Musical group finds singing harmonious

The sounds of barbershop harmony will fill the air in the grandstands at the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo.

The Lake City Harmonizers, a group of about 30 local men, will be singing their unique blend of four-part harmony, ranging from Stephen Foster standards to jazz, swing and show tunes.

"We'll sing for almost anything," said Dick Townsend, the Harmonizers' public relations vice president. "We have a real good time."

The Harmonizers have entertained the community with annual shows, cabarets and public sing-outs, and they participate in three levels of competition every year.

The chorus rehearses on Monday nights, and sings for nonprofit organizations, class reunions, lake cruises and provides quartets for Christmas caroling. The men sing virtually anything that can be arranged in four-part harmony and have just added a few Beach Boys and Beetles songs.

"We laugh and say we're getting modernized," Townsend said.

Voice parts in a barbershop quartet are tenor, lead, baritone and bass. The lead usually sings the melody. The tenor harmonizes above the melody. The bass sings the lowest notes and the baritone provides in-between notes, either above or below the lead, completing the chords that give the barbershop its distinctive, four-part sound.

"We're not like other musicians who have the music to remind them what to sing," Townsend said.

The chorus is made up of retired and working men. Oakley Thompson, a Coeur d'Alene real estate agent, has been director of the Harmonizers for almost three years. Barbershop-style directing is a new endeavor for Thompson, who has several years of choral directing experience.

"I would call the Harmonizers socially healthy," Thompson said. "It is very important in our crazy, mixed-up society for men to get together and have good, clean fun. They are such a wonderful conglomeration of varying backgrounds."

Harmonizers member Pat Arney, a retired attorney and a charter member, began singing with the Elks Chorus in the late 1950s. He was called by another charter member in 1980 about participating in a barbershop chorus, now called the Lake City Harmonizers.

"Once I got singing, I really enjoyed it," Arney said. "It's great therapy. It really is. I practiced law, and when I'd have a bad day in court, boy, I'd head for practice, and I would just forget about everything."

Arney sings lead and said one of his all-time favorite songs is "They Wrote 'Em in the Good Old Days." Because the group is a cappella and only uses a pitch pipe for the key, the songs can be difficult to learn.

"It is just a great deal of fun," Arney said.

Not only will the Harmonizers provide entertainment at the fair, they also will run the information booth. Townsend said the most common questions are, "Where are the bathroom and drinking fountain?" Townsend said the job has its challenges.

"One year the mini-donut people didn't show up," Townsend said. "Boy did some people get irate. No matter how much you study or prepare, we always get questions we can't answer and have to ask for help."

The Lake City Harmonizers will perform at noon and 4 p.m. Aug. 25 on the north stage. Other musical highlights at the North Idaho Fair include:

Coeur d'Alene Big Band, a family-oriented band playing songs from the original "big band era."

Gadabouts will perform old and new swing music led by Ray Stone on drums and backed by four others playing keyboard, guitar, tenor saxophone, bass guitar and tuba.

Maria's Melodies features a professionally trained vocalist with more than 20 years of experience. She will provide karaoke for children with nearly 150 children's songs.

Hotel California: "A Salute to the Eagles" will present a showcase of rock group The Eagles hits from the '70s and '80s.

Copyright 2000 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.