City of Lights and Gamble-Aires Have Officially Merged To Unite Men’s Barbershop Singing in Southern Nevada
Las Vegas¡¦ Gamble-Aires and City of Lights barbershop choruses have joined hands in a merger that creates a new, enlarged choral dimension for this unique American musi-cal art form in Southern Nevada.
The union, which has been approved by the parent Barbershop Harmony Society¡¦s (BHS) Far Western District (FWD), could create an 80-man chorus of all ages. Effective date of the merger is Jan. 1, 2013.
¡§The merger brings more than 65 combined years of the two chorus¡¦ rich barbershop experience to the Valley¡¦s performing Musical Arts Community,¡¨ said Gamble-Aires Pres-ident Larry Litchfield.
¡§Our plans are to expand our unique barbershop sound and grow our fan base through-out the Valley. In addition, the joining of the two chapters will enhance our mission of en-couraging barbershop singing as an educational tool for our local schools.¡¨
The City of Lights¡¦ Las Vegas Metro Chapter was chartered by the BHS in 1998, un-der sponsorship of the Las Vegas Chapter.
The Las Vegas Chapter — home of its Gamble-Aires, Nevada¡¦s original barbershop chorus — was chartered in 1960 by the then Society for the Preservation and Encourage-ment of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. — now the BHS.
The two separate chorus names will be retained until year end, when a new name for the combined chorus will be announced.
“The City of Lights Chorus is proud to be a part of this effort to strengthen barbershop singing in Southern Nevada,¡¨ said Martin Judd, president of the Las Vegas Metro Chapter.
¡§By uniting our two chapters into one new and larger organization, we hope to signifi-cantly increase the exposure of our unique singing style to a broader segment of Southern Nevada. We will create the opportunity to present even bigger and better shows and other performances to Valley residents. The two choruses sang together at the Gamble-Aires¡¦ 50th anniversary celebration in May, 2010 and the sound was enthusiastically applauded by the large audience. This is an opportunity to make that sound permanent.”
OVER A HALF-CENTURY OF BARBERSHOP HARMONY
Media Contact: FRED GREEN — (702) 525-9484 (c) „R poolvacman@gmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2012
The following members of both current Chapters were elected to the new Board of the merged chapter, they are: Steve Salmon, President; Larry Litchfield, Immediate Past President; Ivan Lambert, Secretary; Wes White, Treasurer; Albert Weiss, Music VP; Dennis Johnson, Membership VP; Fred Green, PR/Marketing VP; Larry Peckhart, Pro-gram VP; Ross Marty, Chorus Manager; and Bill Lusk and Randy Preston, Members-at-Large. They will assume office on Jan. 1, 2013.
Barbershop harmony is a musical genre that originated in the early 1900s during the Tin Pan Alley era with vaudeville and minstrel singers. Barbershop today ¡V with its ex-panding popularity (for some men it¡¦s a devoutly intense musical passion) ¡V is regarded as a vibrant and original ¡¥USofA¡¦ art form of distinctive a cappella vocal harmony and chord-ringing overtones. Currently, there are more than 600 BHS chapters nationwide with a membership of more than 25,000.
The Gamble-Aires chorus meets at 7 p.m. on Thursdays in the Good Samaritan Lu-theran Church, 8425 W. Windmill, east of S. Durango Drive, and south of the 215 Belt-way (in the 89113 zip code).
The City of Lights chorus meets at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays in the Bright Angel Church of Christ, 8570 Bright Angel Way, north of Ann Road and west of Durango (in the 89149 area code).
Both chapters are 501(c)(3) educational, tax exempt nonprofit organizations. This nonprofit designation will be carried over to the new consolidated chapter.
The combined chorus will meet at the Gamble-Aires¡¦ location on Thursdays at 7 p.m. Guests are always welcome!
For more information about either chapter, visit www.cityoflightschorus.com or www.gambleaires.com.