Mastering our Artform
 Just about every week each one of you will attend a rehearsal of some sort or another. It could be your chorus/club regular rehearsal, or it could be your quartet rehearsal. It could be a performance or a workshop even. Whatever the occasion, take the time to say “G’day” to your fellow singing mates. They are sharing this wonderful hobby of barbershop harmony singing with you and you owe it to them to acknowledge their participation and contribution to making you sound so good.Sometimes we go to rehearsal in a negative frame of mind. We might have had a bad day at work, or something is bothering us at home. Put those worries aside for the few precious hours you have each week, and immerse yourself in beautiful harmony singing. Let yourself be transported spiritually to another place where the issues of your normal world aren’t pressing anymore. Just for a few hours, leave all your cares and worries behind (sounds like the title of a song doesn’t it?). Have good relationships with your fellow singers and set the scene for actively honouring the music and efforts of those around you by learning and performing it well. So what level of singer are you? Be honest. Are you new to barbershop? In this case you are now learning the body of skills and knowledge necessary to become a good barbershop singer. Everything is new, but you are eager to learn. You are actively moving from becoming unaware to becoming aware, as you practise your new and exciting skills and apply the knowledge you are learning. You are moving from being a “novice” to being an “apprentice”. An apprentice is someone who is well aware of the knowledge and skills required to sing and perform well, but is still actively moving towards competency in those skills. Soon you will acquire the competency you are after, but you still have to think about it when you do it. You have become consciously competent – a “journeyman”. Many of our singers get to this journeyman stage of development and are happy with their achievement. After all, you know all there is to know about barbershop singing and you can execute it reasonably well. But your chorus or quartet is still scoring somewhere between 58 and 72, and you never seem to improve much anymore. It’s now time to aim for “mastery”. This is the unconsciously competent level, where you can execute great singing and performance technique without even thinking about it (you “just do it”). You have internalised the skills and knowledge and you can now teach others all about it. How cool would it be if we all were “masters” of our artform? It’s not beyond anyone. It just requires dedication and practise of the right things. Good luck in reaching your goals. Sing-cerely, Ian Mulholland President Convention Information Booklet
This is the first edition of our “Hunter Harmony” Convention Information booklet; you’ll find lots of information that you need about your 2016 Convention in this booklet which can be downloaded and printed if required.
Young Singers in Harmony Festival - Newcastle - September 2016
 CONTESTS: make sure you don’t miss the youth contests this year. The very entertaining youth and schools contests are on Wednesday 28 September at the main convention venue, Newcastle City Hall.HELP NEEDED: we are hoping to have a good number of ensembles from surrounding areas in New South Wales. Members in these areas are particularly invited to spread the work regarding the Youth Festival. A separate poster is available at the Young Singers In Harmony Festival website www.ysihau.com and can be downloaded and forwarded to music teachers and others. YOUTH SHOWCASE CONCERT: another will be the Youth Showcase Concert on Friday at 9.00am-10.30am. It will be a real treat with the best of the youth performances. Plan to be there to support our young performers. Contest and Judging update - June 2016
2016 Regional Contest Season and Hunter Harmony Convention
 Congratulations to each region on a fantastic season of regional contests. A total of 32 quartets qualified for the open contest, 9 for the seniors contest, 7 for the youth contest and 7 for the mixed contest. Alongside what will surely be an action packed chorus contest, Hunter Harmony is set to be a huge week of entertainment.AGBJ Reporting and Feedback Procedures As part of the continuing development of the AGBJ and to ensure that we are serving our competitors in the best possible way, the AGBJ will soon implement Reporting and Feedback surveys following all contests. If you were a competitor in a recent Regional Contest, I ask that if you receive a request to provide feedback that you do so as promptly and succinctly as possible. We want to know how we can ensure that the contest experience is always a positive one! BHS Category School 2016 I am very excited to announce that the BHA Council was able to provide scholarship funding to 5 BHA members of the AGBJ who expressed interest in attending the 2016 BHS Category School in Nashville, TN directly preceding the 2016 BHS Harmony University. Linda Vinall, Alex Morris, Dan Millgate, Richard Reeve and Sarah Bradley, along with Eddie Klimowicz and 6 BHNZ members of the AGBJ will be representing ‘down under’ with a record attendance for the AGBJ and the largest affiliate organization represented at this year’s school. I thank and congratulate each and every one of these Australian barbershoppers who are willing to dedicate their time, energy and a lot of money to not only develop their own skills but also continue to develop the skills of our membership through the judging program. Transition from PRS to PRF As you may or may not be aware, as of the 2016 BHS Category School, the Presentation (PRS) category will transition to the Performance (PRF) category. This is an incredibly exciting initiative by the BHS C&J Committee and one that will most certainly ensure that our artform continues to thrive and engage with audiences through the art of performance. Below is an extract from the proposed new Performance category description. One significant goal of any art form is communication. A barbershop performance refers to how the artist communicates his/her message and vision via the transformation of a song into an entertaining experience for an audience. The performance of a song is the artist’s gift to the audience; whose experiences, memories, and imagination transform that gift into an emotional experience. The performers’ goal is to create a high level of entertainment through the performance. The means to that end are as varied as the personality, abilities and creative skills of the performers. All currently certified BHS Presentation judges will attend Category School to certify as Performance judges. There are 5 AGBJ Presentation judges attending this year’s Category School who will train as Performance judges with the remaining AGBJ Presentation judges training later this year. The BHA and BHNZ National contests will both be judged using the Performance category. Practice Panels at International As always, members of the AGBJ were invited to sit on practice panels at the BHS International Contest in Nashville, TN. As a member of a practice panel, you not only get an opportunity to hone your skills at a very high level but you are also guaranteed the best seat in the house! 2016 BHS International Contest My best wishes to all those BHA representatives competing in Nashville in just a few weeks time! To our Youth Barbershop Quartet Contest (YBQC) representatives: Blindside, Skyline and The Grand Angus and to my fellow quartet mates in The Mellow Diners as well as the men of Vocal Evolution, we all wish you the most amazing experience as you take to the international stage! We know you will do us proud! Alex Morris - BHA Vice President - Contest and Judging Free Money - Is your Chorus missing out?
