By Ashley M. Casey
Staff Writer
Two Liverpool-based vocal groups swept the International Youth Barbershop Chorus Festival last month. Young men’s group Harmonic Collective was rated “Outstanding” and Scarlet, a young women’s group that was formed only last fall, received the festival’s highest rating of “Superior.”
Sky Harris, a music teacher in the Liverpool Central School District, founded Harmonic Collective in the fall of 2015. The singers from Game of Tones, a barbershop quartet that was named the champion in the Junior Novice Quartet Plateau at last summer’s International Youth Barbershop Quartet Contest, also participate in Harmonic Collective, which has 20 members.
Harmonic Collective was rated “Excellent” at last year’s festival, so the boys set their sights higher for 2017.
“They set out really hard to move up, and they did,” Harris sad. “They moved up two and a half points, which is a lot, and got an ‘Outstanding.’”
Tracey Rheaume’s 14-year-old son, Braedon, performs in Harmonic Collective. His three sisters, 17-year-old twins Brianna and Brittany and 10-year-old Braelee — the youngest singer of the groups — jumped at the chance to join Scarlet, which is co-directed by Danielle Carter.
“First my son started and my girls were a little jealous,” Rheaume said. “Then Scarlet started and they were like, ‘Mom, Mom, can we go?’”
All four Rheaume siblings made the trip to San Antonio, Texas, for the festival Jan. 22.
“That was a whole family affair,” Harris said.
While Harris said there are several sets of biological siblings in Harmonic Collective and Scarlet, Rheaume said all 52 young singers have created a new musical family.
“It’s just family. They all just work together,” Rheaume said. “They just constantly praise everybody.”
Rheaume said her children have found new role models among the ranks of their barbershop groups and the other musicians with whom they have worked.
“It’s a constant learning experience,” she said.
At the festival in January, Harmonic Collective and Scarlet had the chance to meet and work with some of their heroes.
“They’d only seen these rock stars of the barbershop world on YouTube,” Harris said. “To actually hang around and sing with them was an amazing experience.”
Harris said both groups “worked their tails off” to prepare for the festival, and Scarlet was the sleeper hit. She said the Scarlet singers had no idea how they would be rated, but “they just knew they loved singing together.”
“A lot of people there were surprised because they weren’t a group that anybody knew, so it was fun to turn some heads,” Harris said.
“I think a lot of people knew that Game of Tones was out there somewhat but I don’t think a lot of people know that there were these two groups,” Rheaume said.
With a successful festival under their belts, Scarlet and Harmonic Collective continue to rehearse each Sunday at the Liverpool Masonic Lodge. Harmonic Collective are preparing for a district-level barbershop competition in April, and Scarlet is entering the Young Women In Harmony Video Chorus Contest, sponsored by Sweet Adelines International.
Harris said the groups are looking to increase their membership and their involvement in the community, performing for elementary-schoolers, veterans and other local groups.
“We’re looking forward to being an active choir in the community,” she said. “The competition’s fun, but getting to sing for people is more fun.”
While both groups are proud of their success, Harris said competition comes second to sharing the passion for barbershop with an audience.
“Yes, there is some competition, but it’s not really about that,” she said. “It’s about what you do to change people’s lives, change the room. The other stuff will take care of itself.”
Harmonic Collective and Scarlet accept members age 25 and younger from all over Central New York. To learn more, visit facebook.com/HarmonicCollective and facebook.com/ScarletYWIH.
SAYacaFEST
Harmonic Collective and Scarlet will both perform in the third annual Syracuse Area Youth A Cappella Festival (SAYacaFEST) this weekend.
Sponsored by Lakeside A Cappella Camp, Spirit of Syracuse and the Liverpool Central School District’s Fine Arts Department, SAYacaFEST brings together 200 singers between the ages of 8 and 25. Top a cappella and barbershop clinicians from across the Northeast workshop and rehearse with the young singers before coming together for a concert.
The SAYacaFEST concert takes place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at Liverpool High School. Admission is free, but donations to support scholarships for Lakeside A Cappella Camp are accepted.
