National Education Faculty

Barbershop Harmony Australia would like to introduce you to our first ever National Education Faculty. This is an education program for choruses designed to come right to your own back yard, which will give each club a more personal and tailored educational experience.

What is the National Education Faculty? This is a group of some of Australia’s finest Barbershop Specialists with loads of experience and successes in their own right. They will be working with BHA to help build stronger clubs through vocal, musical and management skills that they will teach you. The National Education Faculty will also be an ear for BHA to bring your feedback to help us devise more successful conventions, workshops and Harmony Universities in the future.

The best part for you… This will be a funded visit by BHA which means no coaching, or travel expenses come out of your clubs budget and you will receive one of these visits every year from the National Education Faculty. An National Education Faculty member will be assigned to each club shortly and will make contact to organise a time to come and visit you.
 

National Education Faculty

Alex Morris - National Education FacultyAlex Morris: Alex completed a Bachelor of Music (Composition) at the University of Western Australia in 2009. Since then he has been active working with orchestras, arts companies and festivals currently holding the position of General Manager with the Stonnington Symphony. Alex is in demand around the world as a vocal coach working with ensembles, teaching classes and running workshops with regular appearances as faculty at the BHS Harmony University.

Alex is the former Music Director of Vocal Evolution, leading them to three Barbershop Harmony Australia (BHA) gold medals. Since moving to Melbourne, Alex has taken on the role of Music Director with Geelong Harmony Chorus (Sweet Adelines Australia) as well as Music Director and Co-Producer of Shania Choir and shOUT Youth Chorus.

Alex is a member of the Sweet Adelines Australia Regional Education Faculty and the BHA National Education Faculty. Alex has held the position of Chair of the Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges, Vice President Music and Vice President Contest & Judging. In 2013, Alex became the first non-North American certified Barbershop Harmony Society Music Judge. A sought after arranger, Alex is regularly commissioned to write new works and arrangements and sells his music to ensembles around the world.  
Ash Schofield: Ash has 17 years experience performing barbershop music and is Currently the Director of Vocal Evolution and Lead with 2019 Silver Medal Quartet, The Electric Barbercats. He has been an International representative three times in quartet and twice chorus. Ash is also a Performance judge in the AGBJ. When working with a group he like's to find and explore the "why?" of what they're doing. It can be as broad as an overall plan or theme, or as intensively detailed as getting into the delivery of every single word of a song.
Bec Hewitt: Bec Hewitt has been actively involved in music and performance for over 25 years as a soloist, band vocalist and choral singer. In the over sixteen years since her introduction to barbershop, Bec has participated as a chorus member, a chorus board member, a vocal teacher, a coach to soloists, quartets and choruses, a quartet singer, and a director.  She is a Singing Judge in the Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges, an Education Faculty member for both BHA and Sweet Adelines Australia and is recently an appointee to the Sweet Adelines International Education Faculty.

Bec has performed in both small and large choruses – with both choruses winning regional gold medals – and in 2018, directed a National Silver Medal winning mid-size chorus (BHA). She also competed both Regionally and Internationally with Australia's seven-time regional champion quartet, Hi-Jinx. As a sought-after coach and teacher, she frequently travels around Australia and to New Zealand, providing voice coaching and teaching aspects of Vocal Production, Music/Vocal Interpretation, Balance/Blend and Practice Techniques.

In her ‘life outside of Barbershop’, Bec operates her own music business, Just Sing!, where she teaches voice and performance to singers of all ages and all styles. With her husband, Aaron, she lives in Perth, Western Australia, with their two ginger cats and puppy, and they love to travel – usually for Barbershop!

Bec's musical passion is working with singers and groups and helping them to find their inner voice and realise their potential.
Dan Millgate: Dan is one of Australia’s most recognised and most successful quartet singers, having won the BHA National Quartet Gold Medal four times. Dan is a certified Performance Category Judge, and was past Singing Category Specialist from 2004-2015, which has seen him in the judging pit at four International contests, and he regularly serves as a judge at BHA and BHNZ events.

