I snag barbershop for twenty years. It was great fun when it worked. The form is gradually spreading around the world. There was also a Sweet Adelines (women singing in the barbershop style) chorus in town, and we frequently did shows/concert together. The men's group could be a bit stodgy and anal retentive about questions of repetoire, while the women's group was for more progressive in that area. THe group (SPEBSQA) loved to party. We had two annual national/international conventions, two state level conventions, a special "summer school" with superb instructors on all manner of relevant topics, and a very popular Labor Day weekend retreat. The "meeting" aspect of these gaterings was minimal. Most of the time was spent in more collegial activities, like tune swaps, parodies, and tag singing. Great fun. I left it when I went back to school and just didn't have the time for it any more.
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