Chorus Events

After each annual chorus competition, the chapter celebrates with a Stag Party on the regular Tuesday meeting night. To see the rowdy goings-on, click this link.

District Competition

The Sound of Illinois has consistently finished as one of the Top Choruses in the twice-yearly Illinois District competitions. At the district convention in Peoria April 12, 2008, we kept that tradition alive by placing second. Out of 1200 possible points, we received 918. Lombard's West Towns Chorus won first place with 937.

The chorus qualified to compete in the international competition in 1956, 1959, and 1976 by winning the district contest. To see the results of the recent international and district competitions, click the appropriate link.

2007 International Competition - Chorus
2007 International Competition - Quartet
2006 International Competition - Chorus
2006 International Competition - Quartet
2005 International Competition - Chorus
2005 International Competition - Quartet
2004 International Competition - Chorus and Quartet
2003 International Competition - Chorus and Quartet
2002 International Competition - Chorus and Quartet
2001 International Competition - Chorus and Quartet
2000 International Competition - Chorus and Quartet
1999 International Competition - Chorus and Quartet

2008 District Competition - Chorus
2008 District Competition - Quartet
2008 District Competition - High School and College
2007 District Competition - Chorus
2007 District Competition - Quartet
2006 District Competition - Chorus
2006 District Competition - Quartet
2005 District Competition - Chorus
2005 District Competition - Quartet
2004 District Competition - Chorus and Quartet
2003 District Competition - Chorus and Quartet
2002 District Competition - Chorus and Quartet
2001 District Competition - Chorus and Quartet
2000 District Competition - Chorus and Quartet
1999 District Competition - Chorus and Quartet
1998 District Competition - Chorus and Quartet
1997 District Competition - Chorus and Quartet
1996 District Competition - Chorus and Quartet

2008 Annual Spring Show The Sound of Illinois Barbershop Chorus’ 66th Annual Show, My Fellow Americans,  was at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts (BCPA)   February 23 and 24, 2008. The show was a musical celebrating our American heritage and also featured performances by a number of area Barbershop Quartets and the 33rd Illinois Volunteer Regiment Band   Special guests of the show were the comedy quartet Hot Air Buffoons.  From their web site: "The HOT AIR BUFFOONS first weighed in back in 1996. We set out on a quest to sing well and entertain our audiences in a fashion they have never seen before. We soon surprised ourselves and others by not only making people laugh but by progressing in the competition realm as well. We excelled in a competition that was MADE for us and took home gold medals and a pretty large trophy (which signifies 1st place) in the 2001 internationally renowned Buckeye Invitational Comedy Quartet Competition in Columbus, Ohio. Try saying that 5 times real fast. We have continued in the competition realm and are now the 2005 Johnny Appleseed District Champions. We have also competed internationally and are ranked as one of the top twenty quartets in the world (16th to be exact). Despite our successes in the competition venue, our true love is to entertain. The BUFFOONS have performed on a number of chapter shows (pick any number between 1 and 1,000,000) and if you ask anyone that we have performed for, they will confirm that we are never serious (nor do we want to be). If you have seen us before, we hope that you have enjoyed our performance and have fully recovered from the injuries suffered from "sidesplitting" laughter. But, if you haven't had the chance to hear the unique style of the HOT AIR BUFFOONS, we encourage you to lock yourself in your storm cellar now, because before long, we'll be everywhere and you'll find yourself sucked into our stupid humor and crazy antics. We just ask one thing, DON'T MAKE FUN OF THE FAT GUY!!!!!!!!!!"

The 2007 Annual Spring Show was titled "Technical Difficulties." The show was a comedy featuring our chorus as well as performances by a number of area Barbershop Quartets. Special guests of the show were the 2006 International Barbershop Quartet Champions, Vocal Spectrum.  All members of the quartet sing with the Ambassadors of Harmony (2004 International Chorus Champions). In July of 2004, Vocal Spectrum won the 2004 International Collegiate Quartet Contest held in Louisville, KY. On July 8th, 2006 they won the coveted International Barbershop Quartet Contest in Indianapolis, IN – becoming the first quartet to win all 3 possible medals (Collegiate Quartet, Men’s Quartet, and Chorus Medal).

The 2006 show theme was "Off Broadway."   The Sound of Illinois Chorus sang a selection of entertaining and well known songs from some some popular Broadway shows.  The show also featured four of our local chapter Barbershop Quartets. Our guest quartet was the 2004 International Championship Quartet, all the way from California, Gotcha! Beginning in 1999 the quartet climbed through 12th, 8th, 6th, and 2nd in the world before capturing the International Championship in Louisville, KY in July of 2004.  Gotcha! has performed in over 100 shows across the US, Ireland, and Canada...on stage, radio, and television.

The 2005 Annual Show, our 63rd, was "A Tribute to Hee-Haw." The Sound of Illinois Chorus sang a variety of a cappella songs and reenacted some popular Hee-Haw skits.  The show also featured four local Barbershop Quartets. Special guests of the show were the 2004 International Fourth Place Bronze Medalist Quartet, all the way from California,  Metropolis.

