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Thursday, December 8, andTuesday, December 13 7:00-8:00 pmTallahassee Senior Center | 1400 N.Monroe at 7thAvenue 32303

www.capitalchordsmen.org | tickets@capitalchordsmen.org | Robbie Brunger 850.224.7729

STUDENTS: $5.00 SENIORS (65+) $10.00 GENERAL $12.50

THE CAPITAL CHORDSMEN

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2016

BARBERSHOP HARMONY

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“A CHRISTMAS STORY”

Starring REVISED EDITION, IN-A-

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and a play on the 1983 film -- A

CHRISTMAS STORY

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At just 24 years old,Greg Hilliard Jr., steppedup to become the direc-tor of Tallahassee’saward-winning barber-shop chorus, The CapitolChordsmen. During eachThursday night rehearsalhe worked to perfect thegroup’s vocal techniquesand skills.

Synchronously over-whelmed and upbeat,Hilliard stood beforemany members whowere part of a genera-tional legacy of Chord-smen, and many morewho were several dec-ades his senior. Nearlyfive years later, Hilliardlooks back on those firstfew months when hewasn’t sure if he wasmaking any progress andfelt an enormous sense ofresponsibility to thegroup’s membership.

“I remember my firstcouple of weeks when I’dwalk out feeling so de-feated,” recalls Hilliard.“I’d never directed abarbershop chorus be-fore, but I kept workingat it. Now, having thesuccesses that we’ve had,I’m looking forward tothe next 50 years of theCapital Chordsmen andwhat’s next.”

For their ninth annualHoliday Harmony show,which has expanded totwo nights at the Talla-hassee Senior Center, theChordsmen will give afamily-friendly medleyperformance with thefirst half devoted to sa-cred music and tellingthe traditional story ofChristmas. In the latterhalf, they will spoof1983’s “A Christmas Sto-ry,” with Hilliard playingthe main character whois warned he will “blowhis larynx out” if hewants to sing with thequartet.

While in high school,Hilliard was exposed tobarbershop for the firsttime his senior yearwhen a fellow classmateinvited him to join aquartet as a baritone. Itwas in this same yearthat Hilliard joined theMiami Chorus under thedirection of Gene Coke-roft — a barbershoplegend and gold medalwinner with the SunTones quartet. Cokeroftwas Hilliard’s first coachand choral director inbarbershop, and dedicat-ed his life to making sureMiami maintained itsreputation as a mecca forbarbershop with youthsingers.

When Hilliard firsttook over the chorus, heshifted the focus frommore recreational teach-ings to breaking downthe basics of music the-ory, bringing forward thetechnical aspects of Hil-liard’s background andtraining at the NewWorld School of the Artshigh school in Miami.

With 45 registeredmembers, Hilliard hasbeen proud to see thenumbers continue togrow. Membership is alsoskewing younger, thanksin part to the Carraway-Anton Music Scholarshipcreated in memory of thechorus’ most dedicatedmembers, which givesFSU, FAMU, and TCCstudents the chance tosing and carry on thebarbershop tradition.

The Chordsmen’s busyseason consists of anannual sold-out show, apopular gospel show, anda vibrant competitionseason. Many of theChordsmen’s breakoutquartets perform aroundthe city during majorholidays like Valentine’sDay, bringing barber-shop’s intimate sound to avariety of communityspaces.

Hilliard says whatmakes the Capitol Chord-smen different from apopular contemporary acappella group such asPentatonix, is essentiallyhow the music is written.Barbershop boasts foursinging parts and is most-ly homophonic, where allparts are singing thesame words at the sametime. On the other hand,contemporary a cappellagroups can have multiplemembers, part, and vocalpercussion. The genrealso follows the circle offifths, a certain chord

structure and progres-sion that pays homage tomusic from the 1800s tothe early 1920s, which isdifferent from today’stop 40 songs that centeraround four chords.

“Barbershop is verygenuine and real,” saidHilliard. “As director andperformer, it’s my goal totry and figure out howcan I tap into how theaudience is going to per-ceive a song. There’s nomicrophones or music, soyou sing it from the heartand I think that’s whatmakes it different from alot of other mediums.You’re singing for thelove of it, but there’s somuch communication ina lot of this music.”

Earning a degree fromFlorida State Universityin music education, Hil-liard taught in Tallahas-see for eight years invarious middle schools.Currently, he serves asRickards High School’schoral director in addi-tion to directing the Capi-tol Chordsmen. His widerange is helpful in teach-ing choir, able to resoundin both the low baritoneand falsetto-like tenor,striving to reach all hisstudents regardless oftheir goals.

Hilliard still personal-ly participates in thecompetition with theTHX Chorus, recentlytaking eighth place in theworld out of 800 chorusesin Nashville, where Bar-bershop Harmony Soci-ety is located. The Capi-tol Chordsmen sing un-der the same umbrellaorganization, competingin other events underHilliard’s direction. Oneof his favorite memoriesfrom the past five yearsis being able to achieve a

competition record,breaking a score of 800out of 1200 with an in-house arrangement ofbarbershop standards“Just In Time” and “LoveLetters.”

“I was nervous pick-ing up the score analysisbut then I turned it overand the first number wasan eight,” smiled Hil-liard. “That was the firsttime after directing themfor two years that I feltlike I was doing some-thing right for this group.Singing something thatwas written for us wasalso really special andthe guys were reallygood at tapping into thesweet ballad.”

Even when perform-ing, Hilliard is always inthe mode of leader andinstructor. After thisfive-year journey, he iscontinually inspired bythe members in the choirand acknowledges justhow much the Chord-smen have taught him.

“I’ve learned a lotfrom them,” smiles Hil-liard. “I’ve learned to bepatient and compassion-ate, and not to take ev-erything so seriously.I’ve learned that musictouches everybody dif-ferently but it still touch-es everybody, but mostly,that sometimes it’s aboutthe journey and not about

the performance.”Amanda Sieradzki is

the feature writer for the

Council on Culture &Arts. COCA is the capitalarea’s umbrella agency

for arts and culture(www.tallahas-seearts.org).

Director keeps barbershop singers in syncAMANDA SIERADZKICOUNCIL ON CULTURE & ARTS

JAMES PRATER

Greg Hillieard Jr., front and center, leads the Capital Chordsmen.

If you goWhat: The Ninth AnnualHoliday Harmony ShowWhen: 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec.13Where: Tallahassee SeniorCenter, 1400 North MonroeSt.Cost: $12.50 general admis-sion, $10 seniors, $5 studentsContact: For more informa-tion, call Robbie Brunger at850-224-7729 or email him atbrungerrob@embar-qmail.com. Order online atwww.capitalchordsmen.org/christmas/.