The Athens County Chapter of SPEBSQSA (which is The Society For The
Preservation And Encouragement Of Barber Shop Quartet Singing In America) is an all-male chorus. We sing a style of music known as barbershop harmony. It is four-part , unaccompanied, close-harmony singing. The melody is
carried in the second voice part called the LEAD. The TENOR harmonizes above
the melody, the BASS sings the lowest notes. and the BARITONE fills in the missing
notes to complete the chord, sometime above and sometimes below the melody.
We invite men who enjoy singing to come and join us on THURSDAY NIGHTS
from 7-9:30 PM. All you need is to enjoy singing and we will teach you how to sing in
the barbershop style. You do not have to read music. You will have a great time and
make many new friends thru harmony. We meet at the Athens First Christian
Church on the corner of 24 W State Street and Congress Street in Athens..
The Athens County chapter began when a member of SPEBSQSA, Everett Nau
approached Linda Walls to see if there might be an interest in barbershopping in
the Athens area. Linda had been a director for a local Sweet Adelines Chorus for
many years and she contacted Chuck Myers who she knew had been in a
barbershop chorus in Alaska. Together they decided to try to start a chapter in
Athens County with the help of some men from the Gallipolis Chapter of SPEBSQSA. That meeting took place on November 14, 2000. By April of 2001 the
official charter was signed. The group that signed the license included Chuck Myers, Dave Powers, Richard Eubanks, Bruce Wiggins, and Gerry Kelly.
The History of SPEBSQSA
SPEBSQSA MOTTO "KEEP THE WHOLE WORLD SINGING"
VISION STATEMENT The Barbershop Harmony Society is to be an ever-growing fraternity of
barbershop style singers, leading the cause of encouraging vocal music
in our schools and our communities.
O.C. Cash, a tax lawyer, and Rupert Hall met in a Tulsa, Oklahoma hotel and were bemoaning the lack of harmony
music. They decide to ask a few of their friends to join them, and on April 11, 1938 twenty-six men attended the first
meeting, and SPEBSQSA was born. The third meeting was held on the roof of the Tulsa Club with 150 men singing
harmony. From that original meeting, the Society For The Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing In Ameria, Inc. grew to over 800 choruses and nearly 34,000 members. Go to www.spebsqsa.org
to find out why they chose that name.
MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the Athens County, Ohio Chapter of SPEBSQSA, Inc. shall be to:
a) Establish and maintain a congenial association of eligible men who share a love of learning and
performing vocal music in the barber shop style.
b) Provide a wide range of barber shopping opportunities which serve the musical needs of the
current and prospective members while encouraging and supporting continuous improvement in both individual and ensemble vocal skills.
c) Raise public awareness and appreciation of barber shop harmony by maintainng an active
chorus and quartet performance schedule.
d) Support and encourage vocal music education in local schools.
