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Finger Lakes Polecat harmini Brigade*

(*Please note: the Finger Lakes Polecat harmini Brigade takes its inspiration from, but is not affliliated with, the wonderful Extreme Quartetting Harmony Brigades. Photos taken at the Finger Lakes Polecat harmini Brigade, 2010, Holiday Inn, by Bob Coant and Charlie Harrington.)



Finger Lakes Polecat harmini Brigade
For those who have never attended a Brigade, it is a gathering of barbershoppers who pre-learn a collection of songs then meet and form instant note-perfect quartets. Harmony Brigades are usually held over a weekend, with uniforms and a show. The 10-12 song high-end repertoire for each brigade rally is selected roughly six months in advance. Sheet music and a professionally recorded learning CD are sent out after a registration is received. A contest, complete with judges, first and second rounds, and awards is held over the two nights. But most importantly there is singing going on everywhere since everyone knows every song perfectly!

Seneca Land's Finger Lakes Polecat harmini Brigade may have been a tad less ambitious but the fun and the excitement were every bit as real! There were two rounds of competition using 8 society polecat songs, no overnights, no uniforms, no show. The event lasted 5 hours on a Saturday afternoon/evening at The Holiday in Ithaca.

A panel of outstanding judges
Our panel of terrific judges found the perfect balance between having fun yet taking the contest seriously. They understood that guys had studied hard to perfect their music and they gave each quartet careful consideration. The judges were Pete Carentz, Barney Johnson, Chuck Wert, and Bob Coant. While the scores were being processed the judges sang a couple of songs. I'll tell you this: you haven't heard anything until you've heard "You Tell Me Your Dream" done as a hard-driving swing tune!

Two rounds of competition
From eight standard barbershop favorites (Down By The Old Mill Stream, Hello, Mary Lou, Little Pal, Sweet And Lovely, Sweet, Sweet Roses Of Morn, Wait Till The Sun Shines, Nellie, You Tell Me Your Dream, and Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah) the competing quartets chose two songs at random.

The quartets, also chosen at random, consisted of (left to right):

		"Four On The Floor" Don Lebow, tenor, Ithaca Jim Barnett, bass, Onondaga Dan Powell, baritone, Binghamton Ted Cooper, lead, Binghamton
		"Men of Note" Mike Ebbers, tenor, Binghamton Pete Marchetto, lead, Ithaca Mark Nelson, bass, Ithaca Tom Jones, baritone, Binghamton
		"A Pretty Good Quartet" Michael Roche, baritone, Painted Post Gil Durham, lead, Binghamton Bill Rohlin, bass, Rochester Everett Nelson, tenor, Ithaca
		"Vocal Minority" Chris Ficken, baritone, Ithaca Dan Grice, bass, Ithaca Bill Szigeti, lead, Binghamton Eric Saile, tenor, Frank Thorne
		"Staff Inflection" Steve Link, baritone, Binghamton Bill Rohlin, bass, Rochester Jeremy Beutel, lead, Ithaca John Oppenheim, tenor, Mohawk Valley
		"Double Duty" Dave Andre, tenor, Binghamton Zach Hempstead, lead, Frank Thorne Dan Grice, bass, Ithaca Larry Horn, baritone, Ithaca
		"Duet" John Oppenheim, tenor, Mohawk Valley Tom Glosick, lead, Binghamton Mark Nelson, bass, Ithaca Jeff Block, baritone, Milford, PA
		"Invisible" Eric Saile, tenor, Frank Thorne Art Williams, bass, Binghamton Homer Porter, lead, Binghamton Al Hunter, baritone, Onondaga

The four quartets to make "The Finals" were "Duet", "Double Duty", "Men Of Note", and "A Pretty Good Quartet".

Congratulations to the WINNER: "Double Duty" !


Dave Andre, tenor, Binghamton
Zach Hempstead, lead, Frank Thorne
Dan Grice, bass, Ithaca
Larry Horn, baritone, Ithaca

Finger Lakes Polecat harmini Brigade 2011
To everyone who participated in the inaugural Brigade, a huge thank you! With the fun and excitement generated by your involvement and dedication to the contest, we can be sure that Seneca Land District has started something that will grow for many years!

To everyone for who wanted to attend but for some reason had to make other plans, we're looking forward to seeing you next year in Ithaca!

Sincerely,
The FLPhB Committee