His significant lengthy and varied barbershop experience enables him to work with male, female and mixed choruses and quartets of all levels on all aspects of performance. He has directed choruses in both Barbershop Harmony Australia and Sweet Adelines Australia.
Ian Mulholland: Ian has been involved in music from an early age. He can play most brass instruments, piano and guitar. In addition he has mastered music theory and musicianship at a high level. A barbershopper since 1987, Ian has done it all. He has directed choruses, written over fifty song arrangements (and published the Great Australian Barbershop Songbook), sung in two BHA champion quartets and the BHA champion chorus, representing BHA at International level seven times. He helped form the Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges, and is a qualified Music Judge. He has served on the boards of BHA and Western Region, and is a Life Member of BHA.
Jen Howson: Jen has been a Barbershopper since 1998. She has sung both Bass and Lead in quartet and chorus. Jen has attended many men’s international conventions and has competed in 4 women’s conventions in a chorus where she has competed and finished 6th, 2nd, 4th and 4th respectively. She is an avid quartet singer and has been placed as high as 3rd in Australia, making her International Quartet debut in 2019 with her quartet Obsession. Jen is proud to be co-founder of Vocalescence Sweet Adeline Chorus in Queensland where She is both the Assistant Director and Artistic Director. As Education Faculty for both Sweet Adeline's Australia and Barbershop Harmony Australia, Jen thoroughly enjoys working with the barbershop membership across the nation. She lives in Queensland with her husband and three beautiful children. Her company, Dream Big Creations, thrives as an international coaching business that focuses on singing, performing, public speaking, mentoring leadership, writing and producing shows and creating, teaching and coaching choreography. She has mentored the participants in the BHA MC program and is a Performance judge for the Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges.
Jonathan Bligh: Jonathan is a Vocal Coach, Music Director and Secondary School Teacher of Music. He is currently studying a Master of Music through the Westminster Choir College in the USA. He has a Bachelor of Music (Elder Conservatorium, Adelaide), Graduate Diploma of Education (University of Adelaide) and a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music (London). Jonathan has worked with many ensembles as a singer and director including singing as a core member of world renowned Adelaide Chamber Singers (Winners of the Choir of the World at the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen 2013). He is the founder and director of the multi-award winning Festival Statesmen. Jonathan has also directed a number of musicals including Footloose, Les Miserables, Gypsy and Spring Awakening. Jonathan was Head of Vocal Studies at The Scot's College (Sydney) and previously worked as a senior music teacher in the Selective Entry Performing Arts Program at Charles Campbell Secondary School (Adelaide).
Kieran O'Dea: Kieran is a music teacher from Adelaide, South Australia, and has been involved with BHA since 2007. Having won three national youth golds, as well as being an award-winning director and representing Australia in multiple quartet and chorus competitions internationally, Kieran is well versed in what it takes to excel at barbershop. Kieran is also currently the category specialist for Australia's Music Judges, as well as previously holding the positions of Vice president of Youth Development for Barbershop Harmony Australia and Musical Director of Adelaide Vocal Union.
Dr Lillian Hearne: After a childhood singing in choirs, Lillian found barbershop harmony at 14 on a music scholarship at Churchlands Senior High School, joining Vocal Evolution the following year. Throughout her Bachelor’s degrees in music (clarinet performance with honours in musicology) and science (physics and applied mathematics), Lillian held the role of baritone section leader, and later, assistant director for VE. Lillian relocated to Sydney in 2016 to complete her PhD in music cognition, and is currently serving as Sydney Harmony’s assistant director and tenor section leader. She is a certified Music Judge and expert on music theory and tuning, and an experienced chorus and quartet singer (most notably as baritone of The Grand Angus and Helix quartets). Lillian’s teaching is comprehensive, innovative and informed.
Richard Reeve: With a background in musical theatre and lifelong love of harmony singing, Richard discovered barbershop in 2003 thanks to Sydney Harmony. Since then he has sung with numerous choruses, including Vocal Evolution for a decade, leading them as President to their inaugural national gold medal in Hobart in 2009. Richard has won national quartet gold medals with Alliance and TLA and has represented Australia at BHS International numerous times in both quartet and chorus. He was Music Director for the Brisbane River City Clippers for 2 years, served on the BHA National Council from 2011 to 2015, has been a BHA Performance category judge since 2009 and is a member of the BHA Education Faculty.
Rob Sequeira: Rob is a multi-instrumentalist with roots in tuned percussion, drums, strings and woodwinds. He’s played drums, piano and sung lead vocals in musicals, big-bands and jazz quintets around the traps in Sydney, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Rob teaches drums, piano, guitar and a cappella singing. He’s coached international level a cappella quartets and choruses in the U.S., Canada, Asia and Australia. Rob co-led California based Voices in Harmony to an International Barbershop Harmony Society 3rd place bronze medal in 2008. Rob has sung with international level quartets and choruses and is the founder and music director of Vox Canvas, current Barbershop Harmony Australia's 2019 3rd place bronze medalists.
Vicki Dwyer: Vicki has 20 years barbershop experience and is a specialist vocal coach, unlocking the tools to achieve vocal freedom and skills for all singers of all ages. She understands and appreciates the nuances of the barbershop style to help you interpret your music in a way that shows off your skills. Vicki has directed choruses since 2002 and has a passion for mentoring upcoming directors sharing conducting skills as well as coaching in the areas of rehearsal planning, team training and interpersonal skills.

She has an associate diploma in music with combined major in piano and singing.

Vicki is a Master Director for the Circular Keys chorus and, also directs Sydney Harmony.  She is also on the SAI regional education faculty for Australia.

Vicki currently sings lead with Alouette Quartet and previously competed internationally with Australia's four-time regional champion quartet, Accolade.

Performed and directed on the International stage numerous times, most recently earning a 3rd Place Harmony Classic medal directing Circular Keys Chorus in 2018.

She likes piƱa coladas and getting caught in the rain.

Vicki has a substantial background in both classical and theatre as well as barbershop.