Sunday, July 06, 2008
BY BANNON T. BACKHUS
Special to the Gazette
KALAMAZOO -- Instrumental and a cappella music will blend in harmony when the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra presents its annual Summer Park Concert Series with this year's guest artist, the Kalamazoo Barbershop Chorus.
The Summer Park Concert Series has been bringing free music to audiences at area parks for 35 years, but this year's concert series will be the first to feature the Kalamazoo Barbershop Chorus, a group that has been around since 1941.
``We're really looking forward to being a part of this,'' said Gary Monroe, a singer in the chorus who serves as its vice president of music and performance. ``We're quite honored to have been asked by the KSO to perform with them.''
At each of the six venues making up this year's Summer Park Concert Series, the 25 active members of the chorus will sing a number of classics, including ``Coney Island Baby,'' ``I Got a Gal in Kalamazoo'' and ``Strolling Through the Park.''
Many of the chorus' songs will have orchestral accompaniment, which has posed an exciting challenge for the a cappella group.
``We're not used to hearing accompaniment in the background,'' Monroe said. ``We're used to hearing and focusing only on each other.''
In preparation for singing with an orchestral accompaniment, the chorus has been rehearsing exclusively for the Summer Park Concert Series since March, and the KSO has taken special steps to accommodate the group.
``We felt honored to have the arranger for the KSO visit us and work with us on the music,'' Monroe said. ``The KSO ended up rearranging its orchestral score to match the music that we'll be singing.''
The chorus constantly strives to keep its distinctly American brand of music alive, and Monroe hopes that this year's Summer Park Concert Series will help to do just that.
``It takes a special kind of person to get hooked on barbershop music,'' he said. ``But once you're hooked, you just can't get enough of it.''
The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra will perform with the Kalamazoo Barbershop Chorus at the following times and locations this month:
8:15 p.m. Wednesday at Sherman Lake YMCA Outdoor Center in Augusta. The rain date is Thursday.
8 p.m. next Sunday at Bronson Park in downtown Kalamazoo. The rain site is Miller Auditorium.
8 p.m. July 14 at Kindleberger Park in Parchment. The rain site is Haven Reformed Church.
8 p.m. July 16 at Fannie Pell Park in Plainwell. The rain site is Otsego High School.
8 p.m. July 17 at Scidmore Park in Three Rivers. The rain site is Three Rivers High School.
8 p.m. July 18 at Overlander Bandshell in Portage. The rain site is Portage Northern High School.
For more information, call the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo at 342-5059.