By Sophie Poredos
A group of dedicated Barbershop Acapella singers performed on the Gold Coast at the Barbershop Harmony Festival, earning a gold medal for the first time in the Chorus’ 28 year history.
Across Australia, 16 Choruses and 11 Quartets participated in the annual Barbershop Harmony Festival, held this year at the Star Theatre. Barbershop is an acapella four-part Chorus with a tenor, lead, baritone and bass singer, often linked to the musicality of 50’s movies.
Hills Harmony Chorus entered with two Quartets in the Senior Mens, Vintage Fusion and the Mixed section, What Four? Why Not! Both Quartets took home gold and the Senior Chorus with 12 members also came 3rd in their section.
Formed in 1996, Hills Harmony Chorus regularly performs in regional and national organisations, as well as Retirement Villages and charity organisations. Secretary Ian Nicolson first performed with the Chorus in 2023 after he picked up a flyer about the group’s ‘Learn To Sing’ four-week program.
“I didn’t know how well I could sing before I went to the course. At the end of the four week program they asked me to sing with four others with the musical director. I retired a couple of years early and I was looking for something to do, there’s a lot of groups for women to join when they retire but there aren’t as many opportunities for men. It’s a good time of fellowship, caring for a group of blokes to get together. However, as a group we are not restricting ourselves to a men only Chorus”.
Ian was elected as Secretary from December 2023, and was re-elected until September 2025. Since the competition, the group has been elated with their results, as three of the twelve singers in the senior Chorus competed for the first time:
“We jumped up and down when they first won, it was the first time we won gold medals at a national level. The trophies are still making the rounds with all of the members!”
Ian said their famous four-week singing course to ‘find your voice’ welcomes new singers female and male, regardless of their experience.
“There are no requirements other than a desire to share in some great experiences. Before I joined, I had no experience! There is no cost to the course, however there is a quarterly fee to pay for the Chorus if you are invited. We are hoping to attract as many people as possible next year.”
If you have a passion for singing, you can contact Ian for more details about their upcoming course at [email protected]. They practise Thursday evenings from 7:30pm at the Kellyville Anglican Church, 45 President Road, Kellyville.
