The men of the award-winning Atlanta-based quartet A Mighty Wind are baritone Clay Hine, bass Drew McMillan, lead Tim Brooks and tenor Tim Reynolds.If you go
› What: Choo Choo Chorus’ “All Seriousness Aside” annual show.› When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27.› Where: Girls Preparatory School, 205 Island Ave.› Admission: $15 in advance, $18 at the door; free for children 12 and younger.› Phone: 423-265-7464.› Website: choochoochorus.org.
Want to sing barbershop?
The Choo Choo Chorus rehearses 7-9:30 p.m. every Monday at All Saints Academy, 310 E. Eighth St. Newcomers are helped to find their part (tenor, lead, baritone or bass) and paired with an experienced member of the section to begin singing. An ability to read sheet music is not required. CDs are provided to learn new songs.
The Choo Choo Chorus, the local affiliate of the Barbershop Harmony Society, will put “All Seriousness Aside” for its annual show Saturday, Aug. 27.
The two-hour performance, which will feature four-part a cappella harmonies by the 30-member chorus, its component quartets and guest quartet A Mighty Wind, will include songs designed to “lift everyone’s spirits,” says chorus spokesman Chet Tschetter.
“Oldies they are [with] lyrics and melodies,” he says. “Some will be remembered and others perhaps not so, but all are fun, as is the intention for the entire evening.”
Selections from the full chorus include “I’m Sitting on Top of the World,” “I Want a Girl (Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad),” “(When It’s) Darkness on the Delta,” “Simple Melody,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,” “Ten Feet Off the Ground,” “Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart)” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo.”
Quartets will add another half dozen songs “in the same vein,” Tschetter says, and A Mighty Wind will showcase their “great pipes” on more classics.
Held each summer, the annual show is one of three major fundraisers.
“After our music expenses are deducted, we donate remaining funds to a local charity,” Tschetter says. “Over the past six years, we are pleased to have been able to donate about $30,000 to the Walter E. Boehm Birth Defects Center as our chosen charity.”
The chorus’ community outreach also includes a regular schedule of sing-outs, 30 in the past 12 months reaching approximately 11,000 people, Tschetter says.
“About half the sing-outs we do annually are for military service organizations and their events, the Special Olympics, Scouts and singing the national anthem to open ballgames,” he says.
“The other sing-outs we do are by invitation for organizations such as retirement centers, clubs, civic organizations, fairs, etc., where generally a donation is provided to us as we are a registered nonprofit.”
Costs of time and travel are borne by the individual singers, he says.
Adding their award-winning vocals to the mix Saturday night will be the men of A Mighty Wind: tenor Tim Reynolds, lead Tim Brooks, baritone Clay Hine and bass Drew McMillan. Last summer, the Atlanta-based quartet placed sixth in the Barbershop Harmony Society’s 2016 international competition and released their sophomore CD, “Second Wind,” the follow-up to “Something in the Air.”