Barbershop Harmony Society's 2016 International Convention Set For July 3-10 in Nashville, TN

The Barbershop Harmony Society 2016 International Convention will bring together more than 6,000 harmonizers to celebrate the joy of singing, July 3-10 in Music City. A uniquely American art form, barbershop is four-part, a cappella, close-harmony singing style. It will be spotlighted in competitions hosted at venues across Nashville, including Music City Center, Bridgestone Arena, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and the First Baptist Church.

"Barbershop harmony is improvisational music at heart," said Marty Monson, CEO of the Society, which is headquartered in downtown Nashville. "Although we'll have all of our superstars here on stage and in competitions, a huge number of our guests come just to sing with each other, to meet up casually to sing their favorites with new friends. That singing spills out of the hotels and convention center, and engulfs the entire city. We are the opposite of a hide-in-conference rooms convention."

Founded in 1938 in Tulsa, OK, by O.C. Cash and Rupert Hall as the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, the Society has evolved and is now known as the Barbershop Harmony Society. It moved its headquarters to downtown Nashville in 2007.

With 23,000 members, the Society is the world's largest all-male singing organization. Today, it has more than 800 chapters across North America with 4,500 affiliates in nine additional countries. Affiliated and female organizations around the world bring the global barbershop movement to more than 80,000 singers. Groups from England, Sweden, The Netherlands, Finland, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Germany, and Ireland travel to Nashville this summer for a week of a cappella.

Last year, the convention drew more than 5,800 and included days of spontaneous harmonies and coordinated performances by youth and adults alike. It is expected to generate more than $11 million for the local economy, offering events for all tastes and ages, with participants ranging from pre-teen to 90.

Among the highlights of the week are two special performances at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center of "Pitch Perfected: An Evening of Vocal Harmony," which features championship quartets in one of Nashville's finest performance spaces, on Wed., July 6 and Thurs., July 7. "A Better World Singing Day" will also take place on Sat., July 9, offering families the opportunity to be a part of making music together while enjoying free shows at The Walk of Fame Park and Bridgestone Arena.

The full week schedule includes quartet contests for singers under age 25, and the open division contest, the International Chorus Contest, and hundreds of classes ranging from vocal techniques, songwriting to comedy, to music history.

For tickets, a full schedule and further information, please visit http://www.barbershop.org/nashville.

About Barbershop Harmony Society: 
The purpose of the organization is to celebrate harmony in the barbershop style, promote fellowship and friendship, provide the opportunity to experience the joy of four-part a cappella singing, and to introduce and sustain music in the lives of people everywhere.

Website: barbershop.org
Facebook: facebook.com/barbershopharmonysociety
Twitter: twitter.com/barbershopnews
Instagram: instagram.com/barbershopharmonysociety
YouTube: youtube.com/user/BarbershopHarmony38
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/barbershopharmonysociety

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