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 For Immediate Release: 7/6/09

ST. CHARLES BARBERSHOP GROUPS TAKE GOLD MEDALS AT INTERNATIONAL CHORUS CONTEST

ST. CHARLES, MO. - The Ambassadors of Harmony, a St. Charles-based barbershop chorus of about 160 singers, won the gold medal on July 3^rd with a record-breaking score at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s 71st annual international convention in Anaheim, California.

Crossroads, a barbershop quartet with two members who sing in the Ambassadors of Harmony, also won the gold medal in the quartet contest last weekend.

The Ambassadors scored an all time high score of 2,926 points out of a possible 3,000 to win gold over 28 other qualifying choruses from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand and Sweden who competed at the Honda Center arena in Anaheim.

This year's contest was historic because, for the past three decades, no chorus had beaten the Dallas-based Vocal Majority, which had won the contest 10 consecutive times since 1979 and 11 times overall in that chorus' history. The Vocal Majority's silver medal score Friday of 2,889 points of 3,000 was a record high for that chorus and would have won the gold medal in every other chorus contest in BHS history.

The Ambassadors won their first gold medal in 2004 and silver medals in 2007 and 2008. Contest rules require first-place finishers to sit out for three years.

On Friday, the Ambassadors' winning two-song set included Edith Piaf's "If You Love Me, Really Love Me" and the classic march, "76 Trombones" from Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man." Both songs were arranged for the Ambassadors by the chorus' Associate Director, David Wright.

Crossroads outsang nearly 50 other quartets to win gold after earning the silver medal in its contest debut in 2008. The quartet's bass Jim Henry, choral music director at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, has directed the Ambassadors of Harmony for nearly two decades. The quartet's baritone, Brandon Guyton sings with the Ambassadors, and Mike Slamka, the lead singer and Fred Farrell, tenor, are members of the Ambassadors' organization.

The Ambassadors have finished in the top four choruses 13 times since it began performing in international contests in 1989, and they have now won the gold medal twice. The annual competition is held by the Barbershop Harmony Society, an organization of about 30,000 singers in more than 800 chapters in North America.

Barbershop music is a uniquely American art form. It is known for its four-part harmony and the “expanded sound” created by its unique chord structure. It shares roots with gospel and jazz and is part of the continuum of American music.

Upcoming shows for the Ambassadors of Harmony include its annual holiday performance, "Sounds of the Season - 2009," December 11-13 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus. Tickets will go on sale on October 13^th, and seats for groups of 20 or more can be reserved now by calling the Touhill ticket office at 314-516-4949.

For more information about the Ambassadors or Crossroads, go to www.aoh.org or  www.crossroadsquartet.com.