Riviera Hotel and Casino. A full range of events will be held for the
nearly 2,000 attendees this year. Friday and Saturday the 28th and 29th
of January 2011 will be the two main days.

The events cover a wide range of age groups. The Events are for:
International Seniors Quartet Championship, Show of Champions,
and for the younger division, the International Youth Chorus Festival,
followed by their Show Of Champions.

The full legal name for this organization is quite lengthy. It is
“The Society For The Preservation And Encouragement Of Barber Shop
Quartet Singing In America, Inc.” Or just “SPEBSQSA, Inc.”

Founded in April of 1938 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, their mission and their
motto is “Keep The Whole World Singing”. Many famous people have
joined their ranks and were proud members. To name but a few,

The Oakridge Boys, Bing Crosby, Harry S Truman, Irving Berlin,
John H. Davis, Dick Van Dyke, and The Buffalo Bills.

This all-male organization has over 800 chapters in America, with
over 30,000 members. And there are affiliated singing organizations
worldwide. From Australia, Germany, Sweden, South Africa, the UK,
Japan, Saudi Arabia, and China to name a few.

To better understand what “barbershop harmony” is, consider this:
it is four-part, unaccompanied, close-harmony singing, with melody
in the second voice. It is a true “melting-pot” American musical

product combining African-American musical devices, european hymn
singing culture, and an American tradition of recreational
music.

The annual schedule of the various chapters are filled with charity
singing events. Schools, hospitals, senior centers, and the like are
all happy recipients of barbershop singing talent. They do indeed
keep “The Whole World Singing”!!

– Bob Thomas