December 2006                                              InCider Press                                                        Page 5

     So, why am I in the Little Apple Chorus?  The answer:  my wife, Mary, sent me.  Shortly after we arrived in Manhattan in 1989, Mary was reading the Sunday paper and found the ad that invited men to sing Christmas carols with the barbershop chorus.  I came to sing a few carols, and, most of you know the rest of the story.

     For the benefit of the newcomers, I’ve been a member of the Little Apple Chorus since 1989.  My major contributions to the chorus have been in a technological rather than a musical sense.  I was the InCider Press editor for several years culminating with winning first place in the International On-line Bulletin Contest with my 2004 newsletters.  I designed and now maintain the chapter’s web site.  Although I am no longer the InCider Press editor, I do post it on our web site.  And, for a number of our recent spring shows I have designed PowerPoint slide shows to add visual imagery to several of our songs. 

     Although I enjoy barbershop singing, I still long for the opportunity to join several men and women to sing a few hymns in SATB harmony each Sunday in church and to sing in the “Messiah” here in Manhattan whenever we are not traveling. 

Bart Bartholomew   ♪

 

      I started singing when I was 6 years old in the first grade. My mother was a music teacher. I had two aunts who were music teachers. My first grade music teacher was my aunt. Music was forced onto me, I had no choice in the matter.
     I was tone deaf, no sense of pitch. The teacher would stand by and make me repeat the lesson until I got it right. My brother and sister receive similar coaching.
      I had to learn singing, piano, and to play a band instrument. I hated piano and instrument practicing.
           My parents loved music. They bought season tickets to the classical music concerts presented at the Purdue University hall of music They bought a season ticket for me also because I would sit quietly in my seat like a good boy for the entire performance.
      My mother was an accomplished concert pianist. Many nights she would practice List, Chopin, Mozart, and Beethoven after putting my brother and I to bed. I grew up listening to the finest music.
     I started driving a tractor when I was 12. In the spring I would help with planting the crops. From sun up to sun down I was driving a tractor, boring, bored, bored, bored. I would sing. I sang every song I knew. I even made up songs. I sang as loud as I could to overcome the noise of the tractor. Neighbors said they could here me a half mile away.
     In high school I sang in a quartet.  We sang some barbershop. My mother would accompany us on the piano. In the summer we would farm all day and sing at night. I enjoyed sing in the quartet because it was a group activity. I didn’t play in any school sports. At 5 foot 2 and 90 pounds, I wasn’t fit for anything.
      I was accepted into the Purdue University Glee Club when I enrolled. About 75 male singers with 58 selected to participate in shows that the Club presented over the state of Indiana. Some highlights include singing on the Ed Sullivan TV show, Singing in Bob Hopes annual Xmas show for the military in Alaska, a trip to Florida and one to California. Great experience that left me with many stories.
     After Purdue, I didn’t sing for several years. I wound up in Bakersfield California in 1967. I don’t remember how I connected with the Barbershop chapter in Bakersfield but I knew immediately I had found the singing that I loved. 3 months after I joined I attend my first international contest in Los Angeles. I was six feet off the ground with barbershop and still remain at six inches off the ground. Unfortunately, age has reduced my enthusiasm.
     Barbershop highlights for me are ringing the chords. Chorus or quartet it doesn’t matter. As long as I am there singing or listening.
Chaz Martin   Lead  ♪

Meet Member
Chaz Martin

Captain Bart at the helm of "Take Five"

Continued from page 4

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