Welcome to Sing! 2023 International Barbershop Festival
24 & 25 March 2023, celebrating barbershop singing
The Sing! Festival (or convention as previous editions were known) is the two-yearly high point of our chorus and quartet agenda. For the year leading up, we prepare ourselves to bring our very best to the contest day. And then immerse ourselves in a weekend full of song, performance, afterglows and many encounters with other barbershoppers. We especially welcome all our international singer-friends to join us in this great spectacle.
Here you can read all about the program, contests and more.
Programm Sing! 2023 Festival
The program consists of two full days. Friday is the quartet day; during the day the prelims for the Holland Harmony and International Competition will take place. The five best-scoring quartets from the two competitions (HH and International) will go through to the final in the evening.
The chorus contest will be held on Saturday, followed by the big show on Saturday evening; winners and guests will ensure a spectacular performance. Followed, of course, by an afterglow until the wee hours!
Contests
There will be four different contests taking place during the festival:
- Holland Harmony Quartet Competition
- Holland Harmony Chorus Competition
- International Quartet Competition
Both the chorus and quartet contests are open for mens, womens, and mixed groups. The mens, womens and mixed choruses enter the Chorus contest, and the mens, womens and mixed quartets enter the Quartet contest.
Chorus contest:
In these contests, the choruses perform two contestable songs which are suitable for the level for the chorus.
For more information about the chorus contests, see the Contest Rules
Quartet contest
The quartet contest is different to previous conventions; it now consists of two parts. During the day, all quartets compete in the prelim round with two contestable songs. The 5 best-scoring quartets out of both contests go through to the final on Friday evening. There they perform 2 songs, one of which is new. Quartets must therefore prepare 3 contestable songs. Any quartet which wishes to receive a BHS qualification score must sing 2 new songs in the final, and must have a total of 4 songs prepared. A BHS qualification score is important for quartets wanting to compete in the BHS convention in the USA.
For more information about the quartet contests, see the Contest Rules
Contest Rules / Competitie regelement
What requirements must a song meet? What are the judges looking for? Can I compete in two choruses during the competition?
For any questions about the Contest Rules, email our competition managers Madelon and Melanie: sing2023@hollandharmony.nl
Judging panel
The judging panel consists of 6 BHS*-qualified judges. Because all contests and categories will be scored by two judges, contestants are able to receive a qualifying score for the BHS International Convention in the USA. The judging panel per category:
| Judging Panel Sing! 2023 | ||
| Music |  David Wright |  Cay Outerbridge |
| Singing |  Andrew Rembecki |  Matthew Fellows |
| Performance |  Sandi Wright |  Brian O’Dell |
*BHS: Barbershop Harmony Society, the organisation of barbershop singers in the United States. www.barbershop.org
Orpheus Theater Apeldoorn
The Sing! 2023 Festival will take place in the Orpheus theatre in the centre of Apeldoorn. A modern, well-equipped venue with everything needed to accommodate our barbershop festival.The contests and shows will be taking place in the “Grote Zaal” , and the afterglow will sound wonderful in the foyers.
Any questions?
For any further questions, contact: sing2023@hollandharmony.nl
Festival team Sing! 2023
| Festivalteam Sing! 2023 | |
| Rob Veltman | Festival manager |
| Madelon Dingemanse-Droppert en Melanie de Jonge | Contest managers (administrators) / Chairman of Judges |
| Marco Koopmans | Finance / Registration / Volunteers |
| Louis Smits | Theatre / technical facility / accommodation |
| Maria Driessen | Information/ communication |
| Thea van Bergen | Show & entertainment / secretary |