Many clubs are unaware that there are many funding opportunities available throughout the year, every year, for arts-specific activities such as the things YOUR barbershop chorus does all the time.
The world of funding and grant applications might sound like a real headache at first. All of the paperwork aside, many clubs don’t even know where to start looking for funding for their activities. Well, the good news is that BHA can make things much simpler for you and your club! Firstly, there are people who can help you and your club out! Your BHA Vice President, Marketing & Development, Dan Millgate, has a comprehensive and current database of grants available all over the country. The database is continuously updated and includes all new and recurring federal, state and local government, philanthropic and corporate grants available to you. So, if you have some project ideas, get in touch and Dan can tailor a selection of appropriate funding options for you. Dan also has some fantastic resources for you, such as tips and tricks on winning grants, advice on how to make money whilst having fun, resources on how to run successful fundraising events, and much more. Contact Dan by email at marketing@barbershop.org.au. Also, don’t forget to check out the Marketing Resources page on the BHA website, www.barbershop.org.au. Another way to get help with your grant applications is understand that funding bodies actually want to help you to be successful in your application! Applying for the first time can be scary, but all funding bodies can provide you with a contact officer to talk you through the process of applying, make sure your project fits within the funding requirements, help you to make sure your application is the best it can be, and much, much more. A great example is the funding on offer from the Australia Council for the Arts, whose Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups fund a range of activities that deliver benefits to the arts sector and wider public, including national and international audiences. Grants are available from $10,000 to $50,000. For 2016, the closing dates are at midnight on the:
If you are planning to apply to the Australia Council for the first time, you’ll need to familiarise yourself with the grant programs on offer by reading the program summary pages, read the relevant case studies that give examples of the projects supported in the past, and understand the assessment criteria for the relevant grant program by reading the program summary pages. You can find all of this information at http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/funding/new-grants-model/. The next step is to contact a Grants Officer to discuss your idea before you submit an application. This can save you LOTS of time and energy! Australia Council for the Arts Phone: 02 9215 9000 What can be applied for?
Peers will assess your application against the following three criteria. 1. Artistic merit
2. Viability
3. One of the following criteria The third criterion will help to tell how your project may contribute towards delivering the goals of Australia Council for the Arts’ strategic plan to support the arts in Australia. They will ask you to choose one of the following, which you think best reflects the primary outcome of your project. Creation Peers will assess the contribution to the creation of new work. They may consider how the proposed activity:
Audiences Peers will assess the contribution to audience engagement. They may consider how the proposed activity:
Access and Participation Peers will assess the contribution to access to, and participation in, the arts. They may consider how the proposed activity:
International Peers will assess the contribution to the international profile of Australian arts. They may consider how the proposed activity:
Don’t forget that this process takes time – at least 12 weeks from the time you lodge your application. So you need to be proactive in managing these timeframes. Most importantly though, don’t forget that you aren’t alone! There are resources and people to help you out and we want you to be successful. Ask for help! Dan Millgate VP Marketing & Development What has been happening in Youth Development?
There are a lot of youth development activities going on around the country. Some recent highlights include:
Other activities are planned for the near future including:
Vice President - Youth
New Members - June 2016
WELCOME to our new BHA members! Your National Council extends a BIG welcome on behalf of all BHA members to the following members who have joined us in recent months.
Positions Vacant
Music Director Wanted
 Wollongong Harmony Chorus (Ladies)
Wollongong is a University town in the heart of the picturesque Illawarra region of the south coast of NSW, just 80km down the road from Sydney. It was chosen to host this year's Region 34 Convention.
After 10 years at the helm of WHC, Director Jan McCarthy is now handing on the baton. Jan's legacy is a mid-sized chorus of well-trained and technically aware musicians, committed to advancing together, to delighting our audiences at every outing, and to competing with success. Credits so far include everything from 5th to 2 nd place at Regional Competition, as well as wins at Eisteddfod and local choir competitions.  We are now seeking a dynamic director to take us to the next level. We envisage this person will be a musical leader with a strong barbershop background and a passion to match. For more information, email terrikp@qmail.com. or visit wwwg wollonqonqharmonv.orq.au. Upcoming Events
To see all the upcoming Events click "Read more" below then Click on the link in the full article: Barbershop Harmony Australia Event Schedule This will take you to the Upcoming Events section of the BHA Website. If your Club Website is hosted by Harmonysite and you want any of your Club Events to be shown on this event schedule, make sure you select the "Barbershop Harmony Australia" option in the "Also show on Website" Option as you set up your Event Details on your Harmonysite Website. You event will then automatically be included in the BHA Events Schedule.
If you do not use Harmonysite to host your Club Website you will need to notify Jeannie Hattendorff at admin@barbershop.org.au
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