In 2004, our 62nd Annual Show,  the theme was "...and they called it DIXIELAND."  The exotic sights and sounds of Mardi Gras filled the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts auditorium. It was a trip to New Orleans with chapter quartets, a live Dixieland band and our feature guest quartet Power Play, the 2003 International SPEBSQSA First Place quartet

In 2003 for our 61st annual show, we presented Swing. Our guest quartet was Excalibur, the 2002 International SPEBSQSA seventh place quartet.

The guest quartet on our 1999 show was The Gas House Gang. If you have RealPlayer, you can click here to hear them.

Other performances include the Concert Under the Stars series in Bloomington's Miller Park in July, Sounds of Christmas program in December sponsored by WJBC, The Music Shoppe, and State Farm Insurance Company, and Singing Valentines in February. The rest of the time you will find the chorus performing for area nursing homes, hospitals or churches, opening ceremonies for sporting events, and area business/organizational banquets and events. We sang the National Anthem at Wrigley Field July 13, 1997. To see a picture, click here.

Chorus Funding

Funding for the chorus is through membership dues, program fees, patron gifts, concert fees, and fund raising events. A portion of the money raised each year by the Sound of Illinois goes to support the society-wide charity Harmony Foundation which is dedicated to encouraging vocal music in our schools through the Young Men in Harmony program.

The Annual Youth in Harmony Festival

This festival is a day-long event focused on vocal education and training for High School music educators and their students.  The workshop is held in the fall of each year and is organized by the Sound of Illinois chorus.  It is also is financially sponsored by the Sound of Illinois Chorus, the Illinois District of SPEBSQSA and Region 5 of the Sweet Adelines International.

During the day students learn vocal technique and production while learning four songs for performance on the evening show.  Highly acclaimed male and female music clinicians are brought in for the day as well as award winning male and female quartets.

The day long workshop is held in Bloomington/Normal and is FREE. This Fall, over 350 students from the following High Schools participated:

The ninth annual workshop was held on Thursday, October 25, 2007, at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. The clinician was Jonny Moroni of the International Champion quartet Vocal Spectrum, and the guest quartets were Men in Black. and Main Attraction. For more information about Youth in Harmony, contact Rich Hansen at hansenr@mtzion.k12.il.us or Greg Grey at bshopgreg@aol.com .

Contact Us

The Sound of Illinois Chorus wants to sing for you…..

 Let us share our musical talents and our highly entertaining show package and program tailored to your special cause.

 We maintain an active schedule of sing-out performances for any group or gathering, large or small:

Private Parties, fund raising events, conventions, concerts, dinners, sporting events, business promotions, singing valentines, and special occasions. 

Plus: many performances for community services, hospitals, nursing homes and church organizations.

From a full 80 man chorus, to a mini chorus of 10-20 men, to a quartet, we can provide the musical entertainment that best fits your needs and budget.

Call Jim Waldorf at 309-663-4880 or email jwald1603@aol.com.

For booking information, to contact us, or to get on our list to be notified of up-coming performances, simply click here and send an E-mail message with your name and contact information and a Bloomington Chapter representative will get back to you as soon as possible. Or call our chapter voice mail number at 823-0505 in the Bloomington/Normal area or 1-888-562-3908 from elsewhere.

Some Barbershopping History

Barbershopping really has nothing to do with a barber shop except that back in the early days of our country the barber shop was a gathering place on Saturday nights.  Men came there for their weekly shave and haircut and to catch up on the latest happenings.  The grooming combination of “shave and a haircut” was affordable in those days, costing just two bits.  Remember?

While waiting their turn in the barber chair the group would often pass the time singing natural four-part harmony.  A good barber also had to be a good singer so he could fill in any missing part in a quartet. 

Some of the details of the founding of Bloomington’s barbershop chapter may never be known because the organization was formed mainly for fun and there was a minimum of organization and a maximum of good fun at the outset.  The Bloomington Chapter received its charter membership in the SPEBSQSA on April 12, 1942.  The first regular meeting was held at 7:30 p.m. April 27, 1942 in the American Legion Building.

Some Interesting Barbershopping Links

• Listen to Streaming Barbershop Music on your computer
• SPEBSQSA
• Wound 4 Sound Quartet
• The Ultimate in Barbershop Links
• SPEBSQSA Jukebox to hear RealPlayer song clips
• District Pages
• Land of Lincoln Chorus (Springfield, IL)
• Harmonize.com
• Heritage Station Quartet Home Page
• The Singing Buckeyes
• Harmonet Reporter
• Adam Porter's List of Links to Other Barbershopper's Home Pages
• Where to Get The Harmonet's Frequently Asked Questions List... and other BBS links
• Sweet Adelines

THE BARBERSHOP WEBRING

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My Address: webmaster at soundofillinois dot com.