEARSAL, as the next Monday is Memorial Day.  

Let's make this a great event on Memorial Day, not only as a Patriotic Event, but also as the First Local Lodge Performance in the area and making its first appearance as supporting the Elyria Chapter.  

We are inviting all Barbershoppers in the area on Monday evening for our rehearsal!!!  Then some major QUARTETING after we get done rehearsing these three songs! So, let's have some Fun, Fellowship, and Song!  

I look forward to seeing you on Monday, May 19th at 7:30 pm, at Solid Rock Community Church, 680 Abbe Road, N, in Elyria!!!  

Thanks!

George Szent-Kiraly

216-244-3324

gskbhs@yahoo.com

gskwbqa@yahoo.com

FRIENDS LODGE #1 GO ON TV

A String of events leads to a performance on TV

In Boerne, Texas, which is near San Antonio, there is a veteran who has a very popular restaurant and has established a charity to benefit veterans and their families. It is called The Purple Heart Project. One of his fundraisers is a gala that he has organized annually. For the past three years, the Friends in Harmony have sung the national anthem and other patriotic songs at these events.  The lady at KSAT 12 "SA Live" has been the emcee so, I spoke with her, she was Interested, and the rest is history. Click here to listen to the broadcast.

Kelley Don McCullough

Four Fellers Quartet from EAST ALABAMA Lodge #15 ON THE MOVE!!!

East Alabama quartet, Four Fellers, sang at an all-day concert, 'Chapel in The Pines', on Sunday, April 27th with two other harmony groups.

Quartets and Lodges Singing the Chestnuts!!!

Lodge Quartet talks about the value of the Chestnut Library of songs

Among the many great “side effects” of new lodges forming is that we see many new QUARTETS forming as well. One of those new quartets was born out of The Northern Alabama Fraternity of Barbershop Singers, or “The Fraternity” for short, and they quickly found that there is some great music available thru the wbqa.info website called “Chestnuts”. The new foursome, “Schedule Conflict”, (Mel White - Baritone, Doug Wooten - Lead, Ken Still - Bass, Daniel Meakin –

Tenor) has picked up on these songs and recently shared a few thoughts with me on this great collection of barbershop music.

Baritone Mel White shared that “two of our members are very good sight readers but are not familiar with barbershop singing. We needed solid barbershop songs, not too difficult, not too expensive, that we could learn with minimum quartet rehearsals. The chestnuts were the perfect choice”. Mel adds, “The first chestnut we sang was A Garland of Old-Fashioned Roses. We learned it with the chorus, and Director Kenny Hatton allowed us to sing it for the Memorial Day

performance. When we found that this took a song out of the chorus set list, we learned another song - Everything I Do and returned Garland to the chorus. We also learned Yankee Doodle with the chorus, along with some other songs that they were learning, Ballin' the Jack and They Go Wild Over Me. 

It's great to have a FREE and easy resource available to help fill out a quartet repertoire. The learning tracks are very helpful for us to learn the songs together, in spite of our various abilities and experience”.

Congratulations to Schedule Conflict and to the Fraternity on your new quartet and lodge. Looks like great things are happening in Alabama!!

If you’d like to check out some great barbershop music for your quartet or Lodge, check out the 50+ Barbershop Chestnuts and learning tracks available on our website absolutely FREE for our members …. Just go to our website at wbqa.info, hover over the 'Music' tab, and click on 'Barbershop Chestnuts'. Enjoy!!

Rich Gray

VP of Marketing

Lead, 2024 WBQA Quartet Champs - Wheelhouse

Lodge Happenings:

There has been a lot of activity happening:

Lodges in Action:

1. Puyallup (Tacoma), WA - Submitted their application to form a group. This is a 'Daytime Singers' group who love to entertain.
2. Granville, Ohio has organized and held their 4th meeting in January. Leader, Darren Whitman, said that they will be ready to apply for a Provisional License in February.
3. Memphis, TN, the "BBQ Lodge" is preparing for their Provisional License application in February.
4. Northern New York - Brad Lundquist has 12+ men ready to form a Lodge

What joy it is to perform for a group and see the good feelings that we bring to them!

Lodges, we would love to hear about your activities and feature them in the next issue of Lodges in Motion. Please send a description and any photos to George Gipp at gggipp@att.net

SPPBSQSUS / WBQA

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