Vegas road trip! Mark your calendars!

[BRWombat]

I'm giving you guys -- especially all you SoCal SGTers -- almost a year's notice here: the2014 Barbershop Harmony Convention, when the Vocal Majority returns to international competition, will be held June 29 through July 6 next summer in Las Vegas, all under one roof at the MGM Grand!



The contest itself will be in the MGM Grand Arena, with the chorus competition being held all day on Friday, July 4. That'll be a ticketed event, but (as some here can already tell you) our rehearsals in the days leading up to the competition are always free and open to the public. So if you can get there, you can meet this marsupial and hear us sing! I'll post more details later.

[DisneyMom]

I'm giving you guys -- especially all you SoCal SGTers -- almost a year's notice here: the2014 Barbershop Harmony Convention, when the Vocal Majority returns to international competition, will be held June 29 through July 6 next summer in Las Vegas, all under one roof at the MGM Grand!



The contest itself will be in the MGM Grand Arena, with the chorus competition being held all day on Friday, July 4. That'll be a ticketed event, but (as some here can already tell you) our rehearsals in the days leading up to the competition are always free and open to the public. So if you can get there, you can meet this marsupial and hear us sing! I'll post more details later.

I already told Hubby we need to go. Looking forward to all of you guys doing a Lion King Medly Flash Mob at the Lion Exhibit at the MGM

[BRWombat]

Here's a little behind the scenes look at the VM at work last week with the great Tony DeRosa, whom you might know as the musical director for the Voices of Liberty, who also sings occasionally with the Dapper Dans, directs three choruses in Florida, is the vocal director for Celebrity Cruise Lines, and who has three quartet gold medals with the Barbershop Harmony Society. Talented guy is what I'm saying!

(I'm in the video starting around 0:20 -- top row, three to the right of the exit sign, wearing a white shirt and tie. I got moved a few months ago close to the center of the chorus.)

http://vimeo.com/88784104

Just 3-1/2 months until Vegas!!

[drcorey]

Lion excibit is gone.
you will just be pissing off a new Asian nightclub.

[darph nader]

May the deitys of the lottery and vacations be good to me.

[BRWombat]

Two months out -- this is going to be a barn-burner of a contest, and extremely entertaining! Hope some of y'all can make it!

[video][/video]

From a Society press release:

We said it once before & we were right then, too: Best chorus contest ever!
Not to cheapen the meaning of "best ever," but everything points to Vegas topping them all. Look at the epic field filled with recent medalist choruses, all of which have something to prove:

• 11-time champ The Vocal Majority wants to prove it's still the best chorus ever, especially after Jim Clancy's last contest came up silver thanks to ...
• Justin Miller, still directing those younger Californians but also first-time director of 8-time champion Masters of Harmony, who have never before faced the VM, and who in 2011 barely beat ...
• Great Northern Union, which outscored the Masters one year too late in 2012 but showed enough talent to win it all in Vegas, however ...
• zero8 is out to prove the Swedes can win chorus championships, too, but not if ...
• Sound of the Rockies strikes it rich in the group's final contest with director Darin Drown, who is hoping to overshadow ...
• Kentucky Vocal Union and its eye-popping dancing to ear-bending Aaron Dale charts, but it's hard to top a performance by ...
• The Alliance, which will have had a year to perfect its 2013 medal-winning Circus set.

[Zazu]

[video][/video]

Wait, so y'all made a promo video for an a acapella singing contest, and the soundtrack is entirely instrumental?

Or did somebody forget to record the winners last year?

[BRWombat]

Yeah, I kinda rolled my eyes at that myself. As good as the singing is, though, the instrumental probably conveyed the mood of the video better than any a capella piece could -- and kept them from having to pick just one competitor to feature.

[BRWombat]

Just a quick update, since we're about a month away from Vegas... If any of you are thinking of going, here's a few options for you:

(1) If you want to experience the best of the performances without paying for a full convention registration, there's a great deal available for the next couple of days: for just $99, you get a "weekend pass" that includes the chorus contest all day Friday, July 4 (where the Vocal Majority will be competing), the "Saturday spectacular" on July 5th (where the winning chorus -- hopefully VM -- will perform again), and the Saturday evening quartet finals, featuring the top 10 quartets in the world. Considering a full registration is $229, that's a deal! If you're interested, you can go to the convention webpage link below for more info -- but hurry, this offer is only good until the end of May.

(2) There are also "day passes" available which will get you into all of the contest sessions for a single day for $65. (If you're a Nevada resident, day passes are only $20!) VM's contest appearance will be on Friday, early in the second session, maybe around 4:30 or 5:00 p.m.

(3) Finally, if you're cheap like me, or want to spend your money gambling, or just want to waste it instead on cheap shows like David Copperfield or Cirque du Soleil instead of some of the finest and most entertaining a capella singing in the world, our Vocal Majority rehearsals are always free and open to the public! We haven't received our final schedule, but I'm pretty sure our first rehearsal will be on Wednesday, July 2nd, at 9 pm, and then we usually have an all-day rehearsal on Thursday. We'll be in one of the conference rooms at the MGM Grand -- just ask around, and come meet me and hear us sing!

Here's the link with all the ticket and convention/contest info: http://barbershopconvention.com/vegas. Hope some (or all!) of you can make it!

[hobie16]

A quick warning about Vegas. If you see a short, stocky woman with short white hair in the crowd, call security. It's my mother-in-law. After her last trip to Maui I noticed that all the refrigerator magnets had rearranged themselves into a pentagram.