St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 76

eSC June 8, 1983 The St. Charles Post Harmony Daniel Boone Chorus Blazes Trail Of Fun, Friendship tV r3 mri im i Vs. I hi: 1 -O CT? '1 rJ 'I'; The Daniel Boone Chorus is an award-winning barbershop chorus based in St. Charles that has been singing sentimental and old-fashioned songs for 20 years. The chorus the St.

Charles chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing began in 1963. The society is an international organization of barbershop choruses that was founded on April 11, 1938, in Tulsa, Okla. About 70 men of all ages and many walks of life are In the chorus. Among the ranks are engineers, salesmen, craftsmen, students, teachers, civil servants and managers. The chorus' members come from St.

Charles County and north and west St. Louis County. This diversity is the chorus' strength because its members enjoy meeting people from different backgrounds, according to the chorus" president, Maj. Ken Schroer of St. Charles.

Schroer, 43, has sung with the group for 13 years. He is an officer with the National Guard. Larry White of St. Charles says the chorus opens the men's minds to different perspectives on life. "This group is not like a lot of other groups who are concerned about what a person does for a living," White said.

White, 45, has sung with the group for IS years. He is an engineer at the McDonnell Douglas Corp. of St. Louis. Men can audition to enter the group throughout the year.

David Wright, the group director, said that he looked for men who could sing in tune and harmonize. But auditioners need not be accomplished singers, Wright said. Wright himself is an amateur singer. He is a professor of mathematics at Washington University without any professional experience in singing or arranging songs. Wright has directed the chorus for two years.

Wright said he had become The Daniel Boone Chorus, an award-winning barber shop group, men from many occupations. 1 year old group includes about 70 The New St. Louis Vocal Band, one of the chorus' three barbershop quartets, placed first among barbershop quartets at the contest. The quartet will compete this July in Seattle with groups from the society's chapters in the United States, Canada, England and Scotland. Several members of the chorus said that singing with the chorus was enjoyable and helped them make friends.

Harlan Ebeling of St. Charles said, "I enjoy the meetings as much as the competitions. Singing is healthful and invigorating. And I like the friendship and the chance to work with a good bunch of fellows." Ebeling, 60, has sung is based in St. Charles.

The 20 barbershop-chorus singers must thoroughly know a song because they sing without accompaniment, Wright added. The chorus' hard work paid off when it was recognized at two contests last year. In September, the chorus won first place in a St. Louis-area competition. Six chapters of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing were in the contest.

In October, the chorus placed seventh in a contest at Omaha, among 56 choruses from the society's chapters in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Nebraska. the chorus produces a strong and rich sound. The chorus' tenors, baritones and basses work together in perfect harmony. Wright is an energetic director who'll have the chorus go over and over a phrase until it's sung to his liking. Each section of the chorus the first tenors, second tenors, baritones and bases practices its part separately.

Wright said he worked to get the chorus to sing in a sensitive manner. "We try to sing loudly at the appropriate place and softly at the appropriate place," he said. Such painstaking practice means that the chorus can take as long as four months to learn a song. But with the group for eight years. He owns a shop in St.

Charles. Max Underwood of St. Charles said, "This type pf singing is rather unique. Because we sing without accompaniment, we can do whatever we want to with a song. It is a lot more fun than singing more formalized music." Underwood, 57, is a salesman who has sung with the group for seven years.

Gale Wickham of St. Louis said that the sound produced by a barbershop chorus was beautiful because of the blend of harmonious voices. Wickham, 24, is a student at Washington University who has sung with the group since January. us mwm interested in barbershop choruses after singing with a gospel chorus during his time in college. He directed a barbershop chorus in St.

Louis for five years before coming to direct the Daniel Boone Chorus in 1981. The chorus practices at 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the St. Charles Presbyterian Church, Gamble and Sibley streets in St. Charles.

The sessions are a lively combination of fraternizing, singing and lecturing. The men socialize between songs and after the Session. Sometimes the fun gets so loud that Wright has to step in. But the men become a disciplined chorus once they start singing. On cue, Uii $1 DiHe tofe tat Iw isdpcODitet The judges aren't looking for a seven-course meal.

They are looking for recipes that children can and do make, with minimal parental assistance. Recipes need not be complex but should involve more steps than mixing together prepackaged ingredients. Entries are due June 22. Recipes need not be original (although it's fine if they are). Please include a brief history of the recipe, if it has one.

Enter the contest as many times you want, but please use a separate envelope for each entry. Neatly print or type the recipe, including all ingredients and directions, pan and can sizes, baking time and temperature and recipe yield. Entries will be judged by the food department on appeal, originality, practicality, clarity and organization. Send entries to Kid's Recipe Contest, St. Charles Post, 105 North Main Street, St.

Charles, Mo. 63301 Be sure to include your name, address and telephone number with each entry The St Charles Pbst fMf Sf CHAdlfS COUNrr fOIPON Of FMf Sf IOUIS POST DISPATCH t..