TL;DR:
- Join us for TONS OF FUN in Ogden, Utah, Sep 21-23
- Convention Registration, Lodging, and Chorus and Quartet Contest entries are now open!
- If you want to sing in Harmony Platoon, please register now so you can learn your songs!
- Stay up to date on the full details: visit the RMD Convention page early and often!
More info? Read on!
Fall Convention: Registration is open, come join us!
Tim Peterson, RMD Fall Convention Chair
Our fall convention returns to the Wasatch Front! Please plan to join us September 21-23, 2023, at the beautiful Ogden Eccles Conference Center and Peery’s Egyptian Theater!
This convention is SO MUCH MORE than contests!
Thanks to the combined efforts of the RMD Convention Team and the host chapter, North Front Sound, we will have the most fun that can be crammed into three days!
Thursday, September 21
– Golf Scramble – Thursday 9/21 late morning
Put together your own quartet or get assigned to one. Golfers of all skill levels welcome. Play each shot from the location of the best of your team’s previous shots. Sing some polecats. Prizes for the winning team! (Additional entry fee)
– Bowling Tournament – Thursday 9/21 early afternoon
Don’t be a sandbagger, come play some 10-pin at Fat Cats bowling alley, 0.2 miles from the Hampton Inn. Prizes for the winners! (Additional entry fee)
– North Front Sound: Buckled & Swashed, featuring Newfangled Four – Thursday 9/21 7:30 PM
The Golden Spike chapter will present a highly energetic and entertaining show on the stage of Peery’s Egyptian Theater at the convention center, headlined by international sensation, Newfangled Four! (Additional entry fee)
Friday, September 22
– Polecat Scavenger Hunt – All weekend
Pick up a scorecard at the registration desk, then sing as many polecats on as many voice parts with as many different people as possible to fill up your card before the quartet finals begins on Saturday night. Fantastical prizes for those who score highest.
– Polecat Room – Multiple times Friday & Saturday
Stop by to learn, practice, or find people to sing with for the Polecat Scavenger Hunt.
– Rocky Mountain Harmony College Classes – Friday and Saturday afternoons
A variety of topics taught by some of the best and brightest in the society. Class offerings to include a master class with Newfangled Four, Director’s Roundtable, and Chapter Leadership Roundtable, with more offerings to be announced!
– Harmony Platoon – Friday & Saturday afternoons
Sign up in advance to get sheet music and learning tracks for five songs. Champs invited to sing Saturday night after the quartet finals (more details below)
– Everyperson Chorus – Friday afternoon, Saturday morning
Come rehearse two songs with esteemed director and district president, Tony Sparks, then perform as the mic tester chorus to open the chorus contest Saturday morning
– Quartet Semifinals – Friday evening Hear some of the best barbershoppers in the district compete for the district quartet championship and to qualify to sing at International
– Movie Night: American Harmony – Friday night
Grab some popcorn and come watch this documentary about the world of barbershop on the big screen in the Egyptian Theater
Saturday, September 23
– Chorus Contest – Saturday morning
RMD choruses compete for plateau championships, bragging rights, and International qualification
– Ice Cream Social & Massed Sing – Saturday after Chorus Contest
Join us outside for some world-famous Farr’s Ice Cream and sing a few together
– Quartet Finals & Show of Champions – Saturday evening
Round two with the top quartets from the Friday night semifinals, Mischief swan song, chorus champs, quartet champs
– Afterglow – Saturday night
Great food, cash bar, anyone can sign up to sing
– Game & Tag Room – Saturday night
Board games, card games, snacks, and tag singing
– Sacred Sing – Sunday morning
Before you hit the road, come sing some Sunday songs. Any chorus or quartet is welcome, and we’ll also sing a few all together
Registration and Lodging
Given all of the above, of course you’re going to come join us in Ogden, right? You can register today and get our early bird rate of $89 or $59 for youth (ages 25 and under). Harmony Platoon is an additional $34, which covers all the music and learning tracks (if you registered for Platoon for the Spring, you do not need to pay again!).
Spouses, friends, or family interested in cheering you on? Single-event tickets for the Friday evening quartet semi-finals, Saturday morning chorus finals, or Saturday evening quartet finals, will be available later this summer.
Also, book now to reserve your on-site hotel room– free hot breakfast, free parking, free wifi! The not-your-average Hampton Inn & Suites is directly connected to the Ogden/Eccles Convention Center, so just steps from all of the convention happenings! Rooms are, of course, limited, so reserve early to guarantee your spot.
You can book three ways:
1. Use this Booking Link
2. Call the hotel’s central reservations Number: 800-560-7753
3. Call the hotel directly at 303-779-6161.
If you book by phone, mention the event name: “Barbershop Harmony – Fall Contest” to get the event rate.
Last date to book at this rate is August 22, 2023, so make your reservations now
Harmony Platoon
If you’re not competing in the Quartet Contest, and want to get your singing fix– please register for Harmony Platoon! Each participant learns five songs in the months leading up to the event. You’ll then be drawn into pickup quartets during sessions both Friday and Saturday (these sessions will not interfere with the Chorus Contest or chorus rehearsals).
Fun bonus– the winning pickup quartets from each session will get to sing as mic-coolers!
An extra fee of $34 does apply in order to cover the cost of the music and learning tracks, which will be supplied after you register– it is an option when you register for the convention via Eventbrite. If you previously paid to participate in Harmony Platoon in 2023 at RMHC, watch for an email with a code to register again for free. You will sing:
- A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet (Sam Breedon)
- Who Told You (Lou Perry)
- Bye Bye Love (Tom Gentry)
- So Much In Love (David Harrington)
- If I Had My Way (David Harrington)
Some quotes from participants in the Spring:
“Highlight of my weekend! I loved it and cannot wait to do it again. I enjoyed singing with so many different singers from other places and the leadership did a great job.”
“I’ve done the Harmony platoon twice now and it is so fun to be chosen to randomly sing with others!! I’m telling all my friends to join in HP next year!!”
Any questions about Harmony Platoon? Please contact Bear Schacht at schacht.bear@gmail.com.
Quartet Contest Update
Bob Lawson, RMD VP, Contests & Judging
As communicated in the May/June Newsletter, we have made a change to our contest schedule and structure to provide more options to our quartets. Effective this fall, Quartet Prelims will now be held in the Fall and in the Spring. Our quartets can qualify at the most convenient event available to them.
Importantly, this means that we will have two quartet preliminary contests for 2024 Internationals— one at the Fall Convention in Ogden, and another at the Spring Convention in Cheyenne.
Per the Society’s competition rules, each quartet may compete in either or both contests. If a quartet chooses to compete in both the Fall prelim, and then chooses to compete again in the Spring, the latter score will be the score used for qualification. Thus, if the quartet does not quite make the target score (78 for 2024) in Fall, they may try again in the Spring. Or, they can choose to compete in just one or the other.
(Note, due to time constraints at the Spring Convention, the Spring contest is currently planned to still be “invitation only” based on Fall score or video submission.)
If anyone has any questions about this, please reach out to Bob Lawson, BHS Administrative Judge and 2023 RMD DRCJ and VP Contest & Judging, at azmisman@gmail.com.
Chapter Events
August 25-26, 2023 will be another great weekend of harmony in the Black Hills of South Dakota! This year’s clinician, Donny Rose, will be leading us through a full day of rehearsals culminating in a performance at the Mount Rushmore amphitheater. Of course, things get started on Friday evening with the meet and greet, hot dog feed, then the renowned “Somewhat Serious Quartet Contest”. Find out who your quartet mates are and vie for the coveted gold medal.
Please find all of the details, and register now, at this link.