Harmony Heritage Singers Prepare for Veterans Day, Holiday Season

Being shushed in the library is something everyone has experienced at some point in their lives.

However on some Wednesdays and Fridays, a large group of military veterans visit Sherwood Regional Library in Alexandria and sing in preparation for performances. And in 17 years, they have yet to have a librarian at the Alexandria branch to ask them to quiet down.

The Harmony Heritage Singers — a men's chorus of more than 60 members — celebrated their 17th anniversary this year. And like every year, the group plans to prepare an honorable patriotic performance for those celebrating Veterans Day in November and bring a little cheer and happiness during the holiday season.

"We use the room at the library and after three directors, we're still here," said Mike Everard, who has been a member since the organization started. Everard said some of the visitors at the library come specifically during their rehearsals to hear their music.

The majority of the members of Harmony Heritage Singers are military veterans from multiple branches. Everard has been singing barbershop style all his life and after his career, he wanted to continue doing what he enjoyed. Like Everard, many of the organization's members are a part of quartets as well.

"I've been involved [with barbershop style] since I was seven, in 1947," he said. "My father, uncle and cousin were in a chapter in Marinette, Wis. In 1967, I joined a chapter in Iowa and was with that chapter for three years. Then I moved here and joined the Alexandria Harmonizers and I'm still a member. It's my life."

Unlike many other barbershop-style groups in the D.C. metropolitan area, the Heritage Harmony Singers are daytime performers. Many of them are retired and are free to perform at events throughout the week and at retirement communities in the northern Virginia area. The organization schedules about 30 performances each year, Everard explained.

Like a lot of people, you're probably thinking no one really does barbershop-style music anymore. But Everard and eight-year Harmony Heritage member Ron Brandt say there's something special about it that catches the attention of those young and old when they perform.

"The older people in the audience usually like the music, and sometimes we surprise the younger people and they also enjoy our performance," said Brandt, who was more accustomed to singing in church and community choirs before joining the Harmony Heritage Singers.

"it's a capella, and in barbershop, the lyrics are clear and you can understand. It's basic and it's old fashioned. It's like any other band or music group, but with barbershop it's the voices and they have to click," Everard said.

Brandt explained with barbershop style, you have to feel and show what the words of the songs really mean when performing. Which is why during a recent rehearsal, Director Bob Wachter said to the group, "Listen to the words, and understand them."

Wachter has directed choruses for more than four decades. Under his leadership, the organization has made more than 400 appearances in the past 17 years.

Everard said at least 50 percent of the group is also a part of a quartet within their organization. He is currently a member of The Sliders along with Paul Greiner (high tone tenor), Ray Hawn (lead) and Clint Burnham (baritone). The Sliders is one of three active quartets within the Mount Vernon chapter.

The Harmony Heritage Singers' parent organization is the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA), which this year celebrated its 75th year of keeping the musical style alive.

The Harmony Heritage Singers will perform in Mount Vernon and at the Knollwood Retirement Center in DC for Veterans Day and multiple holiday performances will follow in December. A usual performance includes about 40 of the group's members along with one or more of the quartets. For more information about the group, visit Harmony Heritage Singers.