SOUTHERN GATEWAY'S Youth In Harmony (YIH) Program

The Barbershop Harmony Society mission states: "We serve each new generation of singers through support of vocal music education." Our vision states: "The Society ... is committed to enriching lives in every generation and community...".

At Southern Gateway we believe that barbershop harmony is a truly American art-form of a cappella that is to be enjoyed and fostered in our society and particularly in our youth. We aspire to the vision of our society, and the chorus demonstrates our dedication to this vision through our association with local schools. Here are some examples of our support for choral and vocal programs in the Cincinnati area:

* Southern Gateway quartets provide numerous classroom demonstrations throughout the year which provide invaluable quality music and performance skill models for directors to draw from during their instructions. We also provide music, tapes, CD's and other aids to assist in vocal teaching.

* Gateway specialists provide workshops and coaching sessions for ensembles, quartets and individuals through their choral directors. These knowledgeable individuals encourage good vocal production and often induce rapid development and understanding of good harmony techniques by students. As an example, two of Cincinnati's local school performance art programs presented the musical "Music Man" and both schools had Southern Gateway Coaches assist their quartets. A number of local student quartets receive coaching by Southern Gateway members. High school quartets have also performed on Gateway shows.

* Each year, Southern Gateway performs a number of joint high school shows as fundraisers for their local vocal music programs. In addition to financial support for their programs, this yields wonderful results by bringing more parents and friends to their program often providing a full audience. The performance often produces a musical bond that transcends the generations.

* The chorus also performs at various educational functions, such as the Ohio Music Educators Association conference, to exhibit quality choral technique. Collegiate performances are also encouraged as demonstrated by the inclusion of the Miami University Men's Glee Club at our recent holiday show.

* Each year, the chorus sponsors the Greater Cincinnati High School Barbershop Quartet Contest. This contest has both male and female winners and both winning quartets are awarded scholarships to the District Buckeye Harmony Camp in Columbus. The grand champions of the contest also have their names inscribed on a trophy, which honors them at their school until the next contest.

The chorus YIH committee is working hard to improve the youth outreach program at Southern Gateway. We continue to look for means of providing additional support for our local school vocal programs which are continually squeezed out of students' lives due to budget cuts and athletic or other academic program competition. We believe that music, and in particular vocal music, is essential to the education and well being of our youth and must not be allowed to diminish.