THE LEGENDARY GRAND OLE OPRY HOUSE HOSTED THE MOST ATTENDED MIDWINTER IN HISTORY, AN EVENT LONG TREASURED FOR ITS LAID-BACK INTENSITY.
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here were nearly 900 performers among the 2,800 barbershop fans who converged for three days on country music's most coveted stage. Sometimes there were judges writing scores, a lot of the time we were just having fun. All of the time, the results were spectacular. An exciting three days kicked off with a Thursday afternoon Keynote Address for the ages by quartet gold medalist Theo Hicks, who reminded us of the profound impact made by Barbershoppers just behaving like Barbershoppers. Music educators reported that hundreds of their students indeed had "mountaintop experiences" at Midwinter while performing in Next Generation Quartet and Chorus Festivals—and all the thrilling planned and unscheduled activities in between. The rest of us had plenty of unforgettable experiences as well, from singing with the All-Chapter Chorus or quartetting with the Harmony Brigade, participating in Harmony University courses or just tagging with friends old and new. Hundreds of seniors competed in the Seniors Quartet Contest and Seniors Chorus Festival. Together, we enjoyed two of the best evening January/February 2020 | barbershop.org shows in Midwinter's proud history.
