The Virginians (also known as the Richmond Virginians) is a
barbershop chorus
Chorus may refer to:
Music
* Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse
* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound
* Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
located in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
, Virginia. Mike Wallen is currently its
musical director
A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the ...
, and has been serving in this capacity since 1998. It recently celebrated its 70th anniversary and is one of the oldest continuous singing groups in the Greater Richmond Area. Originally chartered in 1952 as the Tobaccoland Chorus, the chapter was renamed to the Virginians in 1990.
The Virginians competed at the 2000
Barbershop Harmony Society
The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop ...
International Competition, held at
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, Missouri, numbering 100 on stage. That same year, it sponsored a major
benefit performance
A benefit performance is a type of live entertainment which is undertaken for a cause. In its original usage, benefit performances were opportunities for an actor to supplement his/her income. In its modern usage, benefit performances are given to ...
(featuring the
Richmond Symphony Orchestra The Richmond Symphony is based in Richmond, Virginia and is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia and one of the nation's leading regional orchestras. The organization includes a full-time orchestra with more than 70 musician ...
) for the
WRVA Alden Aaroe
Alden Peterson Aaroe (May 5, 1918 – July 7, 1993) was a broadcast journalist and announcer for WRVA, a radio station in Richmond, Virginia.
Career
Before coming to WRVA, Aaroe was a newscaster at WCHV in Charlottesville, Virginia, 1939–1941. ...
Shoe Fund at the
Landmark Theater. The Virginians chorus was selected to participate at the seventh annual Russian Barbershop Music Festival with
Greg Lyne
Dr. Greg Lyne (September 22, 1946 – January 13, 2022) was an American choral director, arranger, composer and vocal educator. Lyne worked full-time as a coach for choruses and quartets and as a clinician for musical ensembles of all types. He co ...
, held in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Russia, in 2006.
Membership
The active members of the chorus draw primarily from the city of Richmond,
Henrico,
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
,
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
and eastern
Goochland counties. Some members come from as far away as
Charlottesville
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...
and the
Northern Neck
The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula ...
, with a strong contingent from the
Williamsburg
Williamsburg may refer to:
Places
*Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia
*Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City
*Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California
*Williams ...
area.
Activities
Annual performances typically include:
* Spring Show, which usually has a theme and a guest
quartet
In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments.
Classical String quartet
In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...
or
performing group
* Williamsburg Community Show
*
Dogwood Dell Show (outdoor performance)
*
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
Show
The Virginians chorus participates in numerous community appearances with diverse shows that may include performances by its registered chapter quartets. One of its biggest
fundraiser
Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
s is an annual
Singing Valentines
Singing Valentines is the name for a fundraising program that is popular with barbershop choruses in the U.S., Canada and Australia.
The delivery of ''Singing Valentines'' is usually done by a barbershop quartet from a chapter affiliated with t ...
program.
Most of its repertoire is made up of
barbershop arrangements, but the Virginians also sing in other ''
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
'' styles.
Organization
The Virginians chorus is the principal performing group from the Richmond chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society (based in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
) a
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* Ch ...
. It is partially supported by the Arts Council of Richmond.
In addition, the Virginians Ensemble is a daytime chorus (a subset of Richmond chapter members who can perform during the work day) that is very active in the community.
Early history
Originally "organized in the Fall of 1945" with 24 members of local quartets, the Richmond affiliate of
SPEBSQSA
The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop ...
received its official charter from the society on December 6, 1952, with "almost 40 members". Its Charter Party was attended by "approximately 150 persons". Dean Snyder from SPEBSQSA (and founding member of the
Alexandria Harmonizers
The Alexandria Harmonizers are an international champion barbershop chorus based in Alexandria, Virginia. Numbering 110 men in 2013, the chorus is the performing arm of the Alexandria Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, under the direct ...
), presided at the ceremony to hand the charter to then chapter president, Dr. Ralph M. Roberts.
The Richmond affiliate started proceedings to get an official SPEBSQSA charter in September 1952 and open up its membership to men who wanted to sing in an ensemble chorus. Previously, the group had been entirely made up of
barbershop quartet
A barbershop quartet is a group of four singers who sing music in the barbershop style, characterized by four-part harmony without instrumental accompaniment, or a cappella. The four voices are: the lead, the vocal part which typically carries t ...
s.
Albums
Their ''Blue Skies''
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
was recorded live at the
University of Richmond
The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...
's Modlin Center for the Performing Arts (Camp Theater). The album was released in April 2008.
Tobaccoland Chorus albums
*''Down Where the South Begins'' was released in the summer of 1969. This album originally sold for $4.50.
The
record jacket
A record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl record. Alternative terms are ''dust sleeve'', ''album liner'' and ''liner''.
The term is also used to denominate the outermost cardboard covering of a record, i.e. the ''record jacket'' or ''album ...
quotes a local columnist
who wrote:
The highly charged sound of our Tobaccoland Chorus comes from a combination of several important ingredients, one of which is the right blend of voices. Add to this some good musical arrangements and lots of rehearsals; mix the batch with top-notch direction and you have a winning sound. The Richmond chapter was chartered in the early 1950s and spent many years trying to find that certain sound. The chorus was moving toward it as Bryan Whitehead took over as director in 1963. It wasn't long before the group was making championship music, as was attested to by its contest winnings during the next several years. Much of the success of the chorus is due to Bryan's dynamic personality, his knowledge of "barbershop," his conception of what the chorus should sound like and his ability to bring out exactly that sound.
*''Tobaccoland 30th Anniversary Show'' was released in 1982. According to the liner notes, this album was recorded live at Richmond's Thomas Jefferson High School on March 26, 1982 and March 27, 1982. This album also includes many songs from chapter quartets: Nickel Bridge, Stage Door, Treasure Chest, Friends of Yesterday.
Leadership
Past musical directors include Bryan Whitehead, Jim Garber, Buddy Johns, John Glass, Hardman Jones, John Hohl, Charlie Bechtler and Gary Parker. Since 1998, the director has been Mike Wallen.
References
External links
*
Chorus ProfileArts Council of RichmondChapter Entry in Mid-Atlantic Districtof the
Barbershop Harmony Society
The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop ...
.
Down by the River ''
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia.
Circulation
The ''Times-Dispatc ...
'', June 3, 1999, Riverfront Opening Celebration