Lauren Baron
BRANT NEWS

It may seem like an unusual hobby these days, but the boys of Brantford Collegiate Institute are bringing back the barbershop chorus.

Twenty students from the Brantford school, along with a few from Assumption College, joined the Ontario Youth A Cappella Chorus in Tucson, Arizona, last month for the Barbershop Mid-Winter International Youth Festival.

The chorus, made up of men under the age of 30 from across Ontario, took home the top prize in their age division and came in second overall out of 15 choruses from across North America.

“When they told us our score, I had a tear in my eye,” said Grade 10 student Miles Taylor. “When we came out and they started singing O Canada, it was the happiest moment in my life.”

The local group of singers was started three years ago, when BCI music teacher Shawn Oakes joined the Ontario Youth A Cappella Chorus with two BCI students as they went to Florida to compete in the annual festival. The next year, Oakes had 14 students accompany him to the festival in Las Vegas. The number of students interested in taking part keeps growing.

“It’s not the stereotypical red and white stripes and straw hats that you see on the Simpsons,” Oakes said. “The fraternal elements are amazing and singing harmonies is really satisfying and really rewarding and different.”

The students, ranging from Grade 9 through Grade 12, have come together to form a bond they say is stronger than the music they sing.

“Aside from getting to perform in Tucson and Vegas and all these really big places, the camaraderie is more important than the music,” said Grade 10 student Matt Campbell. “Singing barbershop is fun when you sing, but when you go off stage and you’re not in the lights anymore and you’re with your friends, you’re with your brothers really. We’re more of a family than anything else.”

And that’s not all they get out of participating in the chorus. It’s much more, said Campbell’s mother, Wendy Schmidt.

“It’s not just the singing,” she said. “It’s the ability to stand up in front of people that is going to take them a long way in life. And the type of singing is very fun, it’s very catchy, it’s very addictive. It’s fun to watch them engage the audience and the audience engage with them.”

Brantford members of the chorus practice at BCI every Thursday night and put on concerts throughout the year. Their next show will be held at the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts as part of the Brantford Music Club’s Young Artists Recital. The recital takes place Friday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m.

Oakes and the Ontario Youth A Cappella Chorus are always looking for new members.

“It’s quite flexible, it’s not a heavy commitment and there are no charges or fees,” Oakes said. “The commitment is low, but the fun factor is high.”

Visit www.oyachorus.com or call Shawn Oakes at 519-759-3210 for more information.