Each Harmony Brigade meets just one weekend a year (known as "the Rally") and here's what to expect when attending the Northern Pines Brigade Rally. The Rally begins with an optional, Friday morning series of performances at local area schools in front of enthusiastic students and music teachers. The group is transported on a comfy touring bus which returns in time to join others who are arriving for the official registration beginning at 3:00 PM.
After registration you will receive a name badge that lists your name, vocal part, and each song with the key signature. From then until dinner you will engage with others, singing in as many different quartet combinations as you wish.
Dinner is served between 5:00 - 6:30 PM and is an excellent time for enjoying fellowship with old friends and for meeting new friends. Immediately after dinner the kick-off general assembly is held where each attendee is randomly assigned with 3 others to form your competition quartet. After your foursome submits a name, you receive a randomly assigned contest song. Quartets then have approximately 45 minutes to an hour to hone their skills on the assigned song before stepping onto the competition stage.
Approximately 20 quartets will compete on Friday evening, singing one assigned song before a panel of celebrity judges. The preliminary round runs from around 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Ten finalist quartets are announced and will move on to sing in the Saturday Afternoon Finals. Added to the mix is a ‘Wild Card’ quartet that is randomly drawn from those not qualifying to enter the finals. After the Friday night formal activities, there is more quartetting late into the night.
Following breakfast on Saturday morning the official Brigade business meeting is held. This is followed by a rehearsal for the Saturday night show where all of the songs are performed by the Brigade Chorus. Lunch is served between rehearsals to give everyone a break off the risers. At approximately 3:30 PM the Quartet Finals competition is held, followed by more independent quartet singing, and then on to dinner. After dinner everyone prepares for the return to the venue for the Saturday evening show. Similar to most barbershop shows it features the Brigade chorus, our celebrity Quartet/Judging Panel and other quartets that may be in attendance. While the chorus is not the focus of the Brigade, the thrill of this large, wonderfully prepared group is an experience that many men don’t otherwise attain. A pizza party follows the show and quartetting continues into the early morning hours. There is no shortage of quartetting opportunities during this fun filled weekend!
Sunday morning there is another fantastic buffet breakfast, time for goodbyes and wishing everyone a safe trip